Kris's Rhapsody Quilt

Kris's Rhapsody Quilt is finished and it is gorgeous!  Such bright happy colors!  It is a Ricky Tims Rhapsody pattern.

Kris has already discovered how awesome solid backs are -- look how beautiful:

So one of the perks of my Patreon subscribers is they get to watch me quilting on just about every part of the quilt.  On this one I share how I use the background fills to travel while doing the initial ditch work around the appliques, among other things.   If you're interested in subscribing, just click here and it will take you to my Patreon page.

I know you've been waiting for some detail pics - here are a few:

Kris's Cherry Roll Vine

Kris's Cherry Roll Vine is finished and it is awesome!  The pattern and fabrics are by Cherrywood Hand-Dyed Fabrics.  

I wanted it to be a little different than all the others I've seen so I opted for a stem-like shape in the leaves, which I then couched with copper YLI Candlelight and followed with a small meander to really make it pop.  Swirling fills in the background create lots of movement.

I'll have a video of the couching and background swirl fill on my patreon page sometime tomorrow (it's down for maintenance right now). 

Here are a few detail pics:

And, of course, the back (Kris made sure to use a solid fabric so the quilting really showed):

BUILD-A-STITCH 3

Build-A-Stitch 3 is finally finished and available for PRE-ORDER.  Copies are expected in my hands by mid-March and then the signing begins -- all pre-orders will be signed!  They'll begin shipping immediately after - or until I have to leave for the East Coast Gammill-Statler Conference, then any remaining will be shipped as soon as I get back.

And yes, I must say, this is the best Build-A-Stitch yet -- it is pretty awesome -- 85 pages full of inspiration and ideas on how to use the stitches in Build-A-Stitch 1 and Build-A-Stitch 2.  I haven't been able to look up from my computer for almost two weeks -- I wanted this book finished so I could share it with all of you!  And yes, the two cover images are included in their appropriate sections.

Get your copy - available on the website store: http://www.creativelongarmquilting.com/store.html

Kris - Mesmerize Quilt

I love this quilt... I am such a neutral lover lately.  All these greys and beiges just make me happy!

Okay enough of that, on to the details -- Kris pieced this lovely quilt.  The pattern is called Mesmerize and it is by Piece N Quilt.  I filled up all the light areas with background fills and used the dark areas to showcase a bunch of feathers (most of which will be in the new book I'm working on).  If you subscribe to my Patreon account, you'll be able to see me stitch a few of them!

And now, the beauty:

For more photos as well as videos of the quilting on this beauty, you can subscribe to my Patreon.  Please remember that Patreon is a subscription service, there is a small monthly subscription fee -- I have two tier levels, one for just photos the other for the videos.  It is a peek into my quilty world.  Go ahead and check it out - patreon.com/quiltyk

Kris - Fanciful Flight

Another beauty by Kris, Fanciful Flight (pattern by Jacqueline de Jonge)

And a peek at the back:

For more photos as well as videos of the quilting on this beauty, you can subscribe to my Patreon.  Please remember that Patreon is a subscription service, there is a small monthly subscription fee -- I have two tier levels, one for just photos the other for the videos.  It is a peek into my quilty world.  Go ahead and check it out - patreon.com/quiltyk

Kris - Panels

So Kris pieced these panels for her sewing room.  She made them specifically to cover her art/project bins and create a beautiful wall instead of looking at all those multi-colored (half-finished) project boxes.  What a brilliant idea!

Here's the finished panels - 4 of them, all totally different:

This is my kind of quilting!  Nothing is the same, a delight for an attention-issue person like me!

There is a slideshow as well as videos of the quilting process on my Patreon account.  Please remember that Patreon is a subscription service, there is a small monthly subscription fee -- I have two tier levels.  It is a peek into my quilty world.  Go ahead and check it out - patreon.com/quiltyk

Raffle Quilt for the Friendship Knot Quilt Guild

Karla came and picked up this beauty and she was thrilled!

This is the 2019 Raffle Quilt for the Friendship Knot Quilters Guild of Sarasota.  Yes, that's right, you have an entire year to purchase tickets.  For ticket info, please contact Karla - her email is paulandkarla@aol.com

There is a 20-minute video on my Patreon account sharing my quilting process on this quilt, including nesting backing fill tips, border fill, the two different paths for continuous ditch/stitch of the quilt body, as well as the pieced triangle path.  Please remember that Patreon is a subscription service, there is a monthly subscription fee (I have two tier levels) - it is so worth it with the amount of info I share.  It is a peek into my quilty world, I cover just about everything that's going on - tips, tricks, up close videos, even my mistakes and mess-ups (and how I fix them).  Go ahead and check it out - patreon.com/quiltyk

Here's a peek into the quilting of this beauty:

Nancy's Onion blooms

Being sick stinks, and I've had this cruddy cold for too many days now.  One of the perks of the Elevate is that it works for me.... ahhhh.  Well, kind of, I still need to check on it and make sure nothing is going crazy, as well as advance the quilt after each row, but let me tell you - this is the way to quilt when you're sick!

I did this beauty for Nancy - it's a modified Red Onion quilt pattern (Karla Alexander - Stack a New Deck).   Nancy added sashing and cornerstones.  I know this because we worked on our quilts together... and no, mine still isn't finished.  Mine is sitting nicely in a project box just waiting for all the blocks to be squared up and sewn into rows.  Yeah, not happening anytime soon.

So back to Nancy's quilt -- she wanted all over circles so I used AborigRE2E by Stitch Happy.

I think it turned out awesome.  Oh and on the E2E homefront, I've been designing a few of my own patterns... more about that a little later.

Marian's Jacobean Arbor quilt

Marian's Jacobean Arbor quilt is finished (pattern/designs by Pat Campbell)

To hear some tips and see me stitching on this beauty you can subscribe to my Patreon account - patreon.com/quiltyk

Here are a few detail pics:

I absolutely love how this turned out -- Marian chose some beautiful fabrics and that deep aubergine purple really sets off those colors!

Weekly finishes...

So I've been quilting up a storm with my Elevate by Gammill - its been a blast so far!

Here are vintage twin quilts for my client Dot - she's thinking they are at least 50-60 years old.  Now they'll be like new on her guest room beds.

Did you know that having a computerized system is kinda like an employee?  You get so much more done!  I've also managed to finish up two of my older pieces.

This charm quilt is old, I'm thinking from around 2004, back when I worked at the quilt shop.  I really love this quilt - it is one piece of every fabric that came into the shop that year.  I remember many of them!  Now, all it needs is some binding.

And I finally finished this cute Halloween table topper - a simple rail fence created (years ago) from a jelly roll.

Lots more to come on the edge-to-edge side of my world...

Maureen's Infinity Quilt

I just finished Maureen's Infinity quilt (pattern by Jacqueline de Jonge/Be Colourful)and it is gorgeous!  Yes, I went a little over budget on the background fills around some of the stars, but it is okay - the effect was worth it.

And a few close-ups:

I definitely had a lot of fun with this one!

East Coast Gammill Statler Conference

This is absolutely one of my favorite events of the year. And I'm even more excited for 2018 as the venue has changed to Williamsburg, VA - click HERE for all the details.   Join me and many other super talented teachers!  I wouldn't wait too long to sign up - there are only a limited number of spots available - once it's full you'll have to wait until next time!

Here are the classes I'll be teaching:

A few brand new classes - watch in coming weeks as I share pictures of the samples!  And yes, that's right, Build-A-Stitch 3 will be ready (the book too) - where I'll share many other ways to utilize those stitches you've been learning!

Say what...

Yesterday I shared a post about Gammill's newest option in their product line-up - the Elevate.  If you were at Market or Festival you have already heard all about it, and maybe you even took it for a test drive.  Well, as you can see from the ad above, I've been using this amazing computerized option.  I've mainly used it for my own stuff as I had to get used to it and adjust to doing some computerized stuff.  Yes, I know I would have been the last person to think I'd ever be using a computerized quilting option.  After all these years of doing custom and heirloom work I'm now able to offer really affordable edge-to-edge options.  Yes, I've always done edge-to-edge, but now... BOOM - I can let the machine do it for me -- if it saves me time, it saves you money!

Here's the special part - introductory pricing, but only for a limited time!  

The introductory pricing of .015 per square inch will be for computerized edge-to-edge quilting (minimum $50).  Quilts must be delivered/dropped off by January 15, 2018.  Additional fees for batting, binding, and general services will still apply.

But wait... there's more!  If you drop/send a custom piece at the same time, your computerized edge-to-edge piece will drop to .010 per square inch (minimum $50)!  Additional fees for batting, binding, and general services will still apply.

When you call/email just mention the Elevate introductory offer - and do it before the offer expires! karen@creativelongarmquilting.com

Block Breakdown #4 - Economy Patch

Here is Block Breakdown # 4 - Economy Patch



Every month on the Gammill YouTube channel I'll be sharing a different block showing several quilting variations. I'll make sure to share the link here as well. You can always click on the Block Breakdown links (located in the sidebar) to check if you've missed any.

Kate's Christmas goodies

So, it was the week before Festival and I was trying to get client work finished.

I managed to stitch up these four beauties for Kate:

First this super cute table topper:

Then these adorable twin log cabin toppers:

And then this little tree skirt:

This last one was kind of a little secret.  I'm sure by now you've heard/read all about Gammill's newest product, the Elevate, a mid-range computerized system.  Well, I've been using the Elevate and I'm super excited to finally be able to share something.  On this little beauty I used both computerized and hand-guided - can you tell? 

So, more about the Elevate - now that I'm able to share!
OMG... who would ever have thought that I would be using a computerized system?!!  Right, even I shocked myself!  The Elevate is a mid-range product - it does blocks and rows.  So for me, it is more of an employee... it will do edge-to-edge quilts for me while I'm busy working on other things... I can actually multi-task even more now!

So what this means for my clients... oooh, there will be another blog post sometime tomorrow with a super special.