Matilda's "Checkup"

Well, with all the quilting I've been doing lately, it certainly makes sense to have a maintenance check on "Matilda" (my longarm).  I actually did this back in June - and took photos at the time.  I was just looking at the photos and thought you might be curious about what the inside of a longarm looks like.

So here you go:

Here's the head opened up so you can see the workings.  It's really mostly a sewing machine, but of course has computerized components to control the stitching speed (the faster you move the head, the faster it sews).  I do have to laugh... somehow I imagined something a bit more, well, elaborate would be inside.

(As always, just doubleclick the picture above to see a larger image)

And here's a closeup of the bobbin mechanism.

Matilda passed inspection like a trooper.  There was a little bit of fluff and lint inside the case, but not as much as you might expect, given how much I've used the machine.

So she's all oiled up and ready for another year!

And "thank you" to Howard (of  Yarra Valley Quilt Yarn & Sew) for coming to perform the annual maintenance.

Quilts 71, 72, 73: Mystic Purple Garden - DONE!

A while back, when I was still working on Quilt 67, some friends got a look at it.  They just went wild for it, 3 of them wanting me to make more of these so they could each have one.  How could I say "no"?

I needed to adjust the design, however, as for at least 2 of them the quilt needed to be just a tad longer.  So I pulled out my quilt design software and made a copy of the original design:

Original Design - 51 x 62"

And "tweeked" it a bit.  In the design above, the center rectangle is the floral panel.  In addition to the 2 shades of purple (solid) which frame it, I included a complimentary print which echo's the colours and themes of the central panel.

In the newer (and larger) version (below), I've represented the panel as a grapy-purple (solid) so that you can see the borders I'm adding with the complimentary print:

58" x 69"

Naturally, when I went to buy more of the solid purples, the store I usually shop at didn't have any more of the exact same shade - but they did have a couple of purples which look just as terrific, so I was in business!

Here's a closeup of the center panel:

(Click on the picture above to see a larger image)

When I did quilt 67, I wasn't sure if I had enough of the coordinating print (shown on the edge of the panel above) to bind the quilt with it.  But I ordered lots more and so had enough to use it for these three quilts.

Here's how the binding (with the coordinating print) looks:

REALLY NICE!

I won't show all 3 of the quilts - as they look exactly alike - but here's one:

100% cotton batting, quilted on the longarm with "Blustery Breeze" groovy boards.
The backing is solid light purple homespun.

So I've made 4 of these so far.  You'd think I'd be tired of making them, but I'm not.  I ordered more of the fabric so that I've got enough to make a few more, and fully expect that someone else will want one.

Jen's quilt "Inverloch"

My friend Jen saw my "Squares of Sharon" quilt a while back and decided to give it a go.  I love her work - always interesting and beautiful. She agreed to let me share photos of it with you (thank you, Jen!).

This first one shows off the colours - really stunning.

49" x 64"

And this one shows her free-motion stitching.  She did this on her domestic sewing machine - boy am I even impressed!

 Jen named this quilt "Inverloch" because the colours remind her of the sea there, and because the friend she made it for has a holiday house at Inverloch. 

Quilt 70: Lecien Floral Collection - DONE!

Here's another "charm square" quickie quilt!

I have really been loving my simple charm-square quilts.  So quick, so easy and yet so lovely.

I made a baby quilt with the same fabrics back last year.  On that one I edged it with a green print.  For this one, I chose a pale peach flower print with solid pale green for the edges and backing.

And here it is - all done!

50" x 58" - 100% cotton batting - quilted on the longarm (free motion loop-d-loops)

This one goes to "Inspirational Quilts".