The first month of the year is over and I’m wondering where it went. Sometimes it feels like it will never end and then you turn around and it’s gone. Here is our long arm renter January review. We saw a lot of very pretty quilts this month! We’ve been posting them on our Instagram and Facebook […]
One of the things that I love best of quilting is the amount of variety. Quilting as a medium can incorporate any color, any shape, and any theme that the human mind can consider. Because quilts can be so versatile, we see quilts that are traditional or modern, sophisticated or whimsical, and subtle or flashy. We can […]
T-shirts as we know them came out sometime after World War II. Since that time they have grown to become a major part of our culture today. Do you know anyone who hasn’t at one time or another worn a t-shirt? Now a days, you can buy a t-shirt emblazoned with just about any company […]
There are a lot of reasons to make a quilt. You need a bedspread of a certain color or fabric, you like the look of the vintage pieced quilt, or you are an artist using fabric as your medium. But one of the reasons people love quilts, is that they allow you to use fabric […]
When someone you love passes on, it can be difficult to know what to do with what they leave behind. Somethings have value outside of sentiment and can be kept and be useful as is, or be sold. Somethings which may have been useful while they lived, now find themselves obsolete or just redundant to […]
The great thing about quilting is that you never have to make the same quilt twice. Even when you mean to, they will often grow and develop into different designs. Melanie had intended to make five identical memorial quilts, one for each of her siblings and herself. Instead she had five slightly different quilts with […]
There is nothing better than a big, thick, and heavy quilt on a cold winter morning. But not all quilts are kings. Sometimes our creative muses demand a wall hanging, or a new baby needs a blankie. The problem comes when you account for the two hour minimum rental time. If it only takes you […]
One thing we love here at Quilted Joy is the huge variety of quilts our renters and customers bring in. We love the colors, the styles, and the stories behind the quilts – and every quilt is different. Margie quilted this quilt a few weeks ago. At first, it looks random, but if you look at […]
Mary’s brother-in-law passed away a few years ago and her sister was hoping she could do something more with his clothes than just throw them away or donate them. Knowing Mary is a quilter, she turned to her sister for help. This is the seventh (!) quilt Mary has made with his clothes for her nieces […]
You might have seen the label I posted a few days ago. Well, here is the quilt that goes with it. This was a memorial quilt made up of shirts from a much loved man who passed away. It is a gift from his kids to his wife for Christmas. They gave me a couple […]
I’m working on a memory quilt right now. I’m down to the putting a label on and attaching the binding. It’s turning out really great! Today I had on my Embroidery machine, my washing machine, my dishwasher, and my Intelliquilter all at the same time. I felt like Mickey Mouse with his wizard hat on. […]
One of my customers made this top as a gift for her mother’s upcoming birthday. Each Churn Dash block features a family photo and the fabrics all have butterflies as the mom has a connection to the insect. I placed feathers around each photo and added a loopy background to depict the path the butterflies […]
Linda S. made this for a client who’s husband was an avid golfer. He passed away and she wanted a wall hanging made from his clothing for her daughter. The fabrics these golf shirts were made from were divine. I would love to have shirts out of this material. It was so soft- almost like […]
I’ve been working on this quilt for a while. Each block is made from the clothes of a little boy who died almost 40 years ago from cancer. His family has kept his clothing in a box and finally decided it was time to have a keepsake made from the clothes. There are 72 blocks […]
Kenny recently lost his dad, Rudy. Kenny had kept some of his father’s clothes and contacted me about making a memorial quilt using those shirts. During our initial meeting I shared photos of some of the other memorial quilts I’ve done. Like this one for Beth, and the one I made out of my dad’s […]
I miss my dad. He died January 30th and, for some reason, I’ve been feeling the hole in my heart with his name on it more acutely this week. Maybe it is because of the Memorial Day holiday. Maybe it is because we’ve received notice that his headstone has now been placed on his grave […]
Here are some photo’s of Mary Jo’s Memorial Quilt made out of her dad’s shirts. The quilt is going to be a special Christmas gift for her mom! Take a look at the cornerstone in the outer border. It is made out of Mary Jo’s father’s hat. It was a little blue cotton hat with […]
You know how everyone looks for a job where they can feel like they make a difference? There are so many times in my quilting when I absolutely KNOW that I have made a difference. This next quilt is one of those times. I am making a memorial quilt to help a family celebrate a […]
It’s done and it is beautiful! This quilt is made of Beth’s father’s Bow Ties and the fabulous silk fabrics look wonderful all lined up. I used a classic Chinese Coin pattern and stablized each tie with interfacing after taking them apart. The whole process is can be found here. Then I did some stitch […]
I can’t believe how beautiful the silk fabric is on these bow ties I’m piecing into a memorial quilt. Each tie has its own story from the Christmas themed tie to the funky 1970’s-fashion statement tie. FUN! Here are the steps I’ve been doing to prepare the silk bow ties for piecing. First I separate […]
Karen’s heart quilt was my focus today. First I imported a photo of her quilt top into photoshop. Then I began drawing on the quilt so I could audition quilting motifs. Here’s what I finally came up with. I still have to work out the border motif. I’ll post that when I get it done. […]
