Newest additions and latest off the frame.

 The first of 2 for Sadie!  (number 2 is loaded and ready to go)

I seriously love this pattern and need to find out the name.  I love the colors Sadie chose.  The wheat colored sashing and gray inserts soften the black and cream and add interest.   Love it! 

It's on my to do list fore sure!

I'm still a little surprised at how much I am loving these little ole chickens of mine.  They warm my heart =)  This past weekend I attended the Oregon Poultry Swap in Corvallis.   I prearranged to pick up 2 hens but came home with 3.  Chicken math got me again!

I decided to go with hens instead of chicks and not deal with heat lamps this Winter.  That and instant eggs, lol.

3 new breeds to enjoy =)   The top 2 are a barnevelder and a cream legbar (another blue egg layer)  The bottom hen is a marans.  She's a loner with a mean streak, lol.  She has spent her first 3 nights in time out (AKA the large dog kennel)  They do fine free-ranging during the day but that little temporary quarantine run at night is too close quarters for her.  I have a feeling quarantine wont last the full 2 weeks.

Portland Airport here he comes, lol

I just found out "Bob" will be hanging in the Portland Airport.  What an honor.

Because of a "reveal date" we were not to speak about our Portland Bridge quilt challenge projects.  Now that the show is over I can finally post some pictures and woes...er ...stories of the process.

First I must say having Bob chosen out of the many gorgeous quilts in the exhibit was humbling, to say the least.  WOW!  There were some seriously gorgeous quilts!

However I must confess this feeling of gratitude came after an initial feeling of panic.  You see Bob did not turn out even close to the vision I had in my head.  I ran out of fabric and had to trim him back (losing his much needed ears in the process)   The first border turned him into an Aztec Warrior in a headdress. Lets just say it didn't read Portland bridge worker at all!  I was embarrassed to hang him at the Portland EXPO exhibit, but wanted to get past my fear of entering things.  At the show I couldn't even walk up to him, I was too nauseous from nerves, lol.  I just couldn't let go of the "Dream" in my head that he didn't end up being.  I'm learning to let go and accept him as a fabulous learning experience.  And the fact that I am not an artist and my friends husbands camera identified him as a human face is not bad!  Hahahaha, I'm working on liking Bob the floating head ....and don't even get me started on his quilting nightmare, lol.

.....Story of the process to be continued.  

I have a customer quilt on the frame calling to me =)

Off the design wall!

I can't believe I finally finished piecing an Urban Chicken quilt!  Only a year in the making, lol.

What started out as 3 lap quilts ended up one twin.  I started with a pink & orange quilt and a blue & green quilt.  (along with a bunch of random colored blocks for a crazy quilt) But once I saw them on the wall together I had a whole new vision.  I still have about 35 blocks left over, so I see at least one more Urban Chicken in my future.

But before I start it I need to finish this cutie!

As you may well know I am sightly....just slightly obsessed with all things Halloween.  Which does not go well with little grand kids who want nothing to do with creepy scary things. When I heard my granddaughter refused to get out of the car at "scary granny's house" I knew I had to change my decor because I certainly was not going to change her mind into thinking it was fun!  lol

I went on the hunt to find something fun not creepy.   I think this fits the bill!  It is a total copy of an 11 year old boys art work I found on Pinterest.  I immediately knew this was I was looking for and sent a message to get permission to use it from his mom.  She was kind enough to say yes!

Check out my knew potato masher!  Hint, it;s not really going to be used for potatoes.  Any guesses??

Another for Sharon

I had to laugh at Sharon's response when she saw it.   "I love what you quilted on it.  But now what am I going to do with this".  I love it when a project just evolves without a purpose in mind, lol.

Here's one without the flash so you can see the details.  

 

Boy the flash kills the colors!

Sometimes less is more, and sometimes more is more, lol.   I really liked the idea of leaving a large space between the channeling.  However after unloading and photographing I decided to reload and add a green channel down the center.

I love it!

A few close ups

And last up, the backing!!

LOVE this fabric!

And of course one without the flash so you can see the gorgeous colors.

Can't wait to see what you do with it Sharon.

Betsy does it again

Anyone who knows me knows I love color!   So you can imagine how happy I get when a colorful quilt shows up to be quilted.  It puts me in an instant happy energetic mood. 

Betsy's quilts do not disappoint!

Let me tell you, this was one fun quilt to work on!

Just put on a good audio book and quilt away.

I couldn't help myself, I had to do one rogue block!   Believe it or not there is a pattern to my madness on this quilt.  But I just couldn't quilt the expected on this square.  It visually stood out to me as the focal point on this top. So I chose to break the pattern and I'm glad I did.  I love that it has it's own look and plays differently on the converging corners making it stand out even more.

 

It's funny, in pictures the purple square stands out more but in person the polka dots really pop.  I started second guessing my use of the word Rogue so I looked it up.   

Rogue - a dishonest or worthless person : scoundrel or mischievous person 

Well.....at least one description fits.  I'll take mischievous!! 

 

Having fun on the corners.

  Random waving and straight line work on the borders.

 Another Fun bright and colorful quilt coming up soon!

And this one I get to keep =)

Longarm thread breakage

Even after 15 years of longarming I tend to forget the most basic fixes when hit with quilting issues like thread breakage.  Hmmm, maybe because problems always hit you when you have a deadline and stress takes over common sense.  And maybe it's because after so many years quilting on my longarm I've learned it's thread preferences and how it likes it's tension set.  It's been so many years since I've had thread breaking on me I've simply forgotten what to do.  Yikes! 

Today my issue was with the thread.  (Of course I discovered this after hours of trying everything else...rolling eyes) The thread was catching when coming off the sharp edge on the bottom of the cone.  I forgot to take a before picture, but this cone is a good example of a sharp edge. The bottom needs to be rounded so it slips over the edge Smoothly.  I call this softening the cone.

 Note the gentle curve on the bottom of the cone?   It's not a huge difference, I don't want it too smooshy. 

 

Lay the cone on it's edge and gently roll it back and forth

and you get a nice smooth edge!

 

Why a picture of a bowl of ice?  Because I didn't want to clean out my freezer for a picture, lol.   Did you know freezing dry thread may revive it?  Thread can dry out from age or plain ole dry air.  Running a humidifier in your sewing room can really help.  But in a pinch tossing it in the freezer in an open sandwich bag over night can help restore lost moisture. 

A few things to ask yourself before messing with your machines tension.  

What has changed sense the last quilt (which quilted fine)
Did I drop the bobbin case (tweaking it)
Different brand of thread?
Dry or old thread?
Did I re-thread it correctly? Did something pop out of line? (always re-thread it first!  More than likely something is amiss in the threading)
Is there a fabric issue or combination of fabric issues? (Sheet, batik, tone on tone, metallic, etc.)
Is the sandwich too tight? (loosen one or two clicks)
Lint build up?  (Clean under the plate and any thread paths that may have lint build up).
Bad needle? (Too thin of a needle can cause deflection.  Or you may need to turn your needle slightly)
Bur on the hook?  (try using an emery cord to smooth it)

I'm sure there are many more I'm not thinking of. (Please feel free to add them in the comments)

Dark dyes on fabric or threads can cause breakage as well...but that's a whole other story, lol.

October is getting closer, I really need to figure out what I'm going to do with this guy =)

Kelby's Bronco quilt

 Kelby's Bronco quilt!

A while back I posted a baby quilt I made for my sister in law Julie who was expecting her first baby.  My in-laws are HUGE Seahawk fans.

Julie's husband Kelby is not, lol.  Kelby is a HUGE Bronco fan!  

And so quilt number two began

 I did straight line quilting in blue and orange thread.

I love these colors together.  Even my Seahawk loving husband loves this quilt.

Nolan Daniel Stout was born 7-31-14.  What a cutie!!   He has loads of dark hair. 

The look of surprise on his daddy's face at seeing his quilt made all the late nights sewing worth it.

I'm  LOVING the orange binding.   It was just the final touch of orange needed to make the quilt scream Broncos!!!