Earth Rails Quilt

I have to admit I love the way the quilt turned out! 

It's QUILTED with Leafy Swirl (freehand)

Is everybody feeling Autumn creeping in where they are? It's lovely here. The temps have been in the 70's & I'm soaking it up as often as I can. I so wish Smokey was enjoying our walks (perhaps you remember me mentioning my lab has a partially torn ACL??) Instead I've been doing more running with my 18 & 22 year old daughters, so I guess that's not a bad thing either.

Brown Sampler Quilt

QUILTED with Leafy Swirl (freehand)

School schedule is under way; a new quilting schedule is under way; and I'm reveling in the Autumnal weather! 

Tree of Life Quilt

Tree of Life Quilt Top; QUILTED Semi-Custom (freehand)

I love the symbolism held within this quilt & the beauty of it's lines. 

It's a complete honor to work on another person's artistic expression! To work on a gift that commemorates a union, a beloved father's passing, a new baby, or a graduation fills me with emotion. These are LIFE CHANGES & I'm helping savor that. Wow. 

I take time to absorb the colors the quilt maker chose, sometimes knowing it's their favorite colors or the recipient's favorite colors. Memory quilts are often filled with t-shirts that give a flavor of the deceased loves, their past times, & hobbies, the jeans they wore, or the brands they favored. 

Sometimes the quilts are just for fun, silly, quirky, but again, you catch a glimpse of the humor or loves of the maker and/or the recipient. The stories I hear, the tones I feel from the quilts are so very precious to me. 

I feel extremely blessed to do what I do. 

Leafy Swirl Quilt

Can anyone tell me the name of this quilt pattern? I've looked to no avail!

Anyway, the unidentified top is QUILTED with Leafy Swirl Meander (freehand)

Has summer hit your neck of the woods? It felt pretty summery out here in Lancaster PA,  today! Our lab has been in his glory jumping in the pool over & over to retrieve his toy. I'm still out there trying to make the pool area look presentable. The table/chairs are out, but they still need a good scrubbing, there's weeding to do, and installing the pool railings to attend to. 

Since it's supposed to rain tomorrow morning, I should get in some good quilting time, and then the younger daughter and I will be working on her homeschool portfolio. Before I can jump full-steam into summer, I still have the school year to wrap up with grading, report card, and the dreaded portfolio. Actually, I have the portfolio assembly down to a science after all these years, but it's time-consuming none-the-less. 

I'm still behind in posting quilt pictures, so keep checking back :-)

Braid in a Day ~ Lime

Lime Braid-in-a-Day Top; QUILTED with Leafy Swirl (freehand)

Lori's vibrant color choices were a pleasure to work on!

Soooo I've been to Paducah, and after the build-up & anticipation, I still ended up feeling like a kid on Christmas morning when I got there. There was no let-down, and I wouldn't say it was overwhelming in the sense that I couldn't take it in, but more I couldn't fit everything in during our allotted time down there. 

I have many pictures I look forward to sharing, but while I'm working on a bit 'o editing & weeding out what's "too much", I thought I'd show a few quilts that were actually done before I left! 

Sampler in Lavender & Tan Quilt

Such a beauty this one is! 

Sampler Top; QUILTED with a Leafy Swirl Meander (freehand) 

I think a touch of spring is in the air today! Not only did I see evidence in something green poking up through the ground on my morning walk, but we've hit the 50's today! How refreshing it was to be out for lunch & not bundled up like an Eskimo to go from the car to the restaurant :)

Navy Stars

Navy Star Top; QUILTED with Leafy Swirl Meander (freehand)

Leafy Swirl Meander is by far one of the favorite quilting patterns requested! It looks terrific on just about everything. 

Stack & Whack Quilt

This beautiful Stack & Whack top was made by Maureen at Stitch & Craft. I quilted it with the Leafy Swirl Meander (freehand)

Stack & Whack is one of the techniques I've admired for years but have yet to try. One of these days when I have more free time ;-)