Scrappy Star for Carrie, Swiss Cross for Nancy + a Label for Maria Elizabeth

Happy Monday, quilting friends!  I have two client quilts to share with you today, plus glimpses of my so-closed-to-being-finished Halo quilt, and an update on Mister Puppy Pants' recovery from ACL surgery.  Lots of ground to cover, so I'll try (and likely fail) to be brief...

Carrie's Scrappy Star Baby Quilt

This first quilt I'm sharing with you was made by my client Carrie.  There is no pattern for this one; Carrie just made it up as she went along.  Don't you just love how her star is mostly made up of squares, but with a couple pinwheel blocks and a half square triangle thrown in here or there for interest?  I think the pinwheels make it look like her star is twinkling!

Carrie's 42 x 42 Baby Quilt, No Pattern Available

We chose Judi Madsen's Flower Swirl E2E design to give this baby quilt a fun, playful vibe, and the batting is Quilter's Dream Bamboo blend for a super soft, snuggly baby quilt without too much bulk (this post contains affiliate links).  Here's a photo of Carrie's sweet baby quilt before I quilted it for her:

Carrie's Baby Quilt Before Quilting

Since we wanted to really notice the whimsical quilting design against the background fabrics, I used YLI 40 Tex Variegated Machine Quilting Cotton in color Paris Boutique.  

This mix of pinks, peaches and corals is inconspicuous against most of the print fabrics within the star, but moderately high contrast against the pale ivory and creamy "low volume" prints Carrie used for her background.

Flower Swirl E2E Detail, Thread is YLI 40 Tex Variegated Cotton in Paris Boutique

Nancy's Swiss Cross Quilt

Brand-new quilter alert!  This next quilt is my client Nancy's very first ever, made for her three-year-old grandson.  Didn't she do a great job?  At 68" x 88", this quilt is sized for his "big boy bed."  Nancy used the Modern Swiss Cross pattern by Shelly Morgan of Coral & Co. to create a quilt that her grandson will love using today -- and, because it's not too juvenile, he will still love it as he grows into a bigger big boy with different tastes and interests from what he's into today.  This pattern is available as a digital PDF download from the pattern designer on Etsy here.

Nancy's 68 x 88 Swiss Cross Quilt, Pattern by Shelly Morgan

Nancy chose the Flirty Bubbles quilting design so the quilting would tie in with the theme introduced by her stars and moons print backing fabric, and I sized the design so that the moons printed on the backing fabric are approximately 2/3 the size of the quilted moons for pleasing proportions.  I love the way the quilting design adds a playful element to the front of the quilt as well, perfect for the three-year-old for whom the quilt is intended.

Flirty Bubbles E2E Detail, Thread is Glide 40 wt in White

I used Glide 40 wt trilobal polyester embroidery thread in White for Nancy's quilt and the batting is Quilter's Dream Cotton, Select loft.  I forgot to get a photo of this quilt top before I quilted it!

Thank you for choosing me to quilt for you, Carrie and Nancy!

👀 PSST!!  I'd Love to Quilt for YOU!

By the way, if you or any of your quilty friends has a quilt top or two that needs quilting, I'd be delighted to quilt for you!  I am currently scheduling quilts for completion in mid September of 2023.  Click here to learn how easy it is to book a quilt with me!

My Halo Quilt Nearing the Finish Line!

Finally, here's a sneak peek of the Halo quilt (acrylic template set and Jenny From One Block pattern book by Jen Kingwell, both available here) that I've been working on for my mother-in-law.  It's quilted, trimmed, and the binding has been machine stitched to the front of the quilt.  It will take me another 4-5 days to finish hand stitching the binding to the back of the quilt and I'll show you the whole thing when it's finally COMPLETELY finished, I pinky-promise!

Machine Stitching the Binding to the Front of My Halo Quilt on my Bernina 790CE

I machine embroidered my quilt label using Terial Magic (liquid starch on steroids) without any other stabilizer -- it's amazing!  Since the Glide trilobal polyester thread I often use for long arm quilting was originally developed as a machine embroidery thread, I am just as likely to use Glide for embroidering labels as I am to use Isacord.  This time I chose Glide thread in color Blossom for my label.

Machine Embroidering My Quilt Label on my Bernina 700E

By the way, that outer stitched rectangle is a basting feature that I've engaged on my embroidery machine.  It's intended for basting your project fabric to a stabilizer for added security against slipping or puckering during stitch out, but I've stitched it through my single layer of stiffened fabric so I can use the basted line as a guide for trimming my label once it's done stitching.  I just lay the 1/4" line of my acrylic ruler right along the basted line for my seam allowance, remove the basting stitches, and then use the line of needle hole perforations as a fold line for turning under the seam allowance.

Puppy Patient's Recovery in Progress

Meanwhile, His Highness the Prince of Pooch seems to be getting on nicely from his ACL/CCL knee surgery.  I drew an arrow to the incision on his left knee; it's healing so nicely you can barely see it in the photo.  We have his 2-week post op appointment tomorrow afternoon and are expecting to get permission to ditch the giant cone of destruction, which is good news for the coffee cups, wine glasses and laptop computers that have been knocked off coffee tables in the living room by the giant bulldozer attached to my dog's head.  

Samwise Sleeping Peacefully in the Giant Cow Cone of Destruction

He still hasn't made it upstairs to the second floor, though, and he is on constant sedation to prevent the zoomies.  His bone won't be fully healed around the metal hardware holding his knee together for another 6 weeks and until then there is NO running, NO jumping, and NO playing allowed.  😟. Don't feel too badly for him, though.  He gets his pills fed to him with a handful of wadded-up American cheese, and he is loving his cuddle time, rehab massages and short walks throughout the day.

I'm linking up today's post with my favorite linky parties, listed below.  Have a great week and Happy Quilting, everyone!

FRIDAY

Peacock Party at Wendy’s Quilts and More

Can I Get a Whoop Whoop? at Confessions of a Fabric Addict

Finished or Not Friday at Alycia Quilts

Off the Wall Friday at Nina Marie Sayre

Beauty Pageant at From Bolt to Beauty

 TGIFF Thank Goodness It’s Finished Friday, rotates, schedule found here: TGIF Friday

SUNDAY

Frédérique at Quilting Patchwork Appliqué

Oh Scrap! at Quilting Is More Fun Than Housework

MONDAY

Design Wall Monday at Small Quilts and Doll Quilts  

WEDNESDAY

Midweek Makers at Quilt Fabrication

Wednesday Wait Loss at The Inquiring Quilter

THURSDAY

Needle and Thread Thursday at My Quilt Infatuation