Denise’s Mom’s Cross-stitch Quilt
My friend Denise texted me a picture of this incredible quilt that she made using all the cross stitching her mom did and asked what we could do for the quilting. For starters I was in awe!! Look at all of those quilts perfectly stitched in each square.
I’m not sure what the pattern is for the cross-stitch. Denise just figured out the sashing…she’s amazing! She did put interfacing behind each block.
Back to the quilting we talked about me doing light custom, because I was leery of quilting on the cross-stitch and I didn’t want to take away from all her mom’s amazing work.
I started by quilting in the ditch on the inside border of each block. Then I quilted a swirly feather in each colored border. I knew I wanted to do the curved design in the sashing…which I’ve done several times before, it my favorite way to quilt sashing…but it’s definitely tricky when the blocks aren’t square. I pulled out my Circle2 rulers and figured out which two to use. I used the 7” on the sides and the 10” on the top and bottom. You’ll see below the 7” circle is on the inside of the ruler, on the 4”/10” ruler the 10” is on the outside. That means there are two different sizes of circles on each ruler. My Circle2 rulers can be found in my shop at: https://www.quiltingit.com/shop
I created these rulers back in 2018 because there was nothing like them and I desperately needed a circle ruler set. The circles range in size from 2” to 13” and are made from 1/4” high quality acrylic in America.
For the x’s in the corners I used an Edge ruler from Linda at The Quilted Pineapple. I also quilted in the ditch around the little 1/2” square and strips to accentuate them with the x’s surrounding them. Together the overall design frames each cross-stitch block beautifully.
You may be thinking, what about leaving those blocks un-quilted, doesn’t the batting need to be quilted…yes!!! Awhile back Denise had me custom quilting the sashing on a quilt and she went back and hand quilted part of it. I suggested she do the same with her mom’s quilt. She did! Little stitches around little parts in each block. I know battings have recommended sizes for how close the stitching should be so it doesn’t bunch up weird when it’s washed. I personally don’t like anything over 4” square, but I understand when something needs “less” quilting. Hand quilting was the perfect solution in this case.
I used a cream Omni thread from Superior Threads and 8020 cotton poly blend batting from Winline Textiles.
It’s so fun for me to be apart of quilts like this!! The end result makes me so happy!
If you’re interested in having me quilt edge to edge for you, check out my calendar and schedule a day. https://calendly.com/quiltingit
Thanks for stopping by! Happy quilting!! Leisha
Kathy’s Star Storm Astros Quilt
So excited to share this amazing baseball quilt with you!!!
Kathy made this for her son who is a huge Houston Astros fan!!! She asked that I quilt it custom, and I think it turned out so awesome.
The pattern is called Star Storm by Victoria Findlay Wolfe, you can find the pattern here: https://vfwquilts.com/products/star-storm-pattern
In the very center of the star I started with a line from point to point in the star and then added 5 lines, one is in the ditch of the navy and orange seam, in each point of the star. In the white grunge fabric I quilted my Overlapping Line design, which is something I teach in my Quilting It Freemotion Course. Go to: https://www.quiltingit.com/quilting-it-freemotion-course
Next, on the Houston Astros fabric I did line bursts which are a quick easy way to add some fun texture to a quilt. It worked beautifully in these long sections so I wasn’t measuring and trying to make a motif fit. In the orange I quilted 1/4” pinstripes with a 1/2” gap from each edge and it made the center stripe a little bigger, but it is centered so it worked great!! In the baseball fabric I quilt 45° lines 1/2” apart on the entire quilt. The lines on my ruler made that easy peasy. I repeated each design in the same fabric.
I used my 16” Edge ruler from Linda at The Quilted Pineapple for every single stitch on this quilt. Her straight rulers are my favorite!!! Go to: https://www.thequiltedpineapple.com/shop/
We decided on grey thread, so I used Silver Omni thread from Superior Threads and 8020 cotton poly blend batting from Winline Textiles.
Here is a close up on all the different lines!! So excited to see how simple lines together can harmonize so well.
Another view of the lines from the center out. I start quilts in the top left and work my way to the right before rolling to the next section. I even did that with this quilt. It would be a saggy bubbly mess if I started in the center and worked my way out.
The back looks so good, too!!! I couldn’t be happier.
It’s amazing what comes when I quilt the shape of the pattern from the front. Kathy was thrilled!!
Thanks for stopping by!! If you’re interested in having me quilt edge to edge for you, check out my calendar and schedule a day. https://calendly.com/quiltingit
Happy quilting!! Leisha
Kristin’s Color My World quilt
Hello, thanks for visiting Quilting It. I’m excited to share with you one of the quilts I had the privilege of quilting earlier this year. It’s an amazing one!
Kristin made this amazing Color My World quilt. The pattern is by Wendy Williams. Kristin wanted custom quilting, which is perfect for this quilt.
It may be hard to see, but look extra close in the background behind the trees there are pebbles, which is something I teach in my Quilting It Freemotion video course. The swirls, which I also teach in my course, you can see quilted in the trees around the center. These two designs are ones that Kristin requested, after seeing them on another quilt. She left everything else up to me. She loved it, and so do I.
I used the natural white Omni thread from Superior Threads and 8020 cotton poly blend batting from Winline Textiles.
When it came to the quilting in the houses, I quilted in the ditch with an x in the windows or doors. I also tried to highlight the shape of the roof’s in the center…let’s just call them the suburbs, haha…with a couple of simple v shapes.
The center star also go some echoed lines inside and out. See those white dashes, aka the lines down the middle of the road, I quilted in the ditch on each of them individually. The overall look is worth it.
Here is a close up of it all.
You can see the lines in the city buildings a little better in these close ups. I used a couple of Edge rulers from Linda at The Quilted Pineapple to quilt all the lines.
You can see that I quilted my Overlapping Circles design in the rest of the background from the road out to the border. It’s one of my favorite designs to quilt freemotion, and it’s also one of the designs I teach in my course. It’s a fabulous design and creates the best texture!! It also fills up a space quite nicely.
These buildings are so clever!! I think this pattern, if I remember right, is a foundation paper piecing pattern.
Thanks for stopping by!! If you’re interested in having me quilt edge to edge for you, check out my calendar. Happy quilting!! • Leisha
Terri’s Flower Farm Quilt
Hello there,
I have a sweet quilt to share with you today!!
Terri made this lovely Flower Farm quilt by Anne from Bunny Hill Designs. I think these are Anne’s fabrics as well, if I’m not mistaken.
My goal was to create lots of texture and make each block stand out on its own. If your a longarm quilter and would like to learn some freehand or freemotion quilting designs, like I’ve quilted here, let me teach you. I have a 10 video freemotion quilting course called Quilting It Freemotion. I start off with Stippling and work my way thru a variety of different designs. You can pick and choose which design you’d like to learn, or grab the whole bundle. It could be just the thing you’ve been waiting for!!
I used my favorite Natural White Omni thread from Superior Threads and 8020 cotton poly blend batting from Winline Textiles.
I quilted pebbles, crackle, grass, arcs, ribbon candy, my overlapping circles, stippling, loops, swirls, feathers and more. I quilted them in multiple blocks throughout the quilt which creates cohesion and movement.
I love the sweet touches that custom quilting can add to such a beautiful quilt.
I wish you could all see it in person. The pictures never do it justice.
Thanks for being here!! If you’re interested in having me quilt for you, check out my edge to edge quilting calendar.
Have a happy day and I hope you get time to sew. • leisha
Kathy’s “Who’s in My Garden” Quilt
Hello,
This incredible quilt was on my machine back in February, and with a little bit of time this afternoon I want to tell you about it.
Kathy created this design herself and called it “Who’s in My Garden”. Which, if you notice all the little creatures…you’ll see who visits her garden. There is no pattern for this. She had the center panel for awhile and possibly the floral border fabric, which she designed the whole quilt around. There are 7 pieced borders on this quilt.
The delicate floral arrangement in the center is so beautiful and classy, and I didn’t want to take away from that with the quilting so I cross hatched it with a long Edge ruler from Linda at the Quilted Pineapple.
I quilted my freehand Overlapping Circles design in the corners behind the birds. If you’re interested in having me teach you how to quilt freemotion from the comfort of your own home, check out my Quilting It Freemotion course.
Then I just kept quilting and trying to highlight each border, repeating some of the designs to create cohesion throughout the quilt.
If you’re interested…Check out the quilting details for the first couple of borders in this instagram video. I used my 4” Circle2 ruler for curves behind the outside scalloped blue border. My Circle2 rulers are available in my shop, in a set of 6 ranging from 2” up to 13”…with two circles per ruler. Check them out!!!
I share the rest of the border quilting designs in this video. I used my 5” Circle2 ruler for the petals in the flying geese blocks. More freehand Overlapping Circles and lots and lots of lines.
I used Hobbs wool batting and natural white Omni thread from Superior Threads.
This quilt is amazing, and it was fun to create so much beautiful quilty texture!!
I’m still not taking on custom quilting at the moment, but if you’re interested in edge to edge quilting please check my schedule.
Thanks for stopping by!! Happy quilting. • leisha
Susan’s Goose Crossing Quilt
Hello there,
It’s been too long, and I have lots to catch up on…life has been crazy for me. Hopefully I can get back into a blogging groove, because I’ve quilted some pretty amazing quilts over the last several months.
Susan made this incredible Goose Crossings quilt, which is in the Autumn Bouquet book by Sharon Keightley. So amazing, huh?!?!
Susan used fabrics from several lines by Kim Diehl. Kim’s fabrics are so rich and stunning, and they go so beautifully together.
My quilting plan was to make the appliqué pop!! I quilted all the lines with an Edge ruler from Linda at The Quilted Pineapple and my Overlapping Circles freehand design in the background behind the flowers. The flowers themselves have no quilting in them. With how dense the quilting is, I don’t think it’s necessary. I quilted 1/2” squares in the very center of the background.
I used Almond Omni thread from Superior Threads, which is a perfect cream color.
The cornerstone blocks gave me the opportunity to quilt a simple grid design in the corners. Which I love with the petals.
To help the flying geese pop and create a beautiful frame around the flower blocks, I quilted simple petals using my 3” Circle2 ruler. (Pictured below) My Circle2 machine quilting circle rulers are available in my shop, and come in a set of six ranging in sizes from 2” to 13”. They are such a great tool to have when you’re freemotion quilting. There are two circles in each ruler, the one below is the 3”/9” ruler. 3” on the inside and 9” on the outside. They are made in America from high quality 1/4” acrylic.
• Design Patent D875,574 •
The pop of red Susan put in the inner border is perfect. I quilted a freehand ribbon candy inside which ties everything together.
More Overlapping Circles, which I teach in my Quilting It Freemotion course, between the flowers and the inner border, with 3/4” lines from the flowers to the outside edge of the quilt.
I used two layers of batting. A 8020 cotton poly blend on the bottom from Winline Textiles, with a layer of Hobbs wool on top. I love that combo. I also love wool with bamboo. I recommend double batts on wallhangings or show quilts…or ones with lots and lots of dense quilting, it helps everything pop in the best way!
I wish you could all see this one in person. It’s incredible!!!
Thanks for stopping by!! My edge to edge quilting schedule is available, I’m not taking on any custom quilting right now. Happy quilting!!
• leisha
Marsha’s Rose Embroidery Quilt
Hi There,
I’m excited to share with you some of the custom quilting details on this beautiful quilt that Marsha made.
She embroidered the Rose Blocks from Ace Points Embroidery, and then designed the rest of the quilt. I love the sweet blue floral she used, it pairs nicely with the rose blocks.
I used my favorite Natural White Omni thread from Superior Threads, and 8020 cotton poly blend batting from Winline Textiles.
As you can see, I echoed around the embroidery blocks.
To try and create a beautiful frame around the Rose blocks, I quilted a couple of different curves. You can see a video of me quilting a block like the one below on my instagram.
I used an Edge ruler from Linda at The Quilted Pineapple to quilt those beautiful lines. I quilted the lines leaving a 1/2” space between them, it’s simple and beautiful.
I used my 4” Circle2 ruler for the orange peel petals, after quilting a line with an Edge ruler of Linda’s. I love mixing lines and curves, when I custom quilt.
Check out all that lovely texture!
A close up!
Thanks for coming on by. I hope your making lots of pretty things in your free time. If you’re interested in having me quilt for you, check out my schedule. Happy quilting! • Leisha
Denice’s Granddaughter’s Indah Blossoms Quilt
Hello there,
I have a beautiful quilt to share with you today. Denice’s 13 year old granddaughter made this one, amazing huh?!?!
The pattern is by my friend Carolyn from Free Bird Quilting and is called Indah Blossoms. You can find the pdf pattern and template set in her shop. Carolyn has so many incredible quilt patterns, go check out her shop.
I used the 8020 comfort blend batting from Winline Textiles based out of Utah. I used a deep aqua thread for the top blue part, and my favorite Natural White Omni thread from Superior Threads for the bottom part and all the appliqué.
Denice’s granddaughter wasn’t loving the quilt after working on it for years. So my task was to add some fun quilting to it. Denice loves it, and I hope her granddaughter does, too.
I quilted my freehand Overlapping Circles design in the blue background, which adds such a fun texture to the quilt. If you’re interested in learning how to quilt freemotion, I can help you with that!! Check out my Quilting It Freemotion course. I teach 10 different designs, and you can pick and choose which designs you’d like to learn.
Here is a close up on some of the flowers and what I quilted in them. I tried to mix up the designs and add something different and unique to each one. Both the pick flowers, one pictured above and the other one below, are some of my favorites.
The orange one below is also a favorite!!
Denice and I talked about the quilting a couple of times, and then last minute I asked if I could do a graffiti type quilting in the white background. I went in a garden themed direction, with flowers, feathers and leaves, with pebbles as filler. To see a video, check out this instagram reel.
I think the texture is such a fun addition to this quilt!!
Have you tried graffiti quilting before? It’s something that master quilter Karlee Porter came up with and teaches classes on.
I hope you enjoyed a look at this beautiful quilt!!!
If you’re interested in having me quilt for you, schedule a day on my Calendar at https://calendly.com/quiltingit
Thanks for stopping by, happy quilting!! Leisha
Susan’s Tulips for Oma Quilt
Hi there,
I’ve been quilting away the last month, and have some beautiful quilts to share with you…let’s start with one of my recent finishes…Susan made this incredible quilt and asked me last fall if I would quilt it for her. It was an absolute pleasure adding all the beautiful quilty texture to this quilt.
The pattern is called Tulips for Oma by Christa from Cotton Berry Quilts. Amazing, huh?!?!!!! Christa is a longarm quilter, too, and I got some inspiration from her quilting on her quilt.
Susan and I talked about how great a double batting would be, and she decided on the 8020 cotton poly and wool combo, which I’ve used on a few of my own quilts. I put the wool layer on top which creates the added puff to the quilt top. It’s so lovely. The wool I use if from Hobbs and the 8020 is from Winline Textiles out of Utah. I also used Natural White Omni thread from Superior Threads.
I love how all the blocks turned out together. I never know what the overall look is going to be until I pull it off of the quilting frame. There are five of one block, as pictured above in the center, and four of the other…as pictured below. I used the -20- curve ruler from Linda at The Quilted Pineapple to create the curves that go around the flowers in the block below. Then I freehand quilted my Overlapping Circles design in the center surrounding all the flowers and leaves. For the finishing touch I quilted 1/2” lines using one of Linda’s Edge rulers. I struggled to know what to do in the other block…as pictured above…I decided to quilt a few tiny pebbles to close off the circular design, and then quilt the same Overlapping Circles in the background with the same 1/2” lines outside.
To carry the Overlapping Circles to other parts of the quilt, and have the overall design by cohesive, I also quilted them in the border. I quilted some freehand Pebbles along the edge of the border to add some fun interest in there as well. In the dresden flower I quilted some feathers, and so light quilting in all of the appliqué. For the checkered border, I quilted an x in the gingham fabric, a pebble in the white, and a simple orange peel petal in the blue square using my 2” Circle2 ruler. That checkered border is one of my favorite parts on this quilt…one of…haha!! There are many favorite parts.
I quilted two 1/4” lines on both sides of the sashing, and then freehand quilted the circles in between.
Here is a look at all of the textures together. Love it!!!
It took me nearly 15.5 hours to quilt this, and it was worth every stitch. It was a labor of love.
A few more pictures, just because.
Susan used Fig Tree and Co fabrics with some greens from her stash.
One last picture…which definitely doesn’t do this one justice.
Do you have a quilt you’d like me to quilt? Check out my calendar and sign up for a day. Let me know if you have any questions.
Happy quilting!! • Leisha
Quilting It • Freemotion™ Launch
Hello there Friends,
I hope your fall or spring has been a beautiful one.
Tomorrow is the day!! My Quilting It • Freemotion™ video course is launching!!! So excited!! Those of you who’ve already purchased a video or two will receive a NEW link in an email, you’ll then download a PDF which will have all the information you’ll need to access the video you purchased. Because of the size of the videos, you can download the videos directly from Vimeo if you wish, or you can continue to view the videos using the link on the PDF and password provided. Please keep the link and passwords private, no sharing with others. Remember, you do have to have a Vimeo account to view the videos. No worries, it’s free. Go to: Vimeo.com
If you’ve been following along on my Instagram, I’ve been sharing short videos of pictures of the quilts I’ve quilted using the designs in my Quilting It • Freemotion™ course. If you haven’t, you’ll have to go to: https://instagram.com/leishakaye/ and watch the several videos in my feed. I have a few more to post.
Below is a video of the bundle of 10. (If it doesn’t show up correctly in the email, use this link: https://youtu.be/gpZqBIaiwRM )
Here is a look at the intro video…in case you missed that, too...below. (https://youtu.be/5i_iKdnyq2Y ) (Note: The table runner pattern Pumpkins in a Row and fabrics are by @figtreeandco • and was quilted just for this promo video)
Now that launch day is tomorrow, yay, my sale will end at midnight on Friday October 15th MST. If you purchase the entire bundle of 10 designs, you’ll get access to a private Facebook group where you’ll be able to share your work and see some iPhone videos of me quilting client quilts. I hope that you’ll join me.
Now…just a quick look at each design on a quilt. To see more examples of quilts I’ve quilted with these designs, head over to my shop and check out the Quilting It • Freemotion™ listings. There are lots of pictures. You could also look through my blog posts, there are even more pictures than what I can share here.
Above is Stippling in the background behind those beautiful flowers. Stippling is the first design to learn…and it’s a classic!
Loops, like the ones above can be extra sweet! The great thing about practicing loops, it helps you when you go to quilt pebbles.
A great Pebble can add some awesome texture on a variety of different quilts, like this Christmas tree quilt. The swirls are a fun addition to add to your pebbles.
I teach a variety of different Swirls and how/where I quilt them. All found in the Swirl video in my shop.
Crackle is one of those designs that you’ll love to add to just about every garden, winter, or Halloween quilt. It’s versatile, organic, and very forgiving as you quilt it out.
My Swirly Feather design can be a show stopper on an entire quilt, in a border, background, in appliqué, and it’s as fun as it looks. Definitely one of my favorites!
Wood Grain is also one of those organic, forgiving and fun designs to quilt in a small area or over an entire quilt. This will certainly be a favorite to add to your skills.
That Grassy texture in the background of Little Boy Blue, created the perfect texture for this single block. It’s also like Wood Grain and Crackle…organic and forgiving and so much fun.
Overlapping Circles is sure to be a show stopper as well. There are many quilts I’ve quilted it on, like the one above, just look at that background texture. This one is the most popular one so far!
If you noticed the lines in the leaves in the Wood Grain picture above, then you’re sure to love this border. Its called Overlapping Lines. It’s definitely one of my favorites, especially when it comes to borders, when I don’t know that a swirly feather would look good.
I hope you noticed in the pictures the variety of different quilting designs, that go so well together. There is great value in learning all the designs, so you can quilt some of them on the same quilt. I hope you enjoyed a little look into the designs that I have available. I kept getting requests for videos, so I decided to start with 10 basics and/or favorites to teach you. If you’d like to get started with freemotion quilting, start with Stippling the 1st video, and work your way up through each of the videos. This is self paced, so noooo rush. I hope you’ll join me, let’s get quilting. Thanks for being here. Take care,
• Leisha
PS…all of these pictures are from client quilts that I’ve already blogged…check out my previous blog posts from the last few years for all of the pattern or quilting details.