We've been so busy with renters that we haven't been keeping up with posts about their projects! This post will be a little longer - interesting quilts and stories ahead! Vickie recently came in for her rental certification. She is trying to finish several quilts that an elderly relative pieced and appliqued and originally wanted me to quilt them, but soon realized it would be more fun to do them herself! This Overall Sam quilt is her quilt from class. Vickie last quilted thirty years ago - the type of quilting that one does with a hoop and quilting between - and has never used a sewing machine. Most students use either a design board or a pantograph in class, but Vickie didn't know that freehand quilting is supposed to be hard (it really isn't) and immediately went to the front of the machine. We did recommend that she stitch around the multiple layers of denim rather than trying to quilt through them. She echoed and stippled and said, "That was fun!" Good job, Vickie! Colleen dropped by to work on these memorial quilts that she pieced for a friend. She's super-organized and bought enough backing for all four quilts to fit, pre-loaded it on her zippers, and picked one quilting design, a meander, for all four quilts. She finished them quickly and had enough time to quilt this Valentine's Day table runner, too, using the Heart Fancy pantograph. Speaking of the Heart Fancy pantograph, Polly quilted this top using that design. It is a gift for a friend who is fighting cancer and will provide a great deal of comfort during low-energy moments. The backing fabric is covered with inspirational words and sayings as well. Best of luck to Polly's friend! Barbara's husband gave her a gift certificate to our store for Christmas, and it was enough to cover rental certification class. She brought in yardage of this beautiful teal and periwinkle batik and backing of teal flannel, and her finished quilt was a wholecloth quilt she could snuggle under on chilly mornings. This just goes to show that you don't need to have an elaborately pieced top for certification class - it's still a quilt when it's finished! Finally, Donna recently quilted this memorial quilt for a friend whose husband had passed away. The silk neckties were his. Donna selected the Square Spiral pantograph and a neutral thread that blended well across all of those colors. What a beautiful gift!