Ecstatic Might Describe It

I've just consulted the thesaurus for an appropriate word to describe the new quilting experience I had on Wednesday. I took a quilt top, backing and batting to Mendelbrights in Cynthiana, where after shop owner Rita gave me a lesson on her long-arm quilting machine, I QUILTED A WHOLE QUILT!!

Yes, I was ecstatic, elated, joyous, jubilant, overjoyed and thrilled. (Thank you, Roget.) Each time I completed a lengthwise pass on the quilt, I could barely contain my urge to happy dance all over her shop! I settled by having little fits of excitement there at the machine. So it's true. Old dogs CAN learn new tricks, and this is one trick I am so stoked to continue! (Pardon me for the excessive use of exclamation marks - this post warrants them, I assure you!)

Both pictures above are taken as I was in the middle of my last pass over the border. All that is rolled on that bar you see there has already been quilted. By the time I had done all of this, I was feeling a lot less tense and much more comfortable with the machine. I still have so much to learn, and I am certain I could really love doing this!

Rita took a picture and a video while I quilted. Having never loaded a video here on the blog, I will attempt.

I finished this 72"x88" quilt in about 3 hours. Later that same evening I cut the binding strips, attached them and stitched them down. All in one day I went from flimsy to finished quilt - now that is motivation enough to go back to her for more quilting practice!

And that is precisely what will be happening! If you recall, I have 3 baby quilts still to be quilted, and I have already made plans to revisit Rita next Thursday to try to do all of them. The best thing for me is to practice this and make myself really comfortable with it. I can't say that a long-arm quilting machine is in my future, but I am certainly happy to know how to do it and understand this part of the quilt making process from a whole new perspective.

Added later: I meant to include this in my opening, but it slipped my mind. I can't believe I forgot it, as it's possibly the best part of the day! As I first stepped into the shop, a bit late for my noon appointment, Rita was sitting at her work table with two other quilters. After we exchanged greetings, Rita explained that they were just about to pray as they ended their visit, and I would be welcome to join in their moment of prayer. Now if ever there were any doubt that I was in the right place at the right time, this was the all the sign I needed to confirm I was right where I belonged! Thus, I began my first ever long-arm quilting session with voices lifted to the Lord and blessings all around. I learned later that the women were friends of Rita's - Terri and Betty Jo - both quilters and Betty Jo is new to our rural area, having been assigned to two small churches nearby as an ordained United Methodist minister. Wonder of wonders. How strange and mysterious things happen, you know? I felt especially certain that I was meant to be quilting with Rita on Wednesday.

To see full pictures of the quilt, check out yesterday's post. I took several shots from various angles so that the quilting would show pretty well.

Next up for me is to get that UFO from June finished - it's the only one I haven't finished in the month it was (loosely) assigned.

I have linked to Let's Bee Social over with the girls at Sew Fresh Quilts. Have a look!
Happy Quilting, Friends!

Projects from Claudia

You long-time readers remember the sewing lessons that I gave to a local woman Claudia, and later her friend Denise. Well, both of these quilters have progressed so far and so fast that I am not longer needed for teaching purposes. They have become quite prolific. I hope at some point to get a picture of the quilt Denise entered into the Hillsboro quilt show I attended last week. As I was prohibited from taking pictures, I must acquire a photo some other way.

I can share some things that Claudia has recently finished, as she sends regular emails with updates on her many and varied projects. Let's have a look.

These visors are simply glue-appliqued projects they made, presumably for their many dog shows. Being out in the sun, I am sure a nice visor is a welcome accessory.

These two quilts are called Crumb Quilts - from a pattern I helped Claudia with several months back.

How do you like this long, narrow wall hanging? I am certain we all have wall space that would fit something like this perfectly. Claudia's use of colorful fabric for the butterflies does not surprise me in the least, as I have learned that she is a color-junkie. She does not shy away from color, ever.

That is evident in this herringbone quilt that she made in a class she took at Quilt Beginnings in Columbus. I showed an in-progress picture of it here. She took this quilt and some others down to that little shop in Cynthiana that I wrote about last winter. Mendlebrights is a shop I plan to visit soon, as I have decided that I am going to see about doing those baby quilts I need to finish on her long-arm machine. (I am digressing, but she rents out time on the machine, and since I would like to learn, it seems to make sense.)

While I stitch endlessly on these 4-patch blocks for the border of my Wishes quilt (aka July UFO), I hope you are being productive, as well!

Happy Quilting, Friends!

A Little Shop in the Middle of Nowhere

Don't you just love discovering a new quilt shop in some remote spot in the vicinity and doing your part to help it succeed? I recently have been hearing about a tiny quilt shop which opened in a small community south of here called Cynthiana. Imagine, if you will, a wide spot in the road with about six houses. That would be Cynthiana. It's in Pike County, OH. We have a growing Amish and Mennonite community becoming established in that area, but this shop is not affiliated with either.

Rita, the owner, is just becoming established and has 3 or 4 rooms of this house open for customers. She and her husband are renovating other rooms and will open them as they finish. She seems to be quite content taking in quilts to quilt on her long-arm machine, teaching some classes, and giving back in the form of Valor quilts and other charities.

The name of her shop is Mendlebrights, and anyone who is a trivia fan of the old Andy Griffith Shows will recognize the name. Mrs. Mendlebright was Barney Fife's landlady who kicked him out for wasting electricity by using a 60-watt bulb in his lamp.

Here is the aforementioned quilting machine.

The main reason I wanted to visit this shop is that I'd heard she allows quilters to make use of her Go! Cutter. I'd never used one before, and I was curious about how they work, so I took some fabric with me to see if I could cut out some shapes. Rita is demonstrating in the photo above. I tried it, too, and came away with a few hexies and some circles.

Nearby, she has some hexies displayed for folks to see how the shapes can be sewn together.

Another area of this room which I would describe as a workroom, had these shelves with projects in progress lined up. The white bags on the top shelf are all labeled with names of people who come for weekly classes. They keep their supplies and projects there to work on next time.

Because she does so much charity work, she has become known in the area as someone who will take old pieces and salvage them, if possible. From things that need repaired to others that need finished, Rita seems willing to tackle just about any and all challenges.

This quilt was on her work table and she shared an interesting story about it. The woman, who'd never been taught anything about sewing or quilting, began making this by doing all the work by hand - even cutting individual squares from the old fabric. Rita showed her how to work the GO! Cutter and in no time at all they had several hundred squares cut and ready for use. Then after the quilt top was finished, the woman began zig-zag quilting it, with disappointing results. Rita has offered to remove the zig-zags and quilt it on her machine for the woman. Isn't that just the nicest thing?

There were several quilts and wall hangings on display that Rita had made. I took pictures of a couple.

A beautiful pastel pinwheel quilt in 30s prints. It was like getting a glimpse of springtime! So pretty.

Another bright, cheery quilt in similar prints. She says she has a "thing" for those 30s prints.

This little table topper - more 30s! - is one that she had been hand-quilting. Such fresh, happy prints for a gray wintry day!

She does have a limited supply of fabrics for sale, and several displays of items she has made both for sale and for inspiration. I will very likely take a quilt to her for quilting. Lord knows I have several dozen in the closet. And, I think it's only fitting that we do what we can to keep these small, independent shops going.

Thanks for the tour around your shop, Rita! Glad I found you!

Happy Quilting, Friends!