Thursday, May 11, 2017

Retreat finishes-OMG-stipple tutorial

On Tuesday a blogger friend from an hour north of me came to visit and stay with me for a few days so we could immerse ourselves in quilting and chatter.  We both were successful with that, especially the chatter part,  LOL.   Oh you are wondering who that blogger friend is are you, hehe.   It's Wendy who blogs at Pieceful Thoughts.  She is now safely tucked away at her own home now, but it was a blast, and hope she will want to do it again some day!

When I met Wendy for the first time a couple months ago she gave me this pack of Alice in Wonderland fabric. So I  added the pastel solid pink, and the blue in the 9 patches and whipped up this baby quilt with it, got it quilted and then I bound it while she was here. I plan to donate this to our local neonatal unit.  


I tried out a swirl design that has a rounded corner in the center rather that sharp points. It was fun to try something different.   I had just enough Alice fabric to do a scrappy binding to complete it.


I felt like a binding maniac for a couple of the days Wendy was here, I had lots of runners and 3 quilts to bind. I got lots of them done, but there are still a few more for another day or maybe week, I am rather sick of binding right now.  I did piece a round wedge topper to change it up a bit!

 This quilt is getting sent to a friend in Ohio to give to a kids' camp called Flying Horse Farms, a place for kids to go and forget they are sick for a while.  My friend in Ohio did something nice for me and I am paying it back by donating this to a camp she is passionate about.

The design is from a Missiouri Star tutorial for disappearing pinwheel in a churndash.   I chose to do a simple allover stipple in a variegated green,blue and dash of yellow Signature thread.  This quilt is also my May One Monthly Goal(OMG) quilt which I made all with scraps.  So I will be linking up at Elm Street Quilts at the end of the month. 


After posting my little tutorial for Squiggle and Wiggle quilting design, Bonnie asked for a drawing of how I stipple.  White board to the rescue again:)   I try to use a dog bone shape when I stipple, however, sometimes I like to vary it up a bit.  Some people say they tend to start off with one size stipple and end up with a different  size.  If you purposely do a variety of sizes it tends to blend in better when done.  Each loop of the dog bone does not need to be the same size and shape as you will see in my drawing.  Hope this helps Bonnie!

I have to say that I was a horrible quilter using my sewing machine, I had just learned to stipple a teensy tinsy bit(like 2 table toppers worth) and didn't enjoy it one bit. I never liked sit down quilting.  Then I bought my first frame set up and wow, that was what I felt comfortable with.  And that is still true to this day, 13 years later!  Where has the time gone, it's crazy thinking I have been doing frame quilting that long.  Each and every one of us enjoys doing things differently and that is okay in my book, do what works for you!

Stay tuned for the next week or so to see other retreat finishes.

Linking with the linky parties in the latter part of the week- you will find them listed on my left side bar.  


17 comments:

  1. Such cute quilts. I wish we lived closer so we could quilt together. (This is Jasmine. Don't know why it says unknown today.)

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  2. It was so fun to see you finish these quilts, Vicki! I'm still writing my post, waiting til morning for the pictures . . .

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  3. Great finishes! I just had my first longarm quilting session on Wednesday and loved it. A place near me rents machines by the hour, so I took the class to learn how to use them. I see more of this in my future!

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  4. Vicki, I would totally have a little sewing retreat with you if we lived closer! Love the little baby quilt. It looks very snuggly and of course I'm kind of partial to the fabric you used :) And congrats on the early OMG finish! You have days and days and days to spare. I've always had a love/hate relationship with stippling, leaning more toward love at the moment.

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  5. I learned to stipple with the dog bones too and it is my go to quilting style. I think it just comes with practice. I have trouble making my stippling bigger when I don't want so much quilting. I have to really think about it as I am quilting since the muscle memory is to do my regular size. Great job on all the work you finished while you were talking!

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  6. I love that little baby quilt! It's a fun design with the little nine-patch in there every now and then. You are such a generous quilter!

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  7. I knew you were having fun...I thought of you two, sewing away! You were also VERY productive. I'm not surprised. LOL
    Cute quilts & I appreciated the "dog bone" visual..that really helps. Years ago, someone told me to think "Micky Mouse Ears". I like your visual better!

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  8. It's always interesting to me to see how others machine quilt any design. Thanks for sharing your way! How fun having a 'special' guest to visit. I'm sure you both had a fantastic time!

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  9. Vicki,
    I really appreciate reading about your quilting, and love the quilts you shared! It's funny - my favorite part of the whole process is the binding. I love watching the finished product take shape, and find it so relaxing. ~smile~
    Roseanne

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  10. Wow - what an idea - I can totally visualize Mickey Mouse ears as a quilting pattern! Your quilts are (as always) lovely to look at.

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  11. Hm, I'll have to try thinking "dog bone" when I stipple, and see where that takes me. I usually think about outlining large capital Es, with three lobes, and then change directions for a bit.

    How fun that you got to meet Wendy in real life and have a sew (and chat) day!

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  12. Oh, yes your drawing does help. I don't do much stippling with the computerized machine but every once and a while I want to control the beast, I mean the machine. Your finished quilt is great. Isn't it wonderful to finish OMG early and then just enjoy yourself the rest of the week? Cute little baby quilt too. On to the JUNE OMG!

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  13. Lovely quilt. Thanks for linking up with Elm Street Quilts One Monthly Goal and congrats on your finish.

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  14. So interesting what we see or think about when we stipple; I see a mitten sometimes, at others a ghost (head and two arms) and I just LOVE stippling or meandering. Just said in a recent post, it's like watching goldfish for me. Love the colours in your churn dash quilt, and love that you got together with a QBL friend--it's just the best isn't ti?

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  15. You have quite a beauty here! I found you at the OMG linky party. I look forward to perusing your blog more fully over the next couple of days! 😊

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  16. Two gorgeous quilts. I esp. love that Disappearing Pinwheel. The stippling tutorial is very useful. It is my "go-to" quilting design :)

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