Esther's Excellent Medallion

Hello and 'happy nearly mid week' time. We have had some crazy weather here in the winterless north. Hail the other night that turned our deck into a white winter wonderland! I was so excited!
Several times I have had to turn off and unplug my machine because of the thunderstorms, too scary for me to keep working my machine and possibly too risky.
Now I have an excellent quilt to share tonight, Esther's Medallion. Here's the photo I took when I took it out of the courier bag and lay it out.

Measuring 76" x 81" Esther wanted custom quilting and polyester batting. I emailed a few ideas through to Esther and we came up with a rough plan, she was happy for me to take over with what was going to look best for the quilt.

I quilted the swag border first then let the rest develop from there. Glide thread, Pro echo curve ruler, swag ruler, straight ruler were my guides the rest was free motion hand guided quilting.

When I created the diamonds on the inner border I was left with this strange shape that had me scratching my head for awhile wondering what to do with it?

But then I came up with just the right design.....................

Checkout the fabulous backing fabric...........................

I hope you enjoyed looking at Esther's lovely quilt. Here is a short 'swooping' video.

Thank you Esther and thanks to those you take the time to stop by.............
                                                Happy creative week!

"Chopsticks"......................................

Hello and welcome on this winter Wednesday. The wind is howling throwing fallen leaves into mini tornado's! Enough of the weather, time to share Chopstick's a Jaybird Quilts design.
Kerryn, owner of The Country Yard asked me to custom quilt her sample, yippie this quilt is super nice! Here is the 'before-quilting' photo......................

Kerryn supplied the cotton/poly batting. The quilt measures 62" x 83" and is made using Moda fabric by Sweetwater called "Sunday Supper".

Using Glide thread in the colours 'Linen' and 'Ocean' I set to work play!! Using a straight edge ruler and one of my ProEcho rulers and free hand quilting.

Kerryn requested the "Full Quiltmekiwi Binding Service", which is to attach pre-made binding (or I can make it) to the back and bring forward to the front of the quilt top stitching in place, or attach the binding to the front the quilt and hand stitch the binding to the back of the quilt. In this case Kerryn wanted the binding completely attached by machine.

The whole quilt, quilted and binding attached ready to hang in the shop along with fabrics, patterns and kits.

                 Last week I celebrated another birthday and I was treated to some lovely presents!

Thank you my friends and loved ones. Last weekends tramping was a treat also, after a short drive to Sandy Bay we had a lovely walk through farm land, forest, beaches and Whananaki where we stopped at the local country school to share in a Mid winter Christmas lunch.

           Every single time I am out exploring I feel so lucky to be apart of all the beauty.

The last couple of weeks has been very slow progress on my Running Zebra quilt, but I do have a neck and mane!

Linking up with the lovely Linda and Julie for "Sew-Stitch-Snap-Share". Thanks ladies, you are keeping me somewhat motivated!

Thank you for stopping by, happy creating and take time to enjoy the paradise you live in!

Custom quilting for Lesley

Hello June! Winter is finally arriving to the 'winterless' north of Northland! A chilly start this morning but a lovely sunny day. I know some of my overseas followers are starting summer.
Today I can share with you the quilt Lesley has made for her sister.
Lesley asked for custom quilting, cotton batting and a nice mustard backing fabric. Included were two cushion tops to be quilted the same as the quilt to make a nice set. This system works well as I just loaded the cushion tops on to the same batting and backing, saving time and money.

Here you can see I chose the wrong time of the day for outdoor photo's! This is my best spot for getting the whole quilt in the frame of the photo.

I enjoyed working out a design for these large nine patch blocks. using my Proecho (Lisa Calle) curved rulers I divided up the area and added some curved cross-hatching.

Swirl/feather design for the red sashing and a loose flowing feather for the border. I have used Glide threads. The mustard sashings were quilted with a simple diamond design, I will admit I would have loved to fill in each side with a heavy filler to make more of a 'diamond', sometimes I just have to pull the handbrake on!

When I gave Lesley some options for the stitchery blocks she chose cross-hatching over the stitchery but not over the applique. I decided straight line cross-hatching would look pleasing to the eye rather diagonal cross-hatching that I often quilt. Do you see Lesley has coloured in some of her stitchery?

Lesley came up with the design of this quilt, clever women! I'm sure Vi - Lesley's sister will be over the moon at such a lovely and thoughtful gift.

There are the two cushions, ready to be trimmed and made into cushions ready to adorn Vi's bed!
I received this email from Lesley which was very humbling to me: Thank you!

Hi Leeanne,

I received my quilt early this morning and I just cried when I saw it. It is so beautiful, love all what you have done. The backing is stunning. I am sure Vi is going to love it. I am going to Perth in October so will take it with me.

thank you so much. Until next time

Cheers Lesley

Over the last month or so I have been working on a new exciting project for myself . In the evenings and weekends when the mood strikes it's nice to have something to potter with in my sewing nook. Last year when I quilted Juliet's Running Zebra quilt (see here) it was love at first sight for me! I promptly purchased Juliet's pattern. Cute to read in the pattern Juliet gives credit to her quilter.......me!

I then set about trying to source the same fabrics Juliet had used..........not so easy! Here in New Zealand we are months behind the eight ball and so often don't even get half of the yummy fabrics on offer from the American designers. I did manage to get one small bundle of fat quarters but that was not going to be enough, so I 'bit the bullet' and purchased from America, I do like to support local, but I had my heart set on this fabric........and when it arrived I wasn't disappointed.

Please don't sit at your computer waiting to see the finished quilt............it may take awhile!
Linking up with Linda and Julie for 'Sew-Stitch-Snap-Share" Thanks creative ladies!
A little more self indulgence sharing, my over night tramping trip on the weekend to Cape Brett..............here a few photo's. Have I said I live in paradise?

Thank you for taking the time to stop by and thank you to those who leave lovely comments!

More secret quilts revealed......................

Hi there quilt lovers today I have two more of the 'secret' quilts to reveal. The Country Yard girls have been very busy making some beautiful quilts so their customers can rest their eyes on some very tempting quilt candy. The first one is 'Garden Maze' a Lynette Anderson design, made with Lynette's fabrics.

Measuring 58" x 70" custom quilted, poly/cotton batting, Glide thread and the binding attached completely by machine.

Lynette's sample had quilted hearts, but I had different ideas, Kerryn said go for it! Using a curved ruler (ProEcho) and some free hand looped feathers and swirls.

The swag border worked well to frame the quilt, some 'picket fence' quilting on the outer edge helped pop the swags.

Kerryn chose a grey Tula Pink wide backer for the backing.........................

Next is 'In the Spring' a design by Leonie Bateman a sweet table topper........................

           Measuring 38" square, poly/cotton batting, Kerryn asked for light custom quilting.

Sunday saw me out tramping again, this time Tanekaha Forest . A beautiful spot with some lovely views of Mangawhai beach.

We ended the day with a swim in the ocean and an icecream.........a perfect way to end the week!