Long Arm Quilting – Page 2 – Sew Bittersweet Designs

Customer Quilt – Jennie’s Sampler Quilt

1 Comment / Custom Quilting, Customer Quilt, Innova, Long Arm Quilting, Spike / By Melissa Dunworth

I had the joy of honor of quilting a guild mates quilt last month. Jennie made a gorgeous sampler quilt and wanted it to be bigger so she add nice big sashing and borders to make it large enough for a twin size bed, or really the perfect size to cuddle under. The quilt was a mix between quilting cotton fabrics and flannel and the backing was a solid green flannel. Jennie’s only request was that the quilting not be too dense because she didn’t want the quilt to be extra heavy – remember that flannel is heavier than quilting cottons.

Jennie opted to pay for my additional service of quilt trimming. This saves you time and it saves your knees too! It is a small fee of $15.00 for small quilts and $25.00 for larger quilts.

I was most pleased with the scroll work that I did in the sashing – I think it really adds something special to the quilt.

With the paisley fabrics I thought the scroll work blended perfectly with the prints.

Remember that Christmas is right around the corner, make sure you email me soon to get your quilt finished on time!

Custom Quilting – Patio Quilt by Tina

2 Comments / Custom Quilting, Customer Quilt, free motion quilting, Innova, Long Arm Quilting, quilting, Spike / By Melissa Dunworth

Last month I had the privilege of quilting a gorgeous Patio Quilt – pattern can be found here on Happy Zombie’s blog – for my guild mate and friend, Tina. She made a gorgeous boy version of the quilt and we both agreed that it was screaming for some wood grain quilting.

I fell in love with this quilt as I was working on. It really is the perfect quilt for a little boy. One of the additional services that I offer to my customers, at their request, is to trim the quilting and send the extra fabric and batting back to them. Most of us hate getting down and trimming the quilt so I am happy to offer this additional service to my customers for a small fee.

The texture created by the wood grain quilting pattern is absolutely fantastic!

I love how this turned out, I used a cream on top and on the back and it stands out in some spots and recedes beautifully into the quilt in other spots, when working with a quilt that has multiple colors the key is to pick a thread that will go great with the vast majority of it and not pop out too much. The other option is to use a clear invisible thread like Monopoly by Superior threads, then you don’t see the thread at all but the texture that is created by the stitching. Here is a look at the back.

Please keep me in mind for you quilting needs and remember that Christmas is slowly creeping up on us, if you have quilting needs for Christmas, be sure to email me now so that I can get you on my wait list! I definitely want to help make your Christmas gifts come to life!

Thank You Notes

7 Comments / 2016 Finishes, Finished Quilts, Innova, Long Arm Quilting, Spike / By Melissa Dunworth

As a parent I am trying to teach my child the value of thank you notes, sometimes though…it is really hard to put your emotions into words. Heck, sometimes I struggle to find the right words to write my blog. This summer my uncle rescued my blog, he sacrificed over a week of his time and was basically my superhero. It isn’t often these days that you come across people who will help you just out of the kindness and goodness of their hearts and I’m so lucky that my Uncle Pat is in my life.

When he was reloading all of my pictures to my blog (and I have A LOT of pictures) he commented on how lovely my quits were. I figured the best way to say thank you would be to make him a quilt. I started searching the internet for inspiration, my aunt and uncle are both into motorcycles, in fact that’s how they met, through their mutual love for motorcycles. I ran across this incredible motorcycle quilt pattern (pattern by QuiltWoman.com) and it just screamed Uncle Pat. He lives in Nevada and he loves motorcycles. Hello southwest motorcycle quilt, where have you been all of his life!

I loaded this quilt onto my frame and went to town custom quilting it. Then I wrote a special sentiment on the binding and shipped it off to my uncle. This is the wall hanging version that finishes at 28″ x 24″ and there are 264 pieces of fabric in it! Can you believe that! As my uncle received this last week, I can now share that it was one of the secret projects that I was working on last month. I’m very happy with how it turned out!

Remember to always say Thank You!

Customer Quilt – Minecraft Quilt

1 Comment / Custom Quilting, Customer Quilt, Edge to Edge Quilting, Innova, Long Arm Quilting, Spike / By Melissa Dunworth

Last week I was super lucky because I got to quilt the most fun quilt I’ve seen yet, it was a Minecraft quilt made by my guild mate Kate. She participated in the Minecraft Monday’s Sew Along hosted by Kelli from Seriously…I think it needs stitches. If you have someone in your life that is into the Minecraft world, then this quilt should be on your must make list!

After talking with my client, we determined that she wanted a simple all over design that wouldn’t compete with the awesome piecing that she did for the blocks. We settled on an all over soft loopy design and I used Monopoly thread by Superior Threads. I have come to love using Monopoly because it is a clear thread that blends perfectly when you want the piecing to be the star of the quilt and you want the thread to melt into the background.

Here is a close up of the quilting.

I have a fun quilt to show you later this week, also quilted with monopoly as soon as it is delivered to it’s new home. I don’t often follow other people’s patterns but this one was 100% worth it because it fits the recipient perfectly!

Remember! I want to quilt for you so please feel free to contact me, I still have openings for the inevitable Christmas rush!

Have a wonderfully happy Wednesday!

Customer Quilt – Autumn Quilt

1 Comment / Custom Quilting, Customer Quilt, free motion quilting, Innova, Long Arm Quilting, Spike / By Melissa Dunworth

Yesterday I got to work a beautiful Autumn colored quilt. The pattern was simple, rail patch blocks and flying geese (which are my favorite). My customer asked me to do a edge-to-edge design and to do whatever inspired me. Based on the colors of the quilt, I was inspired to do a vining leaf design. I used the same color across the quilt so it pops in some of the lighter colored fabrics, blends perfectly in the oranges and adds a nice design detail in the purple and green fabrics.

For some reason I am having a hard time getting my camera to focus properly, sorry for the fuzzy edges. Here is a close up of the leaves.

It’s a darling pattern for a quilt that will hopefully be well used and well loved! Remember I want to quilt for you too so please email me and send me your tops! I am open for Christmas quilts right now. Please email melissa (at) sewbittersweetdesigns (dot) com.