Using a Design Board to Create that Perfect Circle
Free motion quilting is faster, though not often easier than following a predetermined design on a pantograph or design board. Making your design shapes consistently the same size can be tricky. But the design element that can be downright impossible without some sort of aid is the circle. Even with a pantograph, circles can be […]
Butterflies, Dogs, and Cats, Oh My!
Images in nature are beautiful and common themes to include in artwork. Flowers, vines, and trees often make it to a quilt top. But there is more than just flora out there. Let’s not forget the fauna. Carol made this Strip Butterflies Quilt with batik fabrics. The butterflies are so colorful. The colorful border ties […]
Our Renters are Pretty in Pink
Rainbows and lots of contrasting colors can be fun, but sometimes you just want a pink quilt. These are some creations that are pretty in pink. Lynn made this quilt for her niece. If you look closely, the fabrics have cats on them. I like the use of the Circle design board we have here […]
Variety Is the Spice of Life!
I’ve written before about how much we enjoy the variety of quilts that our renters bring in to quilt. This post will reflect some of that variety – have fun! First, we have a jelly roll quilt pieced and quilted by Judy. Some call this design the “1600-Inch Quilt” because it uses a jelly roll, […]
Feelin’ Groovy, Renter Style!
Sometimes it’s fun to just focus on how the renters are using the design boards. If you aren’t familiar with these, they are boards with grooves carved in a design. A stylus attached to the longarm machine runs through the groove and moves the machine along the lines of the pattern. This is a great […]
More Beautiful Summery Quilts from the Renters
They just keep coming! The theme of today’s post is summertime quilting. Melissa is a relatively new renter at Quilted Joy, but she is definitely not new to the world of quilting and sewing. You may know her popular blog, Polka Dot Chair. She quilted this top earlier this summer and blogged about it here: […]
Summertime Quilting for the Renters
Wow, are there a lot of renter quilts to talk about! Let’s start with a wild West theme… Carol made this top from a cowboy-themed panel, coordinating fabrics and borders. She wanted the focus to be on the Western-themed prints and chose the meander design board and a light neutral thread. Super cute! For her […]
Busy Busy Renters!
Our renters are, as always, eager to get those projects finished! Here are a few recently-quilted quilts… Donna pieced this throw-sized top and wanted to use a design with good overall texture so the blocks would stand out. She chose the orange peel design boards for her quilt and used a light neutral thread for […]
Lots and Lots of Eye Candy Quilted by the Renters
Today, I’d like to celebrate the wide variety of quilt styles that our renters quilt here at Quilted Joy. One of the best things about having the rental program is seeing everyone else’s quilts – it feeds our creativity and inspires us all here at the studio. Here are a few recently-quilted projects from the […]
Four More Newly Minted Renters!
We love that new students complete our rental certification course all the time. Seeing the joy on their faces after they quilt their first quilt on our APQS longarm machines makes our day. Here are some recently-certified renters and their quilts! Stella brought this sweet top in for her certification class. It is based upon […]
Renters Getting Those UFOs Quilted!
I love seeing our renters finish their tops into quilts. Sometimes the most satisfying finishes are the projects that have been on hold for a while, years or even decades. Here are a few of those recent projects – enjoy! Renee brought in this vintage top that was pieced by a family member. It is made […]
Still More Renter Finishes
Our renters do such amazing work and bring in great tops to quilt – here are a few examples! Lynn and Debby are sisters who had some familiarity with longarm machines but went through rental certification so that they’d be comfortable with our APQS longarm machines. Lynn, who is local, then brought in this jelly roll race […]
Time for A Post-Derby Renter Roundup!!!
Derby is over and summer is coming soon. Here are a few renter projects from the past few months to whet your appetite for summer quilting… Angelique made this very colorful bargello top and quilted it here recently. She wanted to quilt it from the front of the machine and did a simple meander in the […]
April Showers Bring Beautiful Quilts
As I’m writing this, it’s a cold, rainy April day here in Louisville. There’s nothing better to do on a rainy day than stay inside and quilt – except perhaps to catch up with the renters! Dorothy quilted this top a few weeks ago. The pattern is so bold and eye-catching that it took some thought […]
Using Design boards As a Renter
Let’s catch up with the renters a bit, shall we? This time, we’ll focus on quilts that were quilted using the design boards. These grooved boards make it very easy to follow a pattern with your quilting, whether you’re a complete beginner or more experienced. We have single-block boards and full-width sets in a variety of […]
More new renters and quilts!
Nancy and Kim belong to the same guild and recently learned to use an APQS longarm machine together at our studio. They had such a great time that they’ve both been back since to quilt more tops! Here is Nancy’s rental certification class quilt. This is often called a signature quilt – see the diagonal […]
Renter Roundup!
It’s time to check in with the renters again – what have they been up to? Jean recently quilted this cute Sunbonnet Sue and Overall Sam quilt. It began as a panel that she cut apart and set with sashing and borders. She quilted it with a pantograph called Heart Fancy which captures the sweet […]
Catching Up with the Renters…
As I’m writing this, it’s raining outside which means that quilters are indoors and quilting! Here are some of our recent renters’ quilts… Polly completed her rental certification class recently, quilting this broken star top. Her placement of light, medium and dark fabrics give the star a three-dimensional look. Polly selected a cranberry Omni thread […]
Remember, Quilting is Fun!
Sometimes we all need a reminder that we quilt because we love it and it brings us joy. It’s easy to get caught up in everything happening around you, or to overthink a quilt’s design so much that you’re dreading the actual quilting. Renting out the APQS longarm machines often reminds me how much fun quilting […]
Newbie Renters Get Colorful
This is Gravity, which was a block-of-the-month at The Cozy Quilter last year. It is composed of so many colors that Debbie focused on adding texture with the design boards, choosing to use the Baptist’s fan over much of the quilt with an accent section of large and small spirals. Debbie used a rainbow Fantastico […]
Let’s Boogey with Design Boards!
“How hard is it to quilt with a longarm machine?” It’s a question I hear a lot. Also the phrase, “I could never do that.” I would like to take a moment to reassure everyone, longarm quilting does not have to be hard. Yes, custom and show level quilting takes a lot of work and […]
Catching Up with our Renters
Lyvonn feels like she’s been stuck in a world of neutral fabrics. In her free time she’s been working on quilts for her sons and their families, collaborating with her daughters-in-law to find the right fabrics that will fit their homes. Some how they both wanted creams and whites! This Single Irish Chain quilt is the […]
Colorful Longarm Renters
Nelda made this quilt featuring a nine patch variation on point for her husband. Choosing a quilting design for a masculine quilt like this can sometimes be a challenge. So many of our favorite designs are simply too feminine or flowery for many men. We have several pantographs that are more leafy than flowery, and […]
Some Baby Quilt Fun
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 […]
