Shinning Star Quilt

 This beautiful quilt was made by my mom, Sandra Farnsworth, using the Shinning Star pattern by Calico Carriage Quilt Designs.  She and her sister, Kristin, own sistersandquilters.com and sistersandquilters.etsy.com.  They have such a great variety of fabrics, there is something for any kind of quilter and project.  They also offer several kits, like this Shinning Star Kit .  If you love this but can't make it right now, here is the pinterest link to refer to in the future.   

This pattern is typically made using red, white and blue fabrics.  My mom wanted to make this for my sister in-law, the colors that she decorates with for Christmas are gold and cream. 

This turned out beautiful, and I can't wait to see it with her gorgeous tree and garlands.

The great thing about this pattern, the entire star is half square triangles. 

Its fast!  And, we all love fast projects right?!

I decided I wanted to quilt it with a fancy pattern in the star, an all

over swirl and feather design.  Then I decided to keep it simple in the

background and do lines directionally one way, which I think highlights the star.

I used an 8020 batting, and an antique cream perma core thread.

I love how the light captures all the texture in these photos.

I quilted a back and forth teardrop pattern in the inner boarder,

 and a tree pedal alternating feather in the outside border.

This pattern would be great in a variety of fabric color combos...

for Fourth of July, Christmas, a boys room, or a family room.  Think of the possibilities!  

 

Thanks for stopping by...check back soon there are always fun new things for me to share.
~leisha

Details ~ client sharing day!

in the Details...

Doing all over quilting patterns are great, especially when there is something soft on the back like Cuddle/minky.  Adding details to each piece of a quilt, table runner, wall hanging, etc. is what I really love to do.  Here are a few projects that I've quilted lately with lots of detail.  I hope this post will inspire some of you to request more detail, which I believe can truly enhance all the work that you put into your projects.  To see more ideas, please head on over to my Quilting It facebook fanpage.

- Julia -

This table topper was made by Julia Taylor. 

 Whenever I receive anything to quilt I like to spend time really thinking about each part.  Different shapes within blocks that can add more texture or movement.  This table topper is a great example of that.  With the blocks being rectangular I knew there wasn't much I could do.  I've seen this echoed four pointed star in squares on other quilts, so I thought I would give it a try here, and I love it!  It adds movement and dimension.  The unquilted red thin sashing, frame the stars and helps them pop!   

 I love how the natural light in the picture picks up each detail.

Its fun that something so simple can come alive with all the quilting details.

 Adding more detail in each of the borders completes the quilting.

Each fabric in this runner has gold metallics, which makes it even more beautiful.

I used an 8020 batting and a cream perma core thread.  

 

- Kim -

 This gorgeous quilt was made by Kim Parkinson.

Last fall I quilted a quilt just like this for Penny, another one of my clients.  After sharing pictures, there were several people who wanted to make one, too.  This comes from a friendship strip exchange book by Edyta Sitar.  So, Kim along with 18 other ladies, and I did the exchange.  It works for any quilt in the book.  Kim did an amazing job getting her quilt to lay flat, which isn't easy with all of those seams.  She also let me try something different than what I quilted on some others. 

 I used a cream perma core thread, from A&E, and 8020 batting.

 I quilted a vine around each star section, going counter clockwise.  Which also adds motion to the star.  To see the detail better click on the picture of the back of the quilt, 2 pictures below.

 A featherlike motif in each of the cream triangle/diamonds.

 The back of Kim's quilt.  She chose a great fabric for the back.  Neither of us were sure quite what it was, a low pile fuzzy fabric that reminded us of upholstery fabric from the 70's.  A great choice, it made the quilting just POP!  I love it when the back of the quilt is just as amazing as the front. 

 

- Lynette -

 This table topper/mini quilt was made by Lynette Hutchinson.

 I've wanted to quilt something like this for soooo long, and I know the cost of quilting like this can really start to add up, so, its great to start with something small.  I intended for the lines to help showcase the star, and to add depth and texture to the entire topper.  I also wanted each part of the quilting to complement each other, and I think it does nicely.    

 One of my most favorite parts of this topper, is the up and down freehand lines that are behind each flying geese/triangle block.  I then added the feathering in the flying geese and a motif in the corner blocks.  I used 8020 batting and a white perma core thread. 

 Love angled pictures like these that show all the detail and texture.  I hope to quilt more mini quilts soon!

 

- Rhonda -

 This small wall hanging was made by Rhonda Ridge.  I used 8020 batting and several different colors of perma core thread.  oh, and this....was so fun to do!  This was the first applique that Rhonda did, and she loved it!  YAY!!

 I really love how machine quilting continues to evolve and modern quilting is coming to the forefront. The details quilted here add great texture and variety to each part of the wall hanging.

 I added some lines to the pot and leaves.  This is also a great close up on the crackle background.  I saw this crackle quilted on something several months ago, and have yet to find something perfect to quilt it on, until now.  The pot fabric even has a crackle print, so meant to be.  I was a little worried how difficult it was going to be to freehand the crackle, yes it is very different than pebbling or stippling in a background, the different the shape the better...those of you who quilt, you need to give it a try.  It was so fun to do, and I look forward to trying again soon on something else.

 I quilted a back and forth teardrop in each of the petals of the flower.

 And finally a feather and swirl pattern in the borders.  This is a great all over pattern I freehand on a lot of quilts, it really dresses up the style and look of a quilt, and it doesn't take much time.

 This was also made by Rhonda.

I used a couple of different colors of perma core thread, and 8020 batting.

 I love the effect that pebbling can have on a quilt, especially around appliques.  The pebbles pop, and so do the stars, leaves and berries.  The fabric colors that Rhonda chose and her attention to detail as she made her quilt, makes this just gorgeous!

 I love these pictures with the light picking up the textures.

 I did a simple back and forth line in the inside border, and the fun tear drop pattern in the outside border to finish it off.

 

- Tina -

 This is one of the 5 quilts that Tina Larsen brought to me a couple of months ago.  She didn't want a lot of detail on any of the others, except for this one and you can see why.  Quilts like these can become a bit intimidating, having so many different parts to them.  How to tie them together and still let each piece sing on its own. 

I knew when I first saw it I wanted to pebble in the background.  I've pebbled a lot, but never on a big quilt.  I don't think anything would have complimented all of the other texture and details, like the pebbling does.  I also knew right away that I wanted to feather the flowers going counter clockwise, I love the movement it creates.  

These borders were a great addition!  I have never quilted an outside border like this one, just inside blocks or in a background.  I thought it would be a great way to frame the roosters. 



These roosters were the hardest thing to decide on.  I thought simple would be best, to not take away from all the work that Tina did.  I love them!

Tina loved this quilt so much she wanted to wrap it around herself...instead she laid it on the floor and kept saying, "Oh, I love this part...oh, and this part too."  And so on...  Love when that happens.

Another look at those cute roosters!

 

Which quilt is your favorite?

thank you for stopping by
~leisha

Using minky or cuddle for quilt backs

This video shares tips on how to properly prepare your minky or cuddle for your quilter.  Please let me know if you have any questions.  Thank you~!!!

~leisha

Client Sharing Day~! { Fall }

Welcome! 

I love what I do.  I get to meet quilters of all different kinds, with very different skills and tastes.  Here are a few of my recent clients quilts.  Enjoy!!

 

- Jeanne -





 This wall hanging was made by Jeanne.  She LOVES Halloween.  And I, love this.

 My current favorite thing to do, is add lots of texture without over quilting it.  Everything on this quilt is done freehand.  I used 8020 batting and a cream perma core thread.

I thought it would make the white sashing and black corner squares pop, if I quilted the small 9 patch inside in an arch and the lines in the orange background.  And, it did just that.

 Side angle view  

I love how the pebbles help all that hand embroidery jump up off of the quilt.  Jeanne did an amazing job with the handwork.  Click on the picture to get a closer look at the embroidery.

 

- Barbara -  

This is the front to a pillow.  I used a perma core thread and 8020 batting.  I love these paper pieced pumpkins.  They were designed by the amazing Kim over at Kimberbell designs.  Using the pumpkin I quilted a pumpkin inside to add to the texture and style of the pumpkin.  Adding swirls and leaves finish it off.  The squares needed something to break up the pumpkin and border, and I wanted to do more than just cross hatch it, so I did some arch's similar to the angles in the pumpkin.  And then leaves in the black border.  The golden tan thread I used ties all the fabrics together and adds a fun accent to the pillow front.

 

- Rhonda -

This halloween wall hanging was made by Rhonda and designed by Kim of Kimberbell Designs.



These little cuties are not like the paper pieced pumpkin, but they sure are cute.  I quilted lines and swirls inside the pumpkins to add to the texture.  To help the quilt continue to flow, I quilted arch's in the on point squares as well. 



 

 The best way to dress up a nine patch on a Halloween quilt, a spider web.  There is also some modern quilting in the strip of fabric next to the 9 patch, and some stippling in the broom and hat background.

 

Love this crooked little house, next to a cute little mummy face.  Kim really thought about everything.

 a side view for a glance at all that texture.

 

 - Sharon -

Remember the pillow front made by Barbara above, this is the quilt designed by Kim from Kimberbell Designs, that the pillow was inspired from.  I've made this quilt with other fabrics, and those cute pumpkins can get quite addicting to make.  This was my first paper piece project. 

 

I used a golden tan perma core thread and 8020 batting.  A top view of the pumpkins, with a little of the borders.

Side view

 In the squares we decided it would be best to do an all over pattern.  I chose a pattern that has feathers and swirls.  It really dresses up the quilt.

Love the colors and fabrics she chose.

 A feather border with a echoed wave finishes off this quilt perfectly.

 

Thank you for stopping by, check back soon for more quilts and ideas. 

~ leisha