Kathy Schwartz has owned her own longarm quilting business, Tamarack Shack Longarm Quilting, for more than nine years. She lives in Ontario, Canada and has a loyal following on the internet who enjoy seeing her signature style of quilting. We recently asked her a few questions...

This listing is for a DEPOSIT only for long-arm quilting services. An edge-to-edge design will be chosen according to your quilt top and the density of the quilting you desire. Prices are 2 cents per square inch and up for the quilting only. I am a professional long-arm quilter and will treat your quilt with special care. I am a ribbon winning quilter and my quilting work has been accepted into national and international juried shows. You may be required to supply backing fabric, but I am also willing to shop for you. Please contact me prior to shipping your quilt so that I can ensure you have adequate yardage of backing fabric. I typically provide the batting and charges will apply. Custom quilting services can also be provided. Please contact me for pricing and other details. On occasion, I will also provide binding services. Wait time varies with my quilting schedule so please contact me before shipping for current wait time. Payment must be made in full before your finished quilt will be shipped back to you. Additional shipping charges may apply as shipping charges vary with weight and distance. Please contact me with any additional questions and shipping information. I look forward to working with you. References available upon request.

Ripples - Pantograph / E2E © 2015 Hermione Agee PAPER: A single row is 9.25 inches - printed with one row - 144 inches long DIGITAL (computerized quilting systems): Zip file includes: BQM, CQP, DXF, HQF, IQP, PAT, QLI, SSD, TXT, WMF and 4QB or PLT. Most designs also include a DWG, GPF, PDF, PNG and SVG. SELF-PRINT: A single row is 6.5 inches - printed with one row. TEAR AWAY (Patent #10975506): A single row is 8.5 inches - Pack includes FOUR 52" tear away sheets. NOTE: One package of Ripples TEAR AWAY will quilt an area approx. 53 inches x 49 inches. EMBROIDERY (computerized embroidery systems): Zip file includes: ART, DST, EXP, HUS, JEF, PCM, PCS, PDF, PES, VIP, VP3 and XXX Sizes included: Size 1: 330.2 mm x 89.6 mm (13.00 Inches x 3.5 Inches)

I designed this simple quilt for someone else to make, and I will be quilting. I came up with this very simple layout of 9 stars -- 4 o...

These are samples of free motion quilt patterns that can be used in an all over design over the entire surface of a quilt. TAlso the patterns can be combined and used on individual blocks within a quilt. These samples also illustrate the effect of various fabric and thread color combinations

I always look forward to seeing your photos of the quilts you make from my books and patterns. Gravity had me wondering what you would com...

So, what a wonderful time I had teaching at the AQS Fall Paducah show!!! This year I was a part-time teacher with four classes and one lecture. My students were amazing and worked so hard during class. Not only that but the machines we got to work on (provided by Handi Quilter and Janome) were...

Finished size is about 40'' x 50". Finished blocks measure 8 5/8 square. The hypotenuse (diagonal) of each triangle is 10.675". Cutting specifications: Cut 2 1/4" squares from light and dark fabrics (72 light, 72 dark). Cut 2 1/4" x 4" rectangles from light and dark fabrics (48 light, 24 dark). Cut 10 triangles out of (3) 12" squares (will have 2 leftover). Also cut (2) 7" squares, cut diagonally to get 4 triangles for the corners. Border: cut 4 strips 4" wide x width of quilt. Sew left/right borders on first, then upper/lower. Binding: cut 5 strips 2.5" x width of fabric. Sashing pieces should be cut 1 1/8" wide. I don't have calculations for how many of these to cut, but I did note that I used about 9" of fabric x WOF.

Hi fellow quilters... thanks for stopping by! Before we announce the winner of the Aurifil thread (so exciting) I wanted to share ...

I finished the little dog quilt I was making for my friend, Mrs. K, and delivered it to her yesterday. (She wasn't home but I hung it on her front door.) I had a good time planning this and "drawing" with the sewing machine. I really like the freedom of machine quilting and the small size made the whole thing easy to maneuver. Some of that stitching is supposed to be wind blowing through the tree and around the border, after the initial applique prints I quilted in dog paw prints. What's the difference between cat paw prints and dog paw prints? I don't know but I tried to make the toes a little more oval for dog prints. I'll have to check out my animals' feet a bit further... I remember Mix as usually sleeping by or in his doghouse in Mrs. K's backyard. And Mrs. K took Mix for a walk most mornings or afternoons so I hope the paw prints will remind her of the good strolls they had together.

I've had a quilt on my machine for a while now. I finally finished last night. It took me about 25 hours to quilt up, although it feels l...

Create charming and whimsical free motions designs that celebrate the beauty of spring flowers with this Dizzy Daisy Free Motion Tutorial. A fabulous design for advanced quilters, this free motion tutorial shows you how to create gorgeous daisy designs that look perfect on their own or on top of your newest quilt. Using a simple spiral pattern, this quilting tutorial shows you how to create flower vines and daisy petals for a rich and luxurious-looking finish to your favorite quilt. If you've always wanted to give free motion quilting a try, or are just looking to shake up your normal quilting routine, then you'll love this free tutorial.

***please note - while the information contained in this post is still useful I no longer carry zippers for longarms. Unfortunately I do not have a referral source. Karen 3.1.16*** This Sunday afternoon was my designated day to straighten my take up leaders on my A1 Quilting Machine and add zippers, as it's technically 'my day off' and the only day the frame wasn't loaded with a quilt (grin). So naturally I decided that I really should do a documentation of my actions, who knows who it might benefit! I've given you a very wordy description of what I did and at the end of this ramble a very amateur video actually showing what I'm trying to describe...so hopefully the combination of pictures, words, and voice visual will be beneficial. At least I tried (grin). For the record, my machine is almost 5 years old. I originally had a set of zippers attached to my leaders (that I'd done, but not as neatly as this go-around), but opted to remove them after the Houston Quilt Festival for the latest craze of Velcro leaders. Hum. Honestly, I hated the Velcro. Wasted time, wasted money. Lesson learned. First of all, it was a unnecessary adjustment to my machine - somehow I forgot the simple truth of if it's not broke don't fix it! . One reason I don't like Velcro is that it's always wadding up and getting stuck on something other than what I wanted it to stick to. I know I know, there's the argument that you can make adjustments to make sure your quilt is lined up, but I have decided that the best way to line things up is to have the accuracy of the teeth of the zipper matching one side to the other, besides, zipping up is quicker than trying to fussy place the Velcro to match...anyway, these are just a few of my reasons for wanting to go back to zippers...so if you are considering zippers here's a tutorial of how I put mine on this afternoon. Can't say I'm an expert, but I've done it twice now and this time was easier, better, and it's staying put! I'm sold on zippered leaders. If you have a longarm then you are aware that most machines have three take up rollers with attached canvas leaders. (If you don't have one you probably won't make it to the end of this post...however, for grins you might like to watch the video). Generally we pin the quilt backing to two of the rollers and pin the bottom of the quilt top to the third (or some prefer not to use this third roller and do a "full float" - but that's a topic for debate another day)....the reason for zippered leaders are numerous, but most like the convenience of being able to remove a quilt without having to unpin and then being able to return that same quilt back to the frame again without having to repin, thus saving countless hours...why would you remove a quilt? perhaps you are working on one that demands a lot of time consuming custom work and you want to squeeze in a quick baby quilt so you remove the one to add the other, or perhaps you had a major boo-boo and need to do a lot of frogging (rip it rip it), much easier to take off the frame and sit on the couch for this task...more than likely it's just the convenience of having another quilt prepared and ready to zip on when the first one comes off - some like to pin, others like to baste with their domestic machines or even a Cover Pro machine (I purchased one at Festival and have good intentions of learning to use this! I've been promised a lesson with a friend I hope to visit next month - so watch for this rambling). However you like to do it, you've got to have the zippers attached to your canvas leaders and for the most part, this task of installing is up to you, the machine owner as I'm not aware of any quilting machine manufacturer that offers zippered leaders.. Okay, so on with the instructions! First of all I cut off the offending Velcro - literally just cut my canvas and started over. I'd dare say this won't be your first step (grin) but the next part is important. Take a look at the top photo, you will notice that I have pinned a small width of 108" fabric between my backing take up rollers - I call them the top backing leader and bottom backing leader. If your canvas leaders are somewhat stretched now is a good time to take a spray bottle with a little distilled water and lightly mist the canvas. Let it dry while you finish reading my ramble, this will help draw the stretched canvas back into shape. After it's dry you are ready to jump right in and follow this tutorial. Once the fabric is pinned between the two backing leaders tighten the tension like you would on a real quilt back, with the exception of placement. Notice in the photo below that I have my A1 Quilting Machine pushed away from the fabric as far as it will go (bumping up against the table stop). Line this area up to the edge of the exposed canvas being careful NOT to hit the pins. This is how I cheat the system and create my own accurate "channel lock". I will now stitch a straight line across the bottom backing leader, pressing my machine back against the roller to force an accurate straight line. Once I did that I found my dad's tape measure, ya'know, the metal type that is used in woodworking, and found the exact center of my roller (I have a 12 foot table with 11 foot of canvas on the roller, so my center was at 70 inches) I then used a sharpie to mark my center. Now it's time to sew on the zipper for this side. Side note here, the set of zippers for my leaders included three male sides of the zipper (sides with the pull tab) and 6 female sides of the zippers (sides without the pull tab) - this gives me 3 to attach to the canvas and the other 6 to use to attach to my quilt backing (2) and top (1) making two sets to be able to alternate quilts. I will be offering zipper sets for sale in the up coming weeks, if interested see my email address below. Your set may include 3 males and 6 females OR 3 females and 6 males...I know this sounds goofy, but think about it - 6 full sets of zippers are split to accommodate 2 machines. It's more economical -Trust me on this one. If you purchase from another supplier I have no idea what you'll get (grin) so follow their instructions. Okay, so determine which way your set is, more males or more females. The easiest way to do this is to zip up three sets and the left over three sides will be your additional sides to pin a second quilt to. Set these aside right now so you don't get confused. Which ever side you have three of will be the side sewn to the canvas. Here's another free suggestion (grin) on the zipper sides that I have 6 of (the ones I will be pinning or basting to in the future) I added a small muslin flap to be able to have something to pin to. You will see this in the following photos as I have written on them "top backing" and "bottom backing" so I'd know how to load the quilt. True confessions, I only did this for one set and have good intentions of doing this for the second. The third zipper that I used for the quilt top I marked in one inch increments to aide in centering the quilt top...but again, good intentions of adding a small muslin flap to aid in the basting I hope to do with my Cover Pro. For the record, I've pinned on the edge of the zipper for a number of years and haven't worn it out yet, so you don't have to add a fabric edge if you don't want to. Regardless of your decision to add a fabric extension or to mark your own measuring tape right on the side of the zipper you must determine and some how mark for reference which side of the zipper will be sewn on the canvas leader and which side will be the removable side for pinning/basting the quilt. These photos are of the top take up leader canvas, you can see where the fabric extension is going toward the black fabric pinned between the leaders - think of this as your quilt. You must stitch the zipper where it will separate on the proper side for future pinning/basting. This step is really very simple. Mark the center of the zipper and match to the center of the leader canvas. Position the zipper to where your sewing line will be the same straight line you stitched in the earlier section. Using the same method of pushing the machine back as far as it will go to force that straight line, stitch from the center out using your hoping foot as a guide against the zipper teeth. Above I've lifted up the zipper set to show you how I am indeed stitching right over that earlier line. This is what will give you a straight zippered leaders which is what we all desire to have straight finished quilts. Once I completed sewing from the center to one side I repeated and went from the center to the other side. Be forewarned, the end of the canvas is sorta tricky and may not end up being professionally neat, but it works....you'll figure out what I'm talking about as you do this, for one thing, the machine will not be able to go the full length because it just can't (grin) BUT you can move the canvas and zipper to go to the needle where the needle can't go to it. Trust me, it makes sense when you do this. Again, the last few inches aren't going to be perfect, so just be humble and accept this. The photo above shows how the zipper set looks once you lift it up to see what's under it. Yep, there's leftover canvas and those pins. The pins will come out later, of course, and you will be left with this raw edge. We'll talk about that a little later so hold on. Now it's time to advance our fabric and canvas leader to the area where the bottom backing leader is in a position to repeat the process of creating a "channel lock" with the machine pushed all the way against the top bar and making a straight line across the entire length of the canvas. Sorta see one, do one (grin) You are simply doing the same thing - but notice that your zipper teeth will be different - you must make sure that your free side, or the side that you will be pinning/basting to, is towards the fabric in the center. Match the centers and repeat the process of sewing on the zipper along the straight edge previously created. Okay, I might add here the notes I made on my muslin flap -- I wanted to make sure when I'm pinning/basting the quilt back that I know which zipper goes where. I have also marked the center so that when zipped together I know that my fabric is indeed centered on the frame - something that I found to be a purer center with the zippered leaders vs the Velcro leaders - at least it worked the best for me. On my second set of zippers I will actually zip them on and mark against the stationary side and label as which one they are (top backing, bottom backing, quilt top bottom) so that I will consistently use the right zippers for the right position. Just a safe guard in making sure everything lines up as it should. Okay, so away we go. Place the zipper set on the canvas matching centers and stitch from the center to one side, then from the center to the other side, getting creative on those last few inches (grin) Remember I mentioned those raw edges on the back side? Well, if they bother you, you can either trim them with pinking shears or actually fold under and hem which is a lot of trouble but can be done - I suggest if you want to do this that you enlist a friend to help you sew...I've done this before, used my extended base, folded the canvas under, put my needle in the down position, sat at the front of the machine using both hands and having my friend 'drive' the machine from the other side stopping and starting for me to reposition the fabric and my hands - way too much trouble if you ask me! So this time around I'm just ignoring them - they won't inhibit the fabric of either my quilt backing or top since these will be pinned to the further most side. To some this may seem unfinished or unprofessional, but to me, this is just another tool that aides in my work, it doesn't have to be pretty or perfect. The choice is certainly yours. Okay. So now you have two out of three zippers put on. Pat yourself on the back! It wasn't that hard now was it? To do the third zipper on the quilt top take up roller you will need to unpin the backing bottom take up roller and repin the fabric to the quilt top take up roller. You will be doing the same process of stitching a straight line then positioning your zipper and stitching from center to side, then center to other side. Ta-da - that's all there is to doing it the way I did today! Here's the home made video to share more details with you. Again, forgive the boo-boos, I can't edit video (heck, I'm lucky to just know how to do it considering it's not done on a real video camera). If you think this is goofy you should see the bloopers! Again, I will be making zipper sets available for sale in the near future so if you are interested you may contact me at [email protected] for pricing information. You Tube Address: http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=PQu1uaYZEaw 2/28/11 Be sure to read "part two" on loading a quilt with zippered leaders - you will see the new fabric attachments I made for the zippers as well as how to pin or baste the quilt. 8/11 Zippers are in! Available for 10 foot tables and 12 foot tables in a beautiful PURPLE! Visit my website and "contact us" ***please note - while the information contained in this post is still useful I no longer carry zippers for longarms. Unfortunately I do not have a referral source. Karen 3.1.16***

Video tutorials for freemotion quilting for both longarm quilting machines and sit down domestic sewing machines. Angela Huffman has the tips you need!

Love making quilt tops but need help with the quilting? Try Pebble Passion! This collection has you covered! The collection features 33 unique quilting designs. Choose from an assortment of blocks in multiple sizes. Add borders and sashing designs to finish your quilt. Just follow these three steps to success: Step 1. Piece your quilt top. Step 2. Make a quilt sandwich. Step 3. Embroidery the quilt designs. Bind the quilt using your preferred method. All designs are available in multiple sizes! Hoop requirements: 5" x 7" or 6" x 10" 33 Unique Designs 71 Total Designs Formats Available: ART, DST, EXP, HUS, JEF, PES, VIP, VP3 Due to copyright law, software may not be returned or refunded.

Video Tutorial for the Sea Foam Filler quilting design. This quilting design looks like moving water or waves and would be at home on many landscape quilts.

I dug up a few designs I drew out a year ago... Vine Designs: Oh...how I love to stitch out a vine on my quilts! Big Leaf Whimsy Vine Big Leaf Vine Big Curly Vine Big Curly Vine Big Leaf Tendril Vine Big Leaf Plume Vine Big Leaf Plume Vine Big Leaf w/Curls Vine Rhodies blooming by the Thread Shed: Brilliant Pink Rhodies The Rhodies greet you at the door of the Thread Shed As soon as they are done blooming... it is time to trim them back before they completely take over the Thread Shed. CLICK HERE to tour the Thread Shed CLICK HERE to view my online Sketch Book CLICK HERE: to see My Quilts May Your Bobbin Always Be Full, LuAnn Kessi

Flurry is a graphic and modern snowflake quilt perfect for making a statement in your winter decor! Bright colors on a black background are striking too! This advanced beginner pattern uses raw-edge applique and includes suggestions for resizing the quilt from baby to king. ***Due to copyright laws and restrictions, we do not accept returns on patterns!***

I purchased at auction, this beautiful unfinished quilt top with lovely cross-stitching and embroidery. I fell in love with it and had to have it. I layered QD wool over Hobbs 80/20 and…

It’s been awhile since I used my GO Cutter so I dug it out along with a fat quarter collection I bought last year called Reunion by Sweetwater. I thought it would make a cute little boys quilt as it has a nautical theme and I used the Isosceles Triangle GO die shape as it reminded me of nautical flags. I was able to cut out 17 triangles out of each fat quarter and also cut triangles out for the background using Kona Snow fabric. I quilted free hand wavy lines across the quilt to look like wind or waves. I thought about adding the odd swirl but decided against it to keep the design simple. Quilters Dream Blend batting and White So Fine thread on top and bottom. My neighbours have a nautical themed yards so made for a handy backdrop for my pictures! The backing and binding are a yellow fabric I had left over from the backing of my 5 Minute Quilt and it matched the yellow in the quilt perfectly. I have a second bundle of this fabric but in a different color way so might make another one but save that for our guilds next UFO day. This was intended to be for that day but I got carried away and finished it in one day, from cutting out the triangle to the finishing binding, it’s a quick project to do! I machine stitched down the binding which I rarely do but I am happy with how it looks . The finished size is 35”x51” so would fit nicely in a crib.

I thought I would show you my normal stitching schematic before we dig deeper into this feathery business. As you can see from the diagram below: 1. I work on my feathers one side at a time. I t…

Here is California’s biggest Steeler’s fan paying off her bet of our GB Packers beating her Steelers in last year’s Super Bowl. Raquel from Stars & Scraps Quilt shop in Corona…

Help me decide on a case for my new phone. See the choices right here. Last night, I went to bed ready to push the panic button about everything I have to do today. I need to make lunch to celebrate Erik's birthday on Saturday, which consists of two salads, pulled chicken filling for sandwiches, and baking a cake. Also, my monthly pedicure was rescheduled for today, and I have to go to physical therapy. I need to leave this morning at about 11:15 and I won't get home again until around 3:30. I was tallying up the hours I need against the hours I have (which is never a good idea), and I found myself feeling a little overwhelmed. But now, it's 8:30 a.m. as I sit down to write this. My chicken filling is in the crockpot. I'll deal with that when I get home this afternoon. My potato salad is finished and in the refrigerator. I fried bacon and hard boiled some eggs for my 7-Layer Salad that I'll finish this afternoon, and I still have all morning tomorrow to bake the cake. (Polishes fingernails on shirt.) So now I'm feeling pretty darned spunky and ready to face the next two days with a big smile. (Heaves heavy sigh of relief.) All of that to say that I haven't had any time to sew, and I probably won't have any time before Sunday. That's okay though because I got a megadose of quilting at the MQX Quilt show yesterday, and I have some pictures for you. I'll start by saying that I'm pretty exasperated with my camera. I left home with a full charge on the battery, but it went dead after taking about 20 pictures. That was pretty disappointing, not to mention disconcerting. Mike thinks the battery may have a short and that it is discharging just sitting in the camera. Fortunately, I have other batteries, but I didn't have any spares with me yesterday. That means I was taking pictures with my iPhone, and I really dislike the quality of the images. In any case, I'll show you what I have. These were a few of my favorite quilts. I don't have a lot to say about them, but I'll add in little comments if I just can't keep my mouth shut. This first quilt won best of show, and it's easy to see why. The quilting was amazing. For most of these I'll put the card before the quilt so you can read what the quilter had to say about it. Before I go on, I just want to say that the quilting in this show was over-represented with feathering, in my humble opinion. So many of the quilts were in traditional designs and quilted with lots of feathers. While the quilting and the piecing was fabulous, I found myself feeling as if I was seeing the same quilt over and over again. After a while, I was on the lookout for quilts that were unique and different. I think you'll see that reflected in these images. Pay attention to the red tie in this quilt. It ties itself as it moves from left to right. I liked this next quilt because it was different, but also because I was interested in how she had handled the reflection in the sunglasses. She printed the image on what I'm assuming is something like Printed Treasures. This next image is the next door I want to make for my Doors of Ireland quilt. If you look in the window to the right, you can see my reflection in the glass. I've been considering how to capture that when I make the quilt block, and the quilt above gave me an idea how to do it. What I don't know now is how to make it the right size without wasting lots and lots of those fabric sheets. I thought the next quilt was just too cute. I love how this quilter quilted the wrinkles in the elephant's skin. This next one is truly unique. It's all thread painted. How many miles of thread do you think it took to do this? The gears were actual gears from watches. The next quilt was quited by an 11-year-old! (Gasp!) I'd love to see what she's doing 30-40 years from now. This gave me some ideas for how to quilt my Vintage Miniature Sewing Machines quilt. I forgot to take a picture of the card associated with this next quilt, but I loved the details. It was inspired by bears in Yellowstone National Park. I love how she quilted Ursa Major into the sky. Very clever. These next several images are of quilting designs I liked. The pictures of the whole quilt were simply too poor to bother posting, but you can enjoy the quilting anyway. I included this one because I have this quilt on my to-do list, and I liked how it was quilted. I'm working up the nerve to quilt the white trees quilt next week. I wanted to quilt some snowflakes, and I had in mind a way to do it, but then I saw this, and I really liked it. I might incorporate a similar design. I liked this "hounds tooth" pattern. Another idea for my white trees quilt. And that's all I have from the quilt show. And now...I'm continuing on with my NP4 protest, which I really hope will be coming to a close soon. It seems those nuts in Washington were cracking yesterday evening. Something about opinion polls that were the worst in history. Not a bit surprising. Anyway...this image is from the Painted Hills unit of John Day Fossil Beds National Monument in my home state of Oregon. And with that, I'm off to get on with the rest of my busy day. Enjoy your Friday!

Quilts and Other Stuff from Frances Twelve Ways to Quilt a Sawtooth Saw In this challenge we will look at 12 different ways to quilt the same block. Let’s get started. If you want to make a Sawtooth Star Quilt, CLICK HERE for the free pattern. There are a number of printed resources available for … Continue reading Twelve Ways to Quilt a Sawtooth Star →

- Results from #10

Hello I'm a bit later with this post than planned but better late than never! I have been busy playing with my new machine - the Q'nique 14+. What a great time I'm having - it more than makes up for the disappointing summer we have had here in Scotland this year. This was an orphan star block which I added some borders to and quilted. I decided to make it into a cushion. It measures 16" but I used an 18" cushion pad to make it nice and plump. It is backed with a soft blue fleece. Next project, I quilted this little piece of gorgeously dyed ( by my quilty friend Irene) fabric. I just filled the whole area with feathers. My daughter had her eye on this for a pencil case but I made it into a pincushion and thread catcher for my workroom. I love it and it is already in constant use. I should've had one of these years ago. Click this link for the excellent tutorial I used if you would like to make one yourself. Of course, now I had to make a pencil case so my daughter chose this fabric. Here is the finished result, not bad considering i am not very good or patient with putting zips in. Also this week, I finished a customer quilt. Isn't it a great pattern? Christine, my customer did a fantastic job at piecing this beauty and made it a joy to quilt on. The two outer borders........ For the main background I worked chunky McTavishing...... ......and only lightly quilted within the trees. The curviness of the McTavishing is a nice contrast to the sharp angular lines of the trees and creates movement and softness. I was very happy with how it turned out and I know Christine was too. Quilt back........ Next up was small tumbler lap quilt I made for my father in law. Light quilting for this as it will be in constant use. It was just fun playing with my new machine. I absolutely love it. Sorry I have not written my review of the Q'nique yet but I will get around to it. Wishing you a great weekend. Happy stitching til next time Rhianon.

Here's the front of the wholecloth quilt. Not surprisingly, it's practically the same as the back; just with more colour! I love the texture created in this quilt with all the different quilting patterns, and by leaving just a few acrs deliberately unquilted. Some of the patterns are definite fillers, while others were specifically designed for their space. I tried to use as many patterns as possible, and I remember there are over fifty. I did end up repeating some designs, and others I modified ever-so-slightly, such as changing the direction of the lines. A few of the designs didn't quite go as planned, as almost designed themselves as I quilted. A few of the blocks have segments separated by narrow (about 1/4in) strips (as in the block above) and I enjoyed coming up with different fillers for these, too. This quilt was an amazing was to practice filler patterns! A lot of them I came up with myself, but I also used some from Leah Day's project, and others I adapted from existing designs. Oddly enough, in my doodlings earlier in the year, I'd come up with some designs almost identical to some Leah later showed, such as the coffee beans! It was also a good test (mostly successful) of shrinking designs I'd only before stitched on a larger scale. I'm really pleased with how the feathered corners tie the whole thing together. They were all stitched completely freehand, without any marking. Each 'block' finished at about 7.5in square - not surprisingly, the quilting resulted in a lot of shrinkage in this small quilt! It was challenging to photograph this quilt and get the zing of colour to really show. So on a whim, I took a few photos using the Pop-Art setting on my camera. While it made the orange, in particular, rather flourescent, these photos are in many ways a better representation of what the quilt actually looks like! Just indulge me through the last few photos, trying to show as many designs as possible in a small space... I had been concerned when I started planning this quilt that the colour wouldn't be enough, but I'm very pleased with how it come out. I quilted "EBDQS4" into one section of the border; unless you know it's there, it blends into the rest of the quilting pattern: I'm already planning more wholecloth quilts like this. I do take commissions, so please contact me if you are interested.

Learn how to quilt this free motion quilting design on your next quilt! Watch the video tutorial at: freemotionquilting.blogspot.com/2010/09/day-215-sharp-sti...

Holiday Harvest PAPER longarm quilting pantograph design by Melonie J. Caldwell More Details Holiday Harvest quilting pantograph sewing pattern by Melonie J. Caldwell. PAPER: A single row is 11.25 inches wide - printed with two row - 144 inches long Click here for more machine quilting pantographs from Melonie Caldwell Click here to go to our main Panto Directory Page. Click here to see more items of interest to machine quilters. Pantographs are continuous line quilting pattern designs on a paper roll designed for use on longarm quilting machines. The roll is approx. 11 to 12 feet long. A quilting pantograph pattern is typically used by longarm machine quilters or machine quilters using a frame.

***please note - while the information contained in this post is still useful I no longer carry zippers for longarms. Unfortunately I do not have a referral source. Karen 3.1.16*** This Sunday afternoon was my designated day to straighten my take up leaders on my A1 Quilting Machine and add zippers, as it's technically 'my day off' and the only day the frame wasn't loaded with a quilt (grin). So naturally I decided that I really should do a documentation of my actions, who knows who it might benefit! I've given you a very wordy description of what I did and at the end of this ramble a very amateur video actually showing what I'm trying to describe...so hopefully the combination of pictures, words, and voice visual will be beneficial. At least I tried (grin). For the record, my machine is almost 5 years old. I originally had a set of zippers attached to my leaders (that I'd done, but not as neatly as this go-around), but opted to remove them after the Houston Quilt Festival for the latest craze of Velcro leaders. Hum. Honestly, I hated the Velcro. Wasted time, wasted money. Lesson learned. First of all, it was a unnecessary adjustment to my machine - somehow I forgot the simple truth of if it's not broke don't fix it! . One reason I don't like Velcro is that it's always wadding up and getting stuck on something other than what I wanted it to stick to. I know I know, there's the argument that you can make adjustments to make sure your quilt is lined up, but I have decided that the best way to line things up is to have the accuracy of the teeth of the zipper matching one side to the other, besides, zipping up is quicker than trying to fussy place the Velcro to match...anyway, these are just a few of my reasons for wanting to go back to zippers...so if you are considering zippers here's a tutorial of how I put mine on this afternoon. Can't say I'm an expert, but I've done it twice now and this time was easier, better, and it's staying put! I'm sold on zippered leaders. If you have a longarm then you are aware that most machines have three take up rollers with attached canvas leaders. (If you don't have one you probably won't make it to the end of this post...however, for grins you might like to watch the video). Generally we pin the quilt backing to two of the rollers and pin the bottom of the quilt top to the third (or some prefer not to use this third roller and do a "full float" - but that's a topic for debate another day)....the reason for zippered leaders are numerous, but most like the convenience of being able to remove a quilt without having to unpin and then being able to return that same quilt back to the frame again without having to repin, thus saving countless hours...why would you remove a quilt? perhaps you are working on one that demands a lot of time consuming custom work and you want to squeeze in a quick baby quilt so you remove the one to add the other, or perhaps you had a major boo-boo and need to do a lot of frogging (rip it rip it), much easier to take off the frame and sit on the couch for this task...more than likely it's just the convenience of having another quilt prepared and ready to zip on when the first one comes off - some like to pin, others like to baste with their domestic machines or even a Cover Pro machine (I purchased one at Festival and have good intentions of learning to use this! I've been promised a lesson with a friend I hope to visit next month - so watch for this rambling). However you like to do it, you've got to have the zippers attached to your canvas leaders and for the most part, this task of installing is up to you, the machine owner as I'm not aware of any quilting machine manufacturer that offers zippered leaders.. Okay, so on with the instructions! First of all I cut off the offending Velcro - literally just cut my canvas and started over. I'd dare say this won't be your first step (grin) but the next part is important. Take a look at the top photo, you will notice that I have pinned a small width of 108" fabric between my backing take up rollers - I call them the top backing leader and bottom backing leader. If your canvas leaders are somewhat stretched now is a good time to take a spray bottle with a little distilled water and lightly mist the canvas. Let it dry while you finish reading my ramble, this will help draw the stretched canvas back into shape. After it's dry you are ready to jump right in and follow this tutorial. Once the fabric is pinned between the two backing leaders tighten the tension like you would on a real quilt back, with the exception of placement. Notice in the photo below that I have my A1 Quilting Machine pushed away from the fabric as far as it will go (bumping up against the table stop). Line this area up to the edge of the exposed canvas being careful NOT to hit the pins. This is how I cheat the system and create my own accurate "channel lock". I will now stitch a straight line across the bottom backing leader, pressing my machine back against the roller to force an accurate straight line. Once I did that I found my dad's tape measure, ya'know, the metal type that is used in woodworking, and found the exact center of my roller (I have a 12 foot table with 11 foot of canvas on the roller, so my center was at 70 inches) I then used a sharpie to mark my center. Now it's time to sew on the zipper for this side. Side note here, the set of zippers for my leaders included three male sides of the zipper (sides with the pull tab) and 6 female sides of the zippers (sides without the pull tab) - this gives me 3 to attach to the canvas and the other 6 to use to attach to my quilt backing (2) and top (1) making two sets to be able to alternate quilts. I will be offering zipper sets for sale in the up coming weeks, if interested see my email address below. Your set may include 3 males and 6 females OR 3 females and 6 males...I know this sounds goofy, but think about it - 6 full sets of zippers are split to accommodate 2 machines. It's more economical -Trust me on this one. If you purchase from another supplier I have no idea what you'll get (grin) so follow their instructions. Okay, so determine which way your set is, more males or more females. The easiest way to do this is to zip up three sets and the left over three sides will be your additional sides to pin a second quilt to. Set these aside right now so you don't get confused. Which ever side you have three of will be the side sewn to the canvas. Here's another free suggestion (grin) on the zipper sides that I have 6 of (the ones I will be pinning or basting to in the future) I added a small muslin flap to be able to have something to pin to. You will see this in the following photos as I have written on them "top backing" and "bottom backing" so I'd know how to load the quilt. True confessions, I only did this for one set and have good intentions of doing this for the second. The third zipper that I used for the quilt top I marked in one inch increments to aide in centering the quilt top...but again, good intentions of adding a small muslin flap to aid in the basting I hope to do with my Cover Pro. For the record, I've pinned on the edge of the zipper for a number of years and haven't worn it out yet, so you don't have to add a fabric edge if you don't want to. Regardless of your decision to add a fabric extension or to mark your own measuring tape right on the side of the zipper you must determine and some how mark for reference which side of the zipper will be sewn on the canvas leader and which side will be the removable side for pinning/basting the quilt. These photos are of the top take up leader canvas, you can see where the fabric extension is going toward the black fabric pinned between the leaders - think of this as your quilt. You must stitch the zipper where it will separate on the proper side for future pinning/basting. This step is really very simple. Mark the center of the zipper and match to the center of the leader canvas. Position the zipper to where your sewing line will be the same straight line you stitched in the earlier section. Using the same method of pushing the machine back as far as it will go to force that straight line, stitch from the center out using your hoping foot as a guide against the zipper teeth. Above I've lifted up the zipper set to show you how I am indeed stitching right over that earlier line. This is what will give you a straight zippered leaders which is what we all desire to have straight finished quilts. Once I completed sewing from the center to one side I repeated and went from the center to the other side. Be forewarned, the end of the canvas is sorta tricky and may not end up being professionally neat, but it works....you'll figure out what I'm talking about as you do this, for one thing, the machine will not be able to go the full length because it just can't (grin) BUT you can move the canvas and zipper to go to the needle where the needle can't go to it. Trust me, it makes sense when you do this. Again, the last few inches aren't going to be perfect, so just be humble and accept this. The photo above shows how the zipper set looks once you lift it up to see what's under it. Yep, there's leftover canvas and those pins. The pins will come out later, of course, and you will be left with this raw edge. We'll talk about that a little later so hold on. Now it's time to advance our fabric and canvas leader to the area where the bottom backing leader is in a position to repeat the process of creating a "channel lock" with the machine pushed all the way against the top bar and making a straight line across the entire length of the canvas. Sorta see one, do one (grin) You are simply doing the same thing - but notice that your zipper teeth will be different - you must make sure that your free side, or the side that you will be pinning/basting to, is towards the fabric in the center. Match the centers and repeat the process of sewing on the zipper along the straight edge previously created. Okay, I might add here the notes I made on my muslin flap -- I wanted to make sure when I'm pinning/basting the quilt back that I know which zipper goes where. I have also marked the center so that when zipped together I know that my fabric is indeed centered on the frame - something that I found to be a purer center with the zippered leaders vs the Velcro leaders - at least it worked the best for me. On my second set of zippers I will actually zip them on and mark against the stationary side and label as which one they are (top backing, bottom backing, quilt top bottom) so that I will consistently use the right zippers for the right position. Just a safe guard in making sure everything lines up as it should. Okay, so away we go. Place the zipper set on the canvas matching centers and stitch from the center to one side, then from the center to the other side, getting creative on those last few inches (grin) Remember I mentioned those raw edges on the back side? Well, if they bother you, you can either trim them with pinking shears or actually fold under and hem which is a lot of trouble but can be done - I suggest if you want to do this that you enlist a friend to help you sew...I've done this before, used my extended base, folded the canvas under, put my needle in the down position, sat at the front of the machine using both hands and having my friend 'drive' the machine from the other side stopping and starting for me to reposition the fabric and my hands - way too much trouble if you ask me! So this time around I'm just ignoring them - they won't inhibit the fabric of either my quilt backing or top since these will be pinned to the further most side. To some this may seem unfinished or unprofessional, but to me, this is just another tool that aides in my work, it doesn't have to be pretty or perfect. The choice is certainly yours. Okay. So now you have two out of three zippers put on. Pat yourself on the back! It wasn't that hard now was it? To do the third zipper on the quilt top take up roller you will need to unpin the backing bottom take up roller and repin the fabric to the quilt top take up roller. You will be doing the same process of stitching a straight line then positioning your zipper and stitching from center to side, then center to other side. Ta-da - that's all there is to doing it the way I did today! Here's the home made video to share more details with you. Again, forgive the boo-boos, I can't edit video (heck, I'm lucky to just know how to do it considering it's not done on a real video camera). If you think this is goofy you should see the bloopers! Again, I will be making zipper sets available for sale in the near future so if you are interested you may contact me at [email protected] for pricing information. You Tube Address: http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=PQu1uaYZEaw 2/28/11 Be sure to read "part two" on loading a quilt with zippered leaders - you will see the new fabric attachments I made for the zippers as well as how to pin or baste the quilt. 8/11 Zippers are in! Available for 10 foot tables and 12 foot tables in a beautiful PURPLE! Visit my website and "contact us" ***please note - while the information contained in this post is still useful I no longer carry zippers for longarms. Unfortunately I do not have a referral source. Karen 3.1.16***

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