Over the course of the last year I pieced a dozen quilt tops, but never quilted any of them because Covid temporarily closed the studio I where I was planning to rent time on a long arm machine, and then I got in the habit of staying home and didn't re-book time to quilt. Now that establishments are opening up and I have one vaccine in my arm I am venturing out more and finally made it into the studio.
I spent a long afternoon at Over the Top Quilting Studio in Cedar Park, Texas, and got three small tops quilted. (Photographing your children in the bluebonnets is a springtime ritual in Texas, so naturally I photographed a couple of these babies in the bluebonnets.) The idea for this first one, a cross quilt, came from the Dallas Modern Quilt Guild and was a great way to use up a bunch of larger scraps and some not so favorite fabrics.
I've previously shared a photo of this one, called "Blues Around the World," when it was just a finished top. I hand pieced it, using up a lot of scraps, during various travels before the world shut down due to the pandemic.
I think this cheater panel from Denyse Schmidt makes a really fun back for it.
Speaking of Denyse Schmidt, this next top is from the Free-Wheeling Single Girl quilt along she led last year. It's a little wonky because I sketched my own paper templates and pieced the circles by hand without being terribly fussy about accuracy. I've finally made myself honest by buying a set of the acrylic templates -- Denyse deserves to be paid for her creative work. I know I should have made more of an effort to pay sooner, but better late than never.
As for the quilting, I used APQS's QuiltPath on a Millie long arm machine to quickly and accurately quilt closely spaced straight lines. Just set it up and let it go.
Now that I've got these three completely finished, it's time to reserve another block of time at the quilt studio. I should note that I felt completely safe spending hours at Over the Top Quilting Studio because they follow strict health safety guidelines to protect themselves and their customers. It doesn't detract at all from the fun of quilting with like-minded crafters.
