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!

Modern Quilt Design

Just finished a nice modern quilt for Doug, and now I am drawing designs for the next modern quilt- one by Lyn Baker.  I will most likely draw up 4 or 5 designs for her quilt using Art & Stitch program.  Here is my first one- a design for the sashing part of Lyn’s quilt:

mod sashing 1 by Carla Barrett

As you can see, this is a simple geometric design for a smaller border or sashing.  It has a nice modern vibe and will go with other parts of the quilt and designs I will be using.

Art& Stitch is a terrific program, it only took me a few minutes to import my quick sketch from Photoshop, then trace over the design using the Bezier Tool.   I first saved it in the ANS extension, then saved it with the extension used by my machine- an Intelliquilter.

Stay tuned!  Have several quilt images to share with you in the near future!  Carla

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

Feather Practice- Part 9

In Feather Practice, Part 9, today we are going to focus on feathering small border or larger sashings spaces on a quilt top.

featherpractice9.pdf (Here is the PDF file to download;  you will need a pdf reader to view.)

Feather Practice 9 by Carla Barrett

With practice and growing skill with feathers, you will be able to quilt smaller and smaller spaces.  The blank spaces are for you to practice over and over to gain mastery.

This is Part 9 in my feather practice series.  If you would like to start at Handout #1, please click HERE.

Next lesson is fun and whimsical.   Stay tuned!  Regards, Carla

Feather Practice- Part 8

Here is the 8th part in my Feather Practice Series.  This series of handouts are intended for newer quilters or for anyone wanting to brush up on feather practice.  I happen to love feathers for feminine quilts, and feel that this is a wonderful skill to have in your quilting tool box!

featherpractice8-1 (pdf)

Today, we are focusing on feathering spines or small borders.  Right click to download my PDF file.  Note that you will need a PDF reader to view this file.

Handout by Carla Barrett

The second design in the handout I have used before in my quilting.  Here is a photo from the back of a quilt, but you can see this feather being used:

For Barb Kiehn’s wonderful Egyptian Theme quilt, notice the stylized feathers in the border.  I quilted sashing sized spaces to fill with a variation of sashing #2 in the handout:

Hope this gives you additional ideas for using this feather design on your quilts.  If you use any of my handouts on one of your quilts, I would love to see the results!  In case you missed an earlier Feather Series, here are the links for each part:

Feather Practice- Part 1, Feather Practice- Part 2, Feather Practice- Part 3, Feather Practice- Part 4, Feather Practice- Part 5, Feather Practice- Part 6, and  Feather Practice- Part 7

Happy Feathering, everyone!  Let me know if you would like more of the feather series, too, by leaving a comment.   Hugs, Carla

Feather Practice- Part 7

Today, I present the Feather Practice Series, Part 7.  This quilting feather handout shows you four different ways to feather an inset triangle space on a quilt top.  Any of these feathers, quilted in all the inset triangles on a quilt top, will flow visually from triangle to triangle.  It will also draw the eye around the quilt and provide some beautiful texture, too.

featherpracticehandout7 (pdf)  (Right click to download.  You will need a PDF reader)

Feather Practice 7.1 by Carla Barrett

Above are 4 different variations of my inset triangle feathers.  Below is the 2nd page, which is where you will practice drawing on:

Feather Practice handout by Carla Barrett

Note, too, that you can just feather the outer side of the spine for a different look.

quilting example by Carla Barrett

You may also decide to fill the blank space with curved cross-hatching or other fill, too, like I have drawn below:

feather example by Carla Barrett

Hope you are enjoying my Feather Practice Series!  I have enjoyed all the quilters who have taken the time to comment, contact me via email or tell me they are loving it.  I appreciate your kind words!  In case you missed an earlier Feather Practice, here are the links:

Feather Practice- Part 1,   Feather Practice- Part 2,  Feather Practice- Part 3,  Feather Practice- Part 4,  Feather Practice- Part 5, and  Feather Practice- Part 6

Have fun PPP- which means Practice, Practice, Practice!    Now go forth and feather!   Carla

Feather Practice- Part 6

Today, we will focus on circular feathers quilting design and how to neatly curl them into the spine.  Feathering a circular spine is a key skill for all quilters to master.  Plus, it looks wonderful quilted in a large blank area on a quilt top.

Feather Practice 6-1 (pdf)  (Right click to download, need Adobe Reader to view)

Feather practice 6.1 by Carla Barrett

This was how I created this motif shown above the chicken:

cartoon by Carla Barrett

Here are some quilts where I curled my feathers to showcase a quilt space:

Quilting by Carla Barrett, Piecing and design by Barb Kiehn

Look just outside the center of this guild opportunity quilt:

quilting by Carla Barrett

The outermost quilt texture is also circular feathers on this quilt:

quilting by Carla Barrett

Hope you have enjoyed this lesson on Circular Feathers- which is 6th in my Feather Practice Series.    Below are some links to previous Lessons:

Feather Practice- Part 1,   Feather Practice- Part 2,   Feather Practice- Part 3,         Feather Practice- Part 4,  and Feather Practice- Part 5.

As always, leave me a comment if you appreciate my free tutorials and handouts!  Happy quilting, Carla

Feather Practice, Part 5

This post is a fifth in my Feather Practice Series, and today, I share how I do my Asian-inspired feathers and spine variations.  These designs work great on Asian themed quilts, tropical quilts, and nature quilts and similar themed quilt top designs.

featherpractice5.pdf   (right click to download.  You will need Adobe Reader to view the file)

Feather Practice 5.1 by Carla Barrett

Feather Practice 5.2 by Carla Barrett

Print out and practice on 5-10 copies. Repetition is how you learn how to draw any feather type.   Practice drawing them and filling a variety of quilt spaces, too,

Freehand quilters: I suggest you mark until you can quilt this design by memory.  Now, when I quilt them free motion,   I will only mark the spine as a guideline.

I hope you are enjoying my Feather Practice Series.  If so, please leave me a comment.  My motivation for providing this free series is to provide assistance to any machine quilters who needs encouragement in their own personal quilting journey.   Happy Quilting, Carla Barrett

Feather Practice, Part 4

Thank you for the previous comments on this feather practice series.  We are now at the fourth in this feather practice series.

Today, I want to introduce a more traditional feather that I call an “Heirloom” feather.  These feathers are patterned after antique feathers that were hand quilted.   Other quilters call this feathers by other names- such as the “Hump & Bump” feather, too.  Heirloom sounds nicer to me and doesn’t invoke images of a pole dancer- LOL!

Here is the printable PDF file:

barrettfeatherpractice4.pdf  (right click to download)

Feather Practice 4.1 by Carla Barrett

Feather Practice 4.2 by Carla Barrett

Here is an example for how I did Feather Practice 4.2.  Remember, too, that you can print it out for tracing purposes, too:

Worksheet example by Carla Barrett

Feel free to send me examples of your Feather Practice sheets and I will do a follow-up post showing off all of your wonderful work. Valérie from France sent me her echo feathers examples and they were excellent!

Feather Video:  Because the order of drawing and quilting feathers can easily trip up a machine quilter, I will post a video that I shared last year in another blog post.  I show you how I draw several feathers, including an Heirloom feather:

This concludes Feather Practice 4.  In case you wanted to easily view an earlier Feather Practice, just click on the desired link:

Feather Practice, Part 1  

Feather Practice, Part 2

Feather Practice, Part 3

Have fun with the above handouts!  Regards, Carla Barrett