Tag Archives: free motion quilting

Not Retired Anymore!

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I have been absent from the blog “scene” for sometime, and I apologize.  But I have been busy.  My last post was about my retirement from my long arm quilting business (at least for the immediate future).  But now I have a new career.  I have been hired by the Clark County School District (Las Vegas, NV) to teach in an elementary school of 900 students.  And I teach them all!    I am their new music teacher.  I am an Orff specialist (you can google that!) teaching general music to grades Kindergarten to 5th grade.  I will also teach choir and a select percussion ensemble.  It’s what I did before I became a professional quilter.  But I am not done with quilting.   So what would a music teacher/quilter do?   Make quilts to decorate her classroom, of course!  Here is the first.  It’s going on the wall next to my classroom door.  I’ll be showing a few more of my creations in the next few days.

What ever music classroom needs! Original design by Pam Schoessow

What every music classroom needs!
Original design by Pam Schoessow

Batik Beauty

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Before I left town to visit my mom a couple of weeks ago, I finished another gorgeous quilt for Georgia.  She always sends me the most fantastic quilts to finish.  This one was no exception.IMG_0667It was especially fun to use some bright variegated thread that really pops on the black background.IMG_0668The pictures really don’t do it justice, and I am no photographer, but these few will give you an idea.  I did a lot of stitch in the ditch, but most everything else was free-motion quilting.IMG_0673  IMG_0675 IMG_0676

I changed from a multi-colored thread to a variegated yellow/orange thread in some of the blocks.  I love how it really shows up on the dark fabric.  Some triangles I left un-quilted so they “pop up” with the heavy quilting around them.  I used 2 types of batting:  black 80/20 and wool.  It gives the quilt a lot of dimension.IMG_0674The quilt is about queen size.  I tried to get the the whole quilt in the picture, but this was the best I could do.   It was hard to see this beauty go out the door!IMG_0670See more gorgeous quilts in the gallery of my website at pamsquilting.com.

 

 

 

 

 

Judy’s Quilt

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I finished quilting this beautiful quilt recently.  It was pieced by Judy, who did a fabulous job.  It’s always a pleasure to quilt a well pieced top.  I believe this is the Hunters Star block.IMG_0488

I used some circle templates to get the nice curves.IMG_0491IMG_0493The feathers and pebbles are all done free-hand.  That’s the part I like best.IMG_0495I put feathers in the borders also.IMG_0492This quilt actually took quite a while to finish, but I am happy with the results.IMG_0496Purple lovers enjoy!

 

 

Fabulous Quilt in Blue and Purple

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I recently quilted this wonderful quilt for Abby.  It’s a pattern by Judy Niemeyer and was mostly paper pieced (how else would you get those marvelous points!)  Abby did a fantastic job piecing this beauty.

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I did some  free motion “wavy” quilting on the background  and stitched around the pointy border to give it more definition.Image

The center circles seemed to speak “bubbles” to me, so that is what went into the turquoise “water”.  Don’t you just love those circular flying geese?!

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Again, one of the best things about being a Long Arm quilter is that I get to put my creative quilting juices to work without having to do the intricate piecing.  I love this quilt!  It truly IS fabulous!Image                                         It’s fun to look at the back too!

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Keep those quilts coming.  I’m having fun!

 

 

More Quilter Eye Candy

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I recently finished quilting a couple more quilts for Georgia.  She makes the most fabulous quilt tops, and these two are no exception.  I love the colors and oh the fabrics!  Each circle is made up of 40 different prints!  So fun to look at.

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I quilted each circle like a sunflower with “seeds”in the center with “petals”

Image                             Sometimes it’s easier to see the quilting from the back.  Image

What a gorgeous, FUN quilt!

Image  I especially love the arcs appliqued on the border.  I used several free motion quilting designs to give it even more pizazz!   Each quilt just seems to speak to me and tells me what it needs.Image

Another one just finished is a “cat” quilt.  It’s a smaller wall hanging size.  Isn’t it wonderful?!Image

The wonderful fabrics are really busy, so it’s difficult to see the quilting.  I wish you could see it in person.  I used a higher loft wool batting.  With the heavy quilting in the background around the cats, it gives them real dimension.  Image

It was hard to let these quilts go out the door!  They really brightened up my week as I worked on them.  I have a few more of Georgia’s fabulous quilts I have yet to tackle–so there are more wonderful quilts to come!

Log Cabin Quilt

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My friend Kathy, recently finished this small quilt that she started in a workshop last Fall with designer Edyta Sitar.  She called the pattern Broken Star Log Cabin.Image

The quilt is just 40″ x 40″.  The “logs” in the blocks are just 1/2 inch wide!  I thought it must have been paper pieced but no.  Kathy did a super job piecing this.  It came out square and flat and was a pleasure to quilt.

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I quilted it with my free-hand all over feathers.  

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I wish you could see it in person.  It is a really lovely quilt!

 

 

Bargello Beauty

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I recently finished quilting this king sized quilt pieced by Wanda.  Isn’t it lovely?Image

Because the piecing was rather busy, it lent itself to an edge to edge design.  I don’t have a computerized machine and I don’t like to follow pantograph patterns.  So I have developed several free-hand designs that I “draw” with my machine.  This pattern I call “Daisies”.Image

I like this pattern because I can vary the size of the flower and easily turn it different directions to fill the space.  I like the organic look–it definitely doesn’t look like a pattern.  The purple thread I used really shows on the lavender backing fabric.  Image

This beautiful quilt was a pleasure to work on.  If you have a need to get one of your quilt tops finished, I am always accepting new quilts from new and previous customers.  Some like Wanda, send them to me from hundreds of miles away.  My turnaround time for edge to edge quilting is currently 2 to 3 weeks.  Custom quilting takes a bit longer.  If you are interested, go to my Pam’s Quilting  website (pamsquilting.com) for more detailed information.  Or email me directly at pamsquilting@gmail.com and I would be happy to answer any questions you might have.  Happy Quilting!

More Quilt Show Quilts

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I thought I would share a few more pics of my quilts that were in the show last week.  First is one I call  French Baskets.  The blocks were made by friends in my guild for my birthday.  When I was deciding how to make them into a quilt top, I found this great fabric (sashings and border) in my stash.  I was so proud of myself for using fabric I already had!  I designed the swag appliqué on the sides because I didn’t have enough of the striped border fabric to go all the way around.  I really like how it turned out.  The primary color scheme is reminiscent of French Provance.  For the back, I incorporated a vintage tablecloth I got off of eBay that had the same colors.  Then I did some fun free motion quilting.ImageImageImageImage

Also in the show was a quilt that I designed and made for my son Scott’s wedding to Robyn (I’m ashamed to say how long ago that was–but it took we a while to finish). Now that it has been in the show, I can no longer come up with any more excuses not to hand it over to them!  The color scheme is a traditional blue and white, but I was sure to leave a lot of negative space for quilting.

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Memory Quilt

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Sue wanted to honor her father by having a quilt made out of his old suits.  Her friend Brenda did a wonderful job piecing a quilt top that was very pleasing–adding a floral print that softened the look.  I recently finished quilting it.   It’s a large bed sized quilt.

ImageI quilted feathers in the “suit” areas to soften and unify the different wools.

ImageIn the floral print, I used straight lines to accent the triangle shape and added some freehand leaves and curls.Image

In the center, I quilted a feathered wreath.ImageOn the other side, it’s easier to see the border design.  The solid lime green backing fabric really shows off the quilting.

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ImageThis is one of the those quilts that was really an honor to quilt.  I love how it turned out.  

 

 

Sampler Quilt

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So what I have been doing lately?  Quilting for customers.  This one is a sampler quilt by my good friend, Gale.   The first pic is of the front of the quilt which is essentially a two color sampler.  The other pics are of the back where the quilting really shows up.  I love to quilt sampler quilts (where all the blocks are different).  I get to come up with different designs for each block.

Today I’m spending time working on my own projects.  Our guild has a quilt show coming up and I need to have my things finished by the end of August.  I have several quilts I want to show.  Unfortunately, most of them are still in my head.  That’s because I’m still designing them!    It would be much too easy to follow a purchased pattern.  Will any of these (imaginary) quilts make it to the show?  It’s too soon to tell.

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Basket Quilt

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What’s on my machine lately?  Christine’s  beautiful basket quilt.  The best thing about being a quilt “finisher” is getting to “draw” and play around on quilts I didn’t have to piece!  I get to be creative with a wide variety of styles, colors and patterns.  As much as I like to design and paint, my machine quilting business is my “real” job.   Image

Here’s a close up on the quilting.  Christine wanted an all over design.  I included leaves & curls with gold thread.  All my quilting is “drawn” free hand without any patterns or the aid of a computer.  The border fabric has leaves and strawberries, so I added a strawberry to each basket.  Image

Here’s the whole quilt.  I love the colors.  Now it just needs the binding.  It has a finished size of  75″ x 75″.

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Batik Wallhanging

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This small quilt was pieced by Kathy A. I love the colors. I thought gold thread would compliment it nicely. I quilted an overall swirly pattern in the center and then did separate border treatments. Every thing is quilted "free hand" without any markings or computer.

This small quilt was pieced by Kathy A. I love the batik fabrics.   I thought gold thread would compliment it nicely. I quilted an overall swirly pattern in the center and then did separate border treatments. Every thing is quilted “free hand” without any markings or computer.

Often you can see the quilting even better on the back. The solid black fabric really shows off the quilting.

Often you can see the quilting even better on the back. The solid black fabric really shows off the quilting.

Here's a closer view.

Here’s a closer view.