Doug’s Finished Quilts

I realized I never posted images for Doug’s 2 quilts I quilted recently.  I will start with the Group quilt, which had Doug (High Sierra Quilt Store) to piece it, Bobbie Jarrett to applique some wonderful cattails on the quilt, I quilted it, and Lyn Baker is binding the quilt.

Here is the finished quilt laying on dining room table:

This quilt has wonderful texture quilting, and I have purposely added dimension to the cattails so they poof up nicely.  This quilt has a duck hunting theme, so look carefully for the duck hunter, and lots of ducks flying away in the quilting.   Here is the back of the quilt:

My favorite part of this quilt is the borders and cornerstone design:

The circle duck design I created to match the border design.  I took motifs from the border design, separated them, then created 2 circles to contain the arrangement.  The piano keys were done by hand using my Fine LIne Ruler.  The border design was purchased from Digitech Patterns here.  Denise Schillinger designed the duck border- which is actually a loon, but figured no one would know the difference.  LOL

Doug was very happy with my quilting, and I liked how the textural the quilting made the cattails poof out dimensionally.  It will be entered into a local County Fair next month.

Doug also creates retro teardrop trailers completely by hand.  He is a true artisan with his trailers- and is currently almost finished with his latest trailer.  Every trailer he makes, I quilt him a quilt which matches.  Here is a modern quilt with some retro quilting.  I actually used a design found here for the borders.  Once again, the border design is one by Denise Schillinger.

The design shown above is perfect for this modern quilt.  The density of the quilting will be great for the intended use- as a decorative bed quilt in the trailer.  Doug also used this fabric line to make curtains, too.

Hope you have enjoyed this preview!  Stay tuned for a really interesting quilt which I am working on now.    Hugs, Carla

PS: I just realized that this post is my 1,000 post I have written since I moved my blog to WordPress.   WordPress stats also tells me that I have had almost 1.6 million visitors to my blog since I moved the blog here!  Thanks for your visits and support!

Doug’s Quilt

I am busy working on a quilt for a guy quilting friend named Doug.  Doug owns a local quilt store and he is funny to boot!  He will call me posing as Bill Clinton, and ask me whether the Presidential library should have a condom dispenser in the bathroom or other product?  It helps that his Bill Clinton imitation is spot on.

Doug’s quilt has an overall duck hunting theme.  It also has some lovely applique cattails on the quilt for further visual interest, too.  (I promise to show pictures when finished).  I knew I needed a border design with ducks on it, so I turned to Digitech Patterns to find one.  I eventually found this loon pattern by Denise Schillinger, which fit the bill:

This pattern looks more duck-like than loon-like to me.  Loons swim very low in the water is why I say this.  Anyway, I digress….. here is the finished border design using this design.  Note that I took this picture from the back side of the quilt:

border design

Doug’s quilt has light cornerstones in all four corners, so I wanted to place a related design that would go with the border.  Unfortunately, I could not find one, so it was time to create one using bits and pieces of Denise’s Digitech Pattern design:

Obviously, I still have to add the tight piano keys to the un-quilted side of the block, but I ended up really liking this design and how it looks on Doug’s quilt.  I shared it with him on Facebook, and he was very happy.

Carla Tip: This is my quilting tip of the day- when attempting to locate a complementary design for a quilt, use bits and pieces of an existing design used elsewhere in the quilt- whether it is a stencil design or digitized design.

I am adding some other duck and duck hunter motifs within the body of the quilt, but you will have to wait to see it.  Stay posted!  Hugs, Carla

Molly’s Quilt

I finished Molly’s quilt for her awhile back, but thought I would share the photos here, too.

This was a sweet garden theme quilt, perfect quilt for the start of spring!  I knew that Molly wanted to enter this quilt in her guild show, so I did some nice quilting for her.  First, an overall view of the quilt on my table:

quilt pieced by Molly Evangelisti and quilted by Carla Barrett

Another view:

quilting by Carla Barrett

quilting by Carla Barrett

Last photo, a close up of my block design you can purchase HERE:

Block design by Carla Barrett and available at http://www.digitechpatterns.com

Now, your turn!  What have you been up to?  Happy Friday, Carla

Molly’s Quilt

Thought I would share some images of Molly’s quilt, which I am almost half done with.  This is a sweet quilt with some traditional quilting:

I will do my stitch-in-the-ditch work last, as I always do.  Keep posted!  I will post images when I am done.  What are YOU working on?

Registration Opens on 1/2/13 For Designing Fabric eClass!

Hello from Carla,

I wanted to share that registration for The Pixeladies eClass on  Designing Fabric using Photoshop Elements opens tomorrow!    (Remember, too, that students wanting to repeat this class receive a 50% off invoice.)

Course Description and other information is HERE. Please watch the following How-to video if you need assistance in registering for classes.

To contact me, please click on the Contact link button above.  Thank you, and Happy New Year!

Works in Progress- Late November

Thought I would show you what I am working on right now.  First up is the remake of my “Hairy Leg” Quilt.  This fun quilt was designed with my good friend, Lori Seavey-Christian, when we made quilts together.  The name comes from the “hair” I quilted into Lori’s quilt.

work-in-progress by Carla Barrett

Sharp eyes will notice that I still have to quilt in the legs and hair still.  LOL  I plan to use different color thread for this.  Anyway, this quilt is free-handed (meaning it is hand guided) with my A1 longarm quilting machine.

Next up is my Tropical Leaf design that I am using pigment paint to color.  As you can see in this picture, I only have one section/color completed so far:

Digital Quilt Design by Carla Barrett. May be purchased at digitechpatterns.com

I decided I needed some new colors, so I am awaiting my pigment order to finish.  The digital designs of my Tropical Leaf set is available at Digitech Designs.  I do have lots more digital designs waiting to be released in 2013, too.

Because I tend to work in several mediums at once- I am also working on a freeform beaded project for a quilt.  I hope to finish several quilt designs featuring my freeform beaded work on them in 2013!

Your turn- what are YOU working on?  Hugs, Carla

Remake of the Hairy Leg Quilt

My photo is a bit blurry,  but you can see that I am remaking my Hairy Leg quilt again.  The first one met a tragic end as inky pens and quilt tops do not mix well.  Trust me on that fact!

The history of this quilt is a collaborative effort between dear friend, Lori Seavey-Christian and myself during one of our “Lori & Carla’s Creative Adventure Weeks.”  Way back in the last decade, I decided to teach Lori how to make a quilt.  We decided on a shoe quilt and we both made our matching quilt.

I later quilted Lori’s quilt and decided to have some fun by quilting in legs, hair, tattoo, etc. since I knew Lori would love it. Here is my Hairy Leg quilting on Lori’s quilt:

We had lots of fun and laughter making our quilts.  For the last 5 or 6 years, I have been wanting to make a replacement quilt, so I finally got on the ball and made my own version.  Now I need to decide on a final border.  I am leaning towards the yellow-gold fabric.

Another project is another pigment quilt, this one will feature my Tropical Leaf pattern (available from Digitech patterns):

Next step is to paint the quilt with pigment powdered ink that I bought last year.  I was inspired after seeing a stunning black quilt that Sherry Rogers-Harrison had made and shown on Facebook.  I decided to try out her brand of fabric medium, too, since I have tried every other brand on the market.  Sherry does amazing work and is a nice person, too.  I have forgiven Sherry for teasing me by once asking if “my quilts whisper to me….”  LOL!!

I have done a few more quilts to show you in a later post.  keep watching!    Hugs, Carla

Info About Next Session of eClasses

Just a quick message to let everyone know about upcoming eClasses I have scheduled for early 2013.

The following 3 class dates will be announced soon:

Quilt Whisperer eClass by Carla Barrett-  This class is all about learning Carla’s unique approach to how to design quilt tops for machine quilting.  Also learn some of Carla’s favorite quilting designs and how to find your own inspiration!

Fabric Design with Photoshop Elements* by The Pixeladies- The Pixeladies teach you how to design fabric for use in your art, art quilts and pieced quilts.

Tablet Design Class* by Carla Barrett- This eClass is jammed pack with methods for how to effectively use your tablet and PSE to design quilts, quilting, quilting motifs, zen doodle and more!

*this eClass has a prerequisite of Beginning Photoshop Elements eClass OR basic knowledge of Photoshop Elements or PS CS.

Side note- I decided to take a class break for this holiday season 2012 so teachers and students may enjoy their holiday season!  Keep watching for when I finish scheduling the 2013 eClass dates!

Thanks, Carla

PIQF Win for Jenny!

I am so proud of my friend, Jenny Lyon, who won the 1st Runner up Best of Show at Pacific International Quilt Fest!  I have always loved her quilting, and I am especially in awe that she does it with her domestic standard machine, too.  Here is Jenny standing in front of her award winning quilt:

Here are some close-ups showing how lovely her quilting is:

This was a meaningful quilt for Jenny.  She writes,   “The quilt is based on a strong childhood memory of crouching in my Mother’s fern and Lily-of-the-Valley bed. I loved that! The smells were so beautiful and strong, there were all kinds of bugs in there and it was just a spot of beauty-sight, sound, smell and touch. I used Radiance in the center and hand dyed raw silk by Linda M Designs http://www.lindamdesigns.com/ for the border, wool batt, every thread know to man, beads, metallics, silk inset and cotton backing. I am astounded to have received such recognition.”

Her winning quilt also had some bug motifs in the quilt. Here is one example:

Jenny also won a Bernina sewing machine, too.  How cool is that?  Visit her blog to see a picture of her new machine, as well as additional quilt pictures.  Anyway, I just wanted to share with you how excited I am for Jenny and how wonderful it is to see her work being recognized!!  Congrats, Jenny!

More Feather Star Quilting

Here are the updated images for the green feathered star quilt:

I am now working on the center quilting design, and plan to finish quilt on Monday.   Here is the center section, with a pin in the picture to show you scale.  I added some SID to the center star area, too:

I will update this post later to provide what designs are quilted freehand and which ones are digitized.  You all know I love to give credit to designers if I use a stencil or digitized design on a quilt.

Enjoy your weekend!   Carla