Back and In Business

This quilt was made as my brother's wedding gift. I started it at the engagement and finally managed to give it to the lovely couple just after their fifth anniversary. Talk about a labor of love. It was the first large quilt that I quilted on my Fusion long arm. All the fabrics were dyed by my husband. I love making him dye white-on-white prints-the effect is so interesting. The quilt came out so beautifully, I thought I'd show and tell it here.

My summer has been a whirlwind of activity. I started with a week of family vacation in New Hampshire at my wonderful Aunt and Uncle's house. I was home for a week in which I quilted the wedding star for my brother. Then, I was off to Washington (with quilt in luggage) to see my immediate family. My mother and I attended the Innovations Quilts Convention. We took classes for three days straight and volunteered as well. I learned so very much about how to run a long arm business, how to fix 'problem' quilts, and I even received a PhD in Threadology. I met several wonderful quilters and made contact with many good souls. I arrived home very inspired and ready to start the business I have been creating since last March.

My business plans were still on hold for a little while due seasonal work and visits from family to my home at Mountainjoy. I had a lovely visit with my husband's mother when she came for a weekend. She was very happy to see that her quilt (another long-timer) was on the long arm and being finished. I also just had a visit from my parents, it was short and full of fun as usual.

Okay, now that we are all caught up, I can move forward. My seasonal work for Long's Gardens has come to an end and I am really ready to open up for business as a long arm quilter and quilter in general. This was the plan for surviving my snowed in winters, let's make it work!

I will be adding new stuff to my Etsy site later in the week, these will be small gift type items for holiday sales. If any of my readers have enjoyed the quilts and need/want me to quilt for you, you can now contact me at Mountainjoyquilts@gmail.com for more information.

That's plenty of news for the moment. Happy creating everyone!

More Dragon Talk

Here is the whole quilt that was collaborated on by my family members. As I said before, my brother with the "drawing on paper" skills designed this quilt. (Can you tell I'm a little jealous to not be able to draw? Give me fabric or frosting though and watch out!)
It was my mother that did a great job piecing it. There were a few things that my mom wasn't happy with. Jake would not let her change them though. My mom's issues were the large amount of open space and she thought it should have a castle. She did just what Jake wanted though. The quilt top was nice, but I did agree with mom.
That's the difference between mom and sister. A sister will do what she wants and tends to back mom. That is exactly what I did. I honored both wishes quite well I believe. The heavy quilting textured all the open background space giving it life. On the top of the hill in the distance is embroidered/quilted in a small turreted castle. So small it could easily be missed, yet if noticed begins the questions in the viewers mind. Who could live there? What are they like? Do they know there is a dragon close by?
I think quilts should tell a story of some sort, especially pictorial quilts. I continue to share more photos and stories of this quilt. Wait until you see the backing and hear how I used it to quilt the Celtic knot work.