Anatomy of a Pebble

This is one of the hardest things I've done with a longarm....pebbling.

Well, actually, all backtracking is hard, especially without a stitch regulator. You see, a pebble is made up of a circle-and-a-half. You must stitch a circle, then stitch along part of that stitched circle to make it to the place you begin the next pebble. With a stitch regulator, you can slow down when backtracking the original line. Without one, you are doomed to stitch it all at the same speed.

A pebble is a circle, small or large, round or oblong. In this photo, the quilter has laid a penny on the surface to show you how small the circles are...6 to 8 circles in the space of a penny! Well, it does create awesome texture, but, really, is that necessary?!! (Quilted on a Domestic Sewing Machine by Julie Baird.)

You should never see a line traveling between the pebbles. The connections between them should be invisible, right at that point where each pebble touches another. Clear as mud, right?

This Labyrinth Walk quilt just screams for pebbling, mainly because of the maker's use of the Stonehenge fabric line. However, at a recent quilt show I saw this very quilt pattern, and it was quilted with what I would call River Rock-sized pebbles. And, if you study rocks, you will see that most of them are not exactly circles. Ovals, oblongs, kidney shapes, and something like a round-cornered triangle. I knew this is what I wanted to try on this quilt. And, I love it!

Now, most of the time, that backtracked line hits right on top of the original line, and all is well. But, it does not take but a hairs-width of a miss to really stand out and say “Hah, hah, hah! You missed it!” But, you must remind yourself that when someone looks at the quilt, they are seeing the whole of the texture that the pebbling creates, and not that one missed line.

So, have I discovered the secret to perfect pebbles? No, but I know I have to go at it very slowly. Barely over the speed that I use to baste or do ruler work. And, I have to remember to breathe! Oh, and if you have the choice, I don't recommend pebbling large swathes of space. You will be at it way too long!

And, while striving for perfect pebbles is a noble goal, remember that only you will see the imperfections so clearly.

Ring the bells that still can ring,

forget your perfect offering. 

There is a crack in everything; 

that's how the light gets in.

                                             Leonard Cohen

I Love my Dog Quilt

I've just got to show you this quilt because it is so darn cute! It was made by a friend of mine to donate to the local pet shelter as a raffle quilt.

Look at those doggies, they look like they've been made out of patchwork.

And, of course, I had to place quilted doggie paw prints along the border. Fun, huh?

The leftover blocks found their way to the back, and although I did not try to place them in the same spot as the ones on the front (you'd be crazy even to try!), they are amazingly close. The quilting almost fits. this picture was taken while the quilt was still on the frame, using the mirror on the table.

I'm so pleased that quilters are such giving people that they make quilts to benefit others, including the quadrupeds among us.

Do something today that your future self

will thank you for.

Modern Quilt Texture

Okay, so my customers are dragging me, kicking and screaming, into the Modern Quilt world. What is a Modern Quilt? A little google search tells me ---

Modern quilts embrace functionality, simplicity,

minimalism and asymmetric designs. They usually

include bold colors and expansive negative space.

And, they are quilted in a new way, too. Straight or undulating lines, waves, pebbles (oh, the damn pebble!) are used instead of Victorian feathers or novelty motifs. No teddy bear or rose petal pantos here!

This first quilt utilizes a beautiful gradated red fabric to create a bargello look. I had this one on the design wall for ages before I decided to quilt it sideways with a wavy pattern, each line just touching the line above. I used a light copper thread instead of going with red. It works well on the light and the dark areas.

Just after I finished it, I took out the trash and my eye was drawn to the metal pattern in my screen door. Hey, isn't that what I just quilted?!!!

This second quilt is a wavy rainbow pattern with a whole lot of white space. I wanted to enhance the subtle wavy line from the rainbow.

Here, I channeled Angela Walters, one of the driving forces today in the world of modern quilting. I used her signature filled waves. Then I filled the color band with a ribbon candy design she uses quite often.

Lots and lots of texture in both of these quilts now, and a lot of movement also. I think I'm liking this new wave of modern quilting. But, I love my Victorian feathers, too!

Raffle Quilt

I had the honor of quilting my Guild's annual raffle quilt, and I can't wait to show you pictures!

We live where deer and elk are seen daily in and around our yards, and quilts with a similar theme work very well for us each year.

From the proceeds of raffle ticket sales, we are able to give funds at the end of the year to a good many non-profit organizations in our area. We benefit the reading program at our local elementary school, a scholarship fund, food bank, humane society, public library and others. We were very proud last year to purchase pet respirators for use by our firefighters.

You can see a picture of the whole quilt on our website strawberrypatchers.com and see how you can purchase your raffle tickets for this beautiful quilt. Winner will be drawn and notified on December 3. 2015.

Solid Backing Fabrics

I used to be so afraid of them! Every teeny, tiny mistake would not only show, but almost be highlighted (Hey, look at me!). The busier the better was once my mantra concerning backing fabric. But, you have to work with what you are given, when quilting customer pieces.

Here are a couple of views of the front.

My customer sewed two strips of back fabric to the sides of a solid yellow to create her back. (Yes, it is a bright yellow, although for some reason, on one of the shots it looks like a cream color. Lighting is everything.) While she was in my studio, we decided on a silvery thread color, as there is a lot of silver and gray in the fabric collection.

I am so pleased with how this looks on the back! The silver thread is perfect! 

Creating and maintaining perfect stitch tension is crucial with solid fabrics, and I must give a shout out to Fil-Tec, the makers of Glide thread. Once you create the right tension, this thread will maintain it throughout the piece. Great customer service, too!

A note about the designs...So it would not look too scrappy, I made sure I used each quadrant design at least twice. And, of course the line work on the backgrounds helped maintain continuity, too.

Worrying does not take away tomorrow's troubles.

It takes away today's peace.