Expecto Patronum! Someone is expecto…ing a baby! We all have that one story, that one book or movie that sums up our childhood. And it can be so much fun introducing the next generation to those stories, especially if they are books. We want to inspire the next generation to read. I’m afraid that I’m old enough […]
There are many motifs and themes I see repeated in the quilts my longarm renters bring into the shop – hearts, leaves, flowers. But stars seems to reappear more than any other image. Quilters love to incorporate stars into their quilts through the piecing. And others are seeing stars in their quilting designs. No matter […]
Most of the quilts brought in by our longarm machine renters are exactly what you’d expect: pieced beauties ready for quilting. But sometimes renters bring in simple whole cloth quilts with no piecing at all. Now these quilts aren’t what some might consider a “true whole cloth quilt” because the fabrics aren’t solid colors and […]
I think it is safe to say that most quilters are fabric lovers. We tend to collect stashes and buy fabrics in large quantities simply because they are beautiful. Admit it. We’re fabri-holics. Sometimes we find that one piece that just really speaks to you, and it inspires you to create something truly amazing. The […]
The number of designs available to put on a quilt is infinite. There are thousands of professional designs for sale as paper pantographs. If you can draw it, you can quilt it. However, all designs are not equal. Some are tighter and denser than others, while others are open and barely quilted at all. Some […]
Are you ready for a new longarm quilting video tutorial? You may remember the last video showing how to quilt the Daffodils design (if you need a refresher, click here to watch the video again). My newest design, called Twin Tulips, is a variation of those simple elements. Check out the video below. In the […]
If you’re looking for a sweet floral design for your next baby quilt, you’ll love the Daffodils quilting design! In my latest video tutorial for APQS I’ll walk you through the steps to quilt this adorable little design. I quilted my daffodils in a 2 inch border or sashing space. If you’re quilting this in […]
A lot of quilts come into this studio, but what really gets everyone “oohing” and “ahhing” tends to be bright and colorful quilts. What can I say, I love color! Quilts are excellent spaces to explore and use color to the extreme. These quilts were chosen for this post because the quilters had some fun […]
Art can be made with a variety of mediums. Besides oil paints and watercolors, an artist can use tile, glass, metal, wood, or fabric. These following examples are quilts created by our renters, and they are real works of arts! Nancy and Mary are sisters who come in to quilt together. Standing at the machine […]
There are so many adorable panels available that are perfect for a baby quilt, and sometimes you don’t need to make a heavily pieced quilt for baby. This is Peggy’s baby quilt, and isn’t it adorable? It’s a quilt panel themed after the saying “I love to the moon and back.” The little owls, sheep, […]
Girls can be so easy to quilt for. Floral patterns, pink and purple fabrics, as well as blues and geometrics, everything works for a girl’s room. But what to do for the boys? Here are a couple of beautiful masculine quilt designs that these boys are really going to love! Judy’s son is a huge […]
Take a look at Anita’s super cute quilt! This looks a lot like Missouri Star Quilt Co.’s Sunny Skies quilt, but Anita mixed it up a little. Instead of squares in the background arranged like a checkerboard, she made big squares in a square on point expanding out to the border. Doesn’t it create a […]
There is never just one way to do something right, especially with artistic endeavors. Multiple choices should be seen as multiple opportunities to try something new. With longarm quilting there are so many choices to be made like thread, color, density, and design. In fact, our renters have three different ways to quilt their quilts. […]
Here’s what our renters have been doing recently… Rena came in for her longarm certification class and quilted this keepsake quilt for a friend. The friend assembled clothing that she had purchased for her grandchildren into a very creative top. Don’t you just love the caterpillars made from round scraps? Bibs and shirts and socks […]
We love our renters – they make studio time so much fun! Helen came in for her rental certification. She brought in a small version of a jelly roll race quilt, made with 2 1/2″ strips. As part of the rental certification, we teach you how to use a pantograph or design board as you […]
After spending hours cutting fabric and piecing it together, sometimes my renters don’t want the quilting to be the star. Or sometimes they’re on a time limit and just need something quick and easy. Read on for a few different ways folks have kept their quilting simple! I love, love, love this baby quilt Colleen worked on […]
There must have been something in the air because we had several baby quilts coming through the showroom. She made this cute gingham inspired quilt top for a friend using only three colors. Donna says she hates cutting and now that she knows about our AccuQuilt die cutter, she says she won’t make a quilt […]
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 […]
We had a group of four friends drive all the way from Bardstown, KY to take their rental certification together. This meant we had a full house with almost every machine running! Normally I won’t have this many quilters in for the certification. I learned pretty quickly that with all the new skills we’re covering, […]
There have been some super adorable baby quilts coming through the shop lately between our renters and customers. This little bunnies quilt from Lillian is probably one of the cutest! Lillian made this quilt for one of her grandchildren. She embroidered little bunnies into each block and added some fun sayings like “Somebunnys napping” and […]
Have you ever made a special baby quilt for a precious little angel? I think baby quilts are my favorite things to work on. There is so much hope, joy, and love wrapped up in a baby quilt. This one was made for a new granddaughter of a customer of mine. She wanted to wait […]
Apparently hockey is growing in popularity here in Louisville but I’m sure we have a long way to go before it becomes as popular as it is up north. This is my first hockey themed baby quilt brought to me by a customer. The pattern is a modified rail fence and since the outer border […]
Karin took a Madeira Heart applique class and made this beautiful baby quilt for her granddaughter. She is a new quilter and took this class over at one of my local quilt shop gems, The Smocking Shop from one of my favorite teachers, Karen Fox. She was working on the piecing while at the sewing […]
Lois brought me this cute little Five Little Monkies quilt. I’ve done a few quilts for customers with this theme and this variation is yet another one that makes me want to get to know my embroidery machine better. Many times, my clients aren’t sure exactly what kind of quilting they’d like to have on […]
