DeAnna and Angela are both new quilters, new members of the Nimble Thimbles guild (that I’m also a member of), they’re both working on charity quilts, and they’re both taking their rental certification class. The kicker? They didn’t sign up to take the class together! It really is a small world, isn’t it? The quilts they brought in for their certification class were made during one of Louisville Nimble Thimbles’s Cuddle Care workshops. In these workshops we make charity quilts for the kiddos at Kosair Children’s Hospital. A charity quilt is a great idea for your first time on a longarm machine. Many folks are nervous or scared when longarming for the first time. Working on charity quilts gives you the freedom to make a few small mistakes while also making something that will warm someone’s heart.

There were lots of sheep on DeAnna’s quilt and they all had swirls in their wool. She chose the Turbulance pantograph, saying the swirls in the pattern reminded her of the swirls in the sheep.

Angela’s quilt was very simple, and she could do whatever she wanted on it. She decided she wanted to do something fun and bold. She chose the Popcorn pantograph and a dark brown Omni thread that really shows off her quilting. I think her choice paid off – it’s a fun design that any kid would love!

Monica is a rarity here in the shop – she’s learning to quilt before learning to piece! She is working on her mother’s quilts as a surprise for her before she moves to Louisville. For this pink and white quilt, we convinced her to step out of her comfort zone. By now you probably know we have special templates called design boards for our renters. These boards have grooves in a variety of patterns. We attach a stylus with a little nib to each machine, and the quilter simply moves the machine and keeps the stylus in the grooves. Many people love these boards because they’re like driving the longarm machine with training wheels. You probably didn’t know that we also have a few template design boards for blocks. These aren’t used very often because most of our renters prefer an all over edge to edge design.

Monica’s quilt was begging for a special treatment in each of those blocks, and it just so happened we have a cute hearts block template that fit perfectly with her quilt! It was a lot of work, a lot of resetting, and it took all day (without a lunch break!), but it really paid off! This quilt looks incredible and the quilting really brought it to life!

Finally we have Erin, and to look at her quilt you wouldn’t think this was after her rental certification class. Erin decided she didn’t want to follow a pattern and just started doodling all over her quilt. In addition to the squiggly meandering we usually see when free handing, she also quilted in hearts, flowers, clovers, and much more. Her quilting really shows beautifully on the backing. Can you find all the designs she has in there?

As we got to know Erin during her rental, we learned she is also a blogger and author. You can read about how she made this quilt in one day on her blog, www.houseonhillroad.com. She also has some fun tutorials and projects posted there, and everyone should give it a look! Also be sure to check out her book, QuiltEssential. It’s a visual directory of everything quilts, from the fabrics all the way through quilting and binding.