T-shirt quilt- a first for me!
Yep, I’ve never made a t-shirt quilt. Well, I made two rag t-shirt quilts back in 2004 for some friends. I didn’t interface them, instead I ironed the shirt to some batting, and then quilted them with a simple X ...like you’re supposed to do rag quilts. The reason I did it that way, we were living in Virginia for a year, and our Gammill was in Utah. So, this is the first t-shirt quilt I’ve made doing the proper method of ironing pellon to the back of the shirts. I say properly because there are some quilters who think it’s unnecessaryto add that layer of interfacing to the shirts, I disagree wholeheartedly. I’ve machine quilted t-shirt quilts that lack the interfacing and do have borders or sashing around the shirts, and they stretch as they are getting quilted, creating pleats and wonky corners. Yes, wonky corners. They may be sewn straight with squared sashing, but t-shirts are design to stretch, so they do.
So what interfacing should you use? I used one from Pellon, found at JoAnn’s, is Apparel Interfacing - Basics 931TD fusible midweight. It irons on nicely and stays put. Follow directions on the paper that comes with the pellon, mostly importantly I turn the steam off when ironing. I didn’t have a problem ironing the pellon to the back of the shirts and having the logos on the front of the shirt melt. I did use a paper towel when I was ironing the sashing and t-shirts, to protect them from melting. The interfacing also helps the t-shirts not grow as you’re sewing them together. The pellon comes 20” wide, and I used less than 6 yards for a 68”x80” quilt. The bolt I have is $3.49 a yard and if it’s on sale or you use a coupon, it definitely doesn’t break the bank.
Because of the colors in the shirts, I knew I wanted to use a yellow and green fabric for the shashing, border, binding and backing. I found all of these fabrics at sistersandquilters.etsy.com which is my favorite online quilt shop.
I used a white 30 tex Perma Core thread, and a nice 8020 cotton/poly batting.
I made this quilt for Heather. She had it made for one of her friends, who’s really been there for her. I gave Heather a few options for the quilting and she chose Diagonal Plaid by Patricia Ritter from Urban Elementz.
It’s definitely fun to see some of the shirts from the players back in the day!
thanks for stopping by!
- Leisha
Aggie quilt x 5
Yes, Sherry made 5 of these cool quilts for 5 soon to be college graduates. Go Aggies! Sherry had the bull and Utah State logo, as well as the year and names, done at The Logo Shop here in Logan, Utah. The bull and Utah State logo are trademarked and can’t be duplicated. Sherry brought a high loft polyester batting for all five quilts. It definitely adds to the texture. I used a cream 30 tex Perma Core thread. I’m only sharing two of the five quilts.
For the two guy quilts I used my and Patricia Ritter’s Arrowhead©️ quilting design, which is available at Urban Elementz click here... https://www.urbanelementz.com/arrowhead.html it’s available in paper and digital formats.
I love the masculine look of this design!
Here is one of the three girl quilts. I used the same thread color and batting as mentioned above.
I decided something softer for the girls quilts would be fun! So I quilted Good Vibrations #1 by Patricia Ritter, on each of them. This design is also available at Urban Elementz. https://www.urbanelementz.com/good-vibrations-1.html
Isn’t that bull soooo cool! The Logo Shop website is ... http://welogostuff.mypromohq.com/
thanks for stopping by!
leisha
Sandy’s grand baby’s quilt!
Sandy is having her first grand daughter next month, yay! She saw this quilt pattern by Amber Johnson from @gigis_thimble (on instagram), it’s called May Flowers quilt.
Because some of the fabrics have hearts in them Sandy requested a heart quilting design. I gave her a couple of options and she chose Patricia Ritter and my Cupid©️ design. Which I was so excited about because I haven’t had the opportunity to quilt it out yet. It’s such a rewarding feeling quilting out something that we’ve designed, for the first time. Cupid quilted out beautifully and is now my most favorite design. Who else wants some Cupid on their quilt?
Cupid is available at urbanelementz.com or https://www.urbanelementz.com/cupid.html and it’s available in paper and digital format.
Is this quilt not the sweetest?!?!?! I used my favorite 8020 cotton poly comfort blend from Winline out of Ogden Utah. I also used a white 30 tex Perma Core thread.
I just love the texture of the swirls and hearts. It’s like they are dancing harmoniously around the quilt.
Close up, and a picture of the backing. You can’t tell from this picture, but this minky is a light pink.
Thanks for stopping by.
happy quilting!
- Leisha
Skye’s simple patchwork quilts
I LOVE simple square quilts. It’s all about showcasing the fabrics, and I love the ones that Skye put together in these quilts for her girls. She requested 1” lines. So, you may wonder why one is horizontal and one is vertical. Both of her quilts have rosette minky on the back, and I’ve learned when using minky it has to be pinned onto the canvas’ on the quilting machine a certain way. The two ends that are cut should be pinned to the loading bar canvas and the lower back bar canvas. The selvage should run down each side of the quilt. If the selvage sides are the ones pinned to the canvas, the minky will stretch as it’s quilted. It’s like pulling a rubble band and releasing it, when the quilt comes off the machine it will bunch up weird in spots. So, with Skye’s quilts, the way I needed to pin the minky on, determined the direction the lines would be quilted. It’s not a problem at all, That’s just the “why” on pinning on minky to a longarm machine canvas.
Another quilting tip... I like to quilt out an initial horizontal line using the horizontal lock on my machine, then I use that line to lay the quilt onto the batting and make sure it’s as straight as I can get it, then I baste the quilt onto the backing and batting. This helps me to start quilting with the quilt on straight.
I used a 30 Tex white Perma Core thread and a polyester batting that Skye brought. It adds so much fun texture to have that extra loft in the batting.
How sweet are those fabrics?!!!
Once again, 1” lines and super cute fabrics.
I love the colors, so fun!
thanks for stopping by, happy quilting!
- Leisha
Debbie’s jewel tone quilt
Jewel tones are just so pretty and striking! I love the fabric choices and colors in this lovely quilt Debbie made for one of her granddaughters. When I saw the quilt, I thought Patricia Ritter and my Bubble Wrap Double Take©️ would be a perfect match and I love how it quilted out! Debbie’s granddaughter is pretty lucky. I used a white 30 Tex Perma Core thread and a 8020 cotton poly blend batting.
Bubble Wrap Double Take can be found here: https://www.urbanelementz.com/bubble-wrap-double-take.html
If you’d like the quilting design to run vertical, like I did on this quilt, it must be quilted with the length turned sideways. It’s beautiful horizontal as well.
I love what simple edge to edge quilting can do to add texture to a quilt.
thank you for stopping by!
- leisha
Sharon’s sunny table topper!
This time of year anything yellow is definitely a ray of sunshine and a hope that spring is coming soon. I’m loving this geometric quilt and quilting design. I used my favorite 8020 cotton/poly blend batting, and a white 30 Tex Perma Core thread.
For the quilting I used a 5” and 7” circle ruler. The 5” ruler I used on the inside orange peel, and the 7” I used on the inner border. Everything else is freehand. Sharon is putting yo-yos on the center of each of the flowers.
Isn’t it just so sweet?!!!
Thank you for stopping by.
- Leisha
Barbara’s America’s Garden
Last week I quilted Barbara’s America’s Garden quilt. She loved the Evan Simpler Cables pantograph design by Linda Thielfoldt, that I quilted on my aunts quilt recently, and it turned out beautiful!!!
A tip about this design... The motif has a gap between the other motifs around it when it’s quilted out. The designer suggested that I do a -.10 horizontal spacing to close the gap, and that does the trick.
Each state flower was created into a beautiful fabric. Add some coordinating dotted fabric, and you have this beautiful quilt. All fabrics were kitted by Sistersandquilters.etsy.com and while they don’t have anymore kits, they still have some of the flower fabrics.
I used a light cream 30 Tex Perma Core A&E thread and a 8020 cotton/poly blend batting.
The Even Simpler Cable quilting design adds some great movement and texture.
Thanks for stopping by!
- Leisha
Quilting Backgrounds
Have you ever been quilting, and trying to figure out what to quilt in a background? Behind some appliqué or in the background of a block...I have! If fact recently I was trying to figure out what to quilt on this beautiful wool quilt of Barbara’s.
Since I quilted this quilt last month, I’ve wanted to do this post...maybe it will help you, it will definitely help me. I’ll do another post in the future with more. I love mixing lines with other freehand designs, the combination of texture is amazing!
These backgrounds are drawn on my iPad Pro in the Procreate drawing app. Thankfully my quilting it better than my drawing.
This fun grassy texture is one of my favorites!
These squares can be done freehand, like I did in the quilt pictured above or with a ruler. With a ruler I’ve done 1” or 1/2” squares. My favorite straight longarm rulers are from Linda at the Quilted Pineapple, she calls them edge rulers.
The freehand crackle, easy and a great background filler behind appliqué.
Diagonal lines, most of the time I do them at 1/2” or sometimes 3/4”, but always with a ruler.
The classic stipple. If done micro like pictured above, everything pops!
The classic look of a pinstripe. 1/4” stripes with a 1/2” space between. The rulers have lines on them to make this super easy to quilt out.
Circles circles circles. A great filler. I do love to add more to this design. Keep scrolling down.
Diagonal the opposite direction. For me, this direction is easier. Always done with a ruler.
Here are those circle with an additional filler, swirls. Great to add just a little more to your quilting.
We’ve called this design an arc echo for the longest time. I love adding this into a background, it’s uniqueness adds such a fun texture.
The swirl feather! Such a fun fancy filler. I’ve added even more to this. An arc echo, circles, and even a version of the grassy texture in the first background shown above. Really, you’re limited by your creativity.
The ripple effect.
The oval pebbles.
Cross hatching at 1/2”, or 3/4” or 1”. I always use and ruler, and it looks uniform and beautiful. It can be time consuming, but it so worth it.
The wood grain.
Lines are an easy filler. I always use a ruler, and usually do them 1/2” apart. Linda from the Quilted Pineapple has fabulous straight rulers, known as edge rulers, that have the best lines on them. No marking required.
The wavy line.
The horizontal wood grain or ripple. I have used this design before on Halloween and winter quilts...and erie or wintery wind.
Circles inside circles inside circles, a fun take on the circle...adding an occasional swirl is great too.
Swirls swirls swirls.
I hope that you find these helpful, happy quilting!
- Leisha
Janet’s Amish quilt
Janet’s beautiful Amish quilt was so fun to quilt. She requested black thread, which is compliments the background fabric so well. I used a 30 tex Perma Core thread, and a 8020 cotton/poly blend batting. I used one ruler for this entire quilt and a water soluble marking pen. My favorite rulers are from Linda at The Quilted Pineapple, and for this quilt I used her 12” Edge ruler.
Adding a cool design in the sashing when I custom quilt, is one of my most favorite things to do. And, this quilt didn’t disappoint. I was going for the four pointed star design, and also got a double octagon frame around each block. I love framing quilt blocks, they stand out so much more.
Close up...
A look at the quilting in each block.
The light in this picture picks up that awesome quilting in the sashing.
Thanks for stopping by, happy Wednesday!
leisha
Machine Quilting Classes
Have you ever wanted to learn how to longarm machine quilt? Or do you want to learn some new techniques, like custom quilting with rulers?
I’ve had requests over the years, to teach one on one classes. If you’re interested please contact me at quiltingit@gmail.com
My mom taught me how to pin on a quilt, and how to stipple...everything else I am completely self taught. I have been longarm machine quilting since July of 2005. I quilt on a Gammill Statler longarm. A Statler is a computer, which was added to my machine in December of 2016. So, for most of my career I have been hand guiding the longarm machine. Which is great!! Hand guiding a machine allows you to have more control in what design goes where. I do love having a computer for the edge to edge designs, especially geometric which are hard to get looking good if you are following a pantograph. I also learned how to follow pantographs, after I started designing them with Patricia Ritter from Urban Elementz in 2014. Our designs can be found here: https://www.urbanelementz.com/catalogsearch/result/?cat=0&q=Leisha+Farnsworth
I’ve learned so much about machine quilting and so much about the ins and outs of business.
I want the classes you take from me to be catered to you. What do you want to learn? What is your ultimate goal in learning to machine quilt? What do you know? Where do you want to start? Do you want a machine recommendation, if you don’t own a machine yet? We can talk about it all.
I have oodles of things I find helpful when I’m quilting, like a toothbrush and batting scraps that are random sizes 2” to 3” big. Those great tips and tricks are things I’ve learned along the way, and things that can help you in your quilting.
Sound fun? Are you interested?
Please contact me, and we can talk about the prices for classes. I am currently opening up classes for those located in northern Utah. I’m in the Cache Valley area.
If you have a machine, I would prefer that you learn on your machine. Your machine is different than mine, and for you to understand and remember the things we go over, it would be best to do on your machine.
Classes are best done on a one on one bases. If there is more than one quilter using the same machine that would like a class, we can definitely work that out. There will be an additional charge for each person. If you don’t have a longarm machine, we can arrange for you to take classes on my machine between client quilts that I’m working on.
To check out some of my work click here... https://www.quiltingit.com/portfolio/
Peggy’s Disappearing 4 Patch
Peggy made this Disappearing 4 Patch, pattern is from a Missouri Star Quilt Co YouTube tutorial, for a church raffle. I love the contrast of the navy and white, with the pop of paisley fabric. We decided on Patricia Ritter and my Chateau Petite ©️ pantograph quilting design for the quilting. I used a light cream 30 tex Perma Core A&E thread. 8020 cotton/poly Winline blend for the batting. And, most importantly my Statler Stitcher to quilt it.
Here is the link to Chateau Petite: https://www.urbanelementz.com/chateau-petite.html
Happy quilting!
Leisha
Flag Pillows
Kristin made three of these super cute pillow fronts and had me quilt some red gingham for the back of each pillow. I used one back for all the pieces, saves on time and makes my job so much easier. I used an 8020 cotton/poly blend batting from LuAnn at Wineline, out of Ogden Utah. I used a white 30 Tex Perma Core thread. We decided on Patricia Ritter and my “Liberty©️“ quilting design. Liberty is available at https://www.urbanelementz.com/liberty.html
Some swirls, circles, and stars...makes this design a great choice on these cute pillows.
The pattern is by Carrie Nelson, it’s free on the Moda blog and it’s called Stripes & Stars.
The red gingham is going to be cut and used for the backings of these cute pillows.
The quilting texture is awesome!!!
-Leisha
Barbara’s Wool Seasonal Wall Hanging
Barbara made this beautiful wool seasonal wall hanging quilt. Her handwork is amazing!! The pattern is by Buttermilk Basin, called Live Each Season. I used a dark brown 30 Tex thread for two of the borders and a taupe tan color for all the backgrounds in each block. I use a lovely 8020 cotton/poly batting, that I get from LuAnn at Wineline textiles, out of Ogden Utah. The quilting on this quilt was all about the backgrounds. I always want to do something that enhances the quilt, and with appliqué...especially wool appliqué, I love to add texture. I quilted something different in each background. I’m thinking of doing a post showing all the different design options I use for background quilting...it definitely would be a great resource for me, when I’m trying to figure out what to quilt.
I used the -15- curve ruler from Linda at The Quilted Pineapple to get the curves in the tan border, and a 4” circle ruler to get the curves in the corners. I also used Linda’s 8” & 12” Edge rulers for straight lines. Her BFF curve ruler is awesome to use around appliqué, definitely helped me on this one.
A close up on the background quilting.
Aren’t those curves in the border just sooo pretty?!?!!!! I love them!
thanks for coming by!
leisha
Janet’s Beautiful Wall Hanging
I always love what custom quilting can add to a quilt, and this beautiful wall hanging made my Janet turned out great!! She brought with her a thicker polyester batting and I used a polyester 30 tex Perma Core cream thread to quilt it.
I love the look of that the beautiful curves in the sashing add to the over all quilt. I used the -20- ruler from Linda at The Quilted Pineapple, for the sashing curves and a variety of different sized circle rulers for all the other curves. I used Linda’s 8” Edge ruler for the straight lines. Her rulers are my favorite!!!
Here are some up close looks at some of the blocks.
I freehanded the feathers in the outside border. The rest is ruler work.
The backing + quilting = love it!!!
Thank you for stopping by, come again soon!
-leisha
New Website, New Blog
With a new website, comes a new blog.
