Quilting Tutorials
Hello friends!!
I’ve had some requests for some freehand quilting tutorials. I’m going to do them as I have the opportunity to quilt designs on my clients quilts. I’m also hoping to keep them short, like this one. If there is anything you’d like me to video as I quilt, let me know. Check out my recent blog posts to see if there is anything you’d like me to video: https://www.quiltingit.com/blog/2019/1/1/beckys-nursery-rhyme-quilt and https://www.quiltingit.com/blog/2018/11/17/cindys-raincheck-quilt-including-28-different-background-quilting-designs
If you’d like to subscribe to my YouTube channel, I would appreciate it!! Go to: https://www.youtube.com/user/QuiltingIt
Thanks for following along in my quilting journey!!
happy quilting! - Leisha
My Ombré Gems quilt!!!
This is one of two quilts that I started and finished last year. I quilted tons of quilts, however I don’t sew a ton of quilts, because I sew so slow. I try and enjoy the process. I’m thrilled to share with you my Ombré Gems quilt!!! You have no idea how excited I am about this quilt. I loved this pattern the first time I saw it from Emily Dennis... go here to get the pattern: https://quiltyloveshop.com/collections/featured-products/products/ombre-gems-pdf-quilt-pattern
I got all the fabrics from https://www.sistersandquilters.com/ my favorite online fabric store!!! Or they have an etsy... https://www.etsy.com/shop/sistersandquilters
So, beginning of last year Emily said she was going to do another Ombré Gems sew along, and I totally jumped right in, even though I had a ton of work stuff going on at that moment and didn’t know how I was going to fit it in. I started and loved it sooo much! One thing that really helped is to have the blocks precut and clipped together, with the color name written on paper. Once you cut off the selvages, it’s hard to know what some of those colors are. It was the first time I had used Vanessa Christensen’s Ombré fabrics, so I was wondering how I was going to get that great fade from light to dark in my blocks. No worries, Emily shows you exactly what to do to cut the right piece in the right spot, so you can have awesome blocks, too. Like I mentioned above, the fabrics are by Vanessa Christensen from V and Co by Moda Fabrics.
The little red clips I’m using are called Wonder Clips, they are a life saver in so many ways. The bottoms are flat so it’s easy to sew until you get to the clip, then of course you can’t sew over it like a pin. They are great for binding, English paper piecing, sewing bags or zipper pouches and trying to keep all those layers together, and of course for keeping all your pieces together. The best price I’ve found is amazon, and yes...you’ll want the 50 pack. click here: https://www.amazon.com/Clover-Wonder-Clips-Red-50-Pack-x/dp/B004ZKPX8A/ref=mp_s_a_1_4?ie=UTF8&qid=1546708234&sr=8-4&pi=AC_SX236_SY340_QL65&keywords=wonder+clips&dpPl=1&dpID=51fJgM4kdRL&ref=plSrch
I finished this quilt in May, and thought I knew what I wanted to quilt on it. In the mean time, I had client quilts to quilt. Come December, when I was about done quilting for clients, I counted how many quilts I had quilted for the year and I was a few short from doing the same amount last year. So I looked in my closet and my beautiful Ombré Gems was sitting there. The dilemma, I had no idea what I should quilt on it. Seriously went back and forth soooo many times. I even did an Instagram poll in my stories with three options. The funny thing, I was totally going to quilt a triangle design on it. I actually started to and it was too big, so I unpicked it. Thankfully I only had two triangles quilted. I decided to do and poll and sleep on it. The triangles were a definite no...haha! Actually there were some who voted for all three designs. I know that any one of them would have looked great. But since I LOVED this quilt, I wanted to LOVE the quilting too, and not just quilt it to quilt it and then regret what I did later on. So, I eliminated the triangle design as an option. Which left me with my Squared©️ Or Beaded Clam©️ design. Squared won the poll hands down, and I was sooo close to quilting it. I even spent a few hours thinking out loud, just trying to decide. My mom was listening...haha! I actually decided to do Squared, and then changed my mind. Let me tell you a few reasons why. I wanted to first and foremost soften up the quilt. This quilt is beautiful and has a lot of hard lines, and I knew my Beaded Clam design would be great at softening it up. Second, I have two other quilts that I really want to do, and they both need to have Squared quilted on them. I love my Squared design, but I want to use a variety of my designs on my quilts, instead of using the same one over and over. I also, quilted Beaded Clam on a client quilt back in August, right after I released it, and I really wanted it on one of my own quilts. Now, I just hoped I was going to LOVE it as much as I LOVE the quilt. And, I do!! So much!!! You may be wondering why I went into great detail telling you about my thought process. The funny thing, most times I can look at a quilt and know exactly what to quilt on it. Especially if it’s an edge to edge design. I usually draw inspiration from the fabrics or the quilt pattern. The hard thing about this particular quilt, it’s all solid fabric...well except for the backing fabric. (Look for it below) Which is another reason I chose this design. I quilted this design at a height of 3”, and that is a perfect size.
Here is a look at my Beaded Clam©️ design, not to be confused with my Beaded Clam Take Two. Beaded Clamb is available only in my shop at: https://www.quiltingit.com/shop/beaded-clam-1
Urban Elementz picked up my Beaded Clam Take Two design, and it’s available in paper and several different digital formats...if you’re a paper pantograph quilter check that out. https://www.urbanelementz.com/beaded-clam.html
These aqua, pink, magenta, greens, and red...are my favorite combination of color on this quilt!!
Look at all that awesome quilty texture!!! Love love love it!! To create this texture I actually used two layers of batting. I’ve done that before on a few of my custom quilts and on a client quilt...but never on a quilt I was going to just do an edge to edge quilting design on. The base layer is my favorite 8020 cotton poly blend batting from Winline out of Ogden Utah. Then on top of that I used a layer of Hobbs wool. I tell you, this combo is heavenly!!! I haven’t had any problems with the batting bunching or anything weird, but as I roll I check to make sure everything is still flat and straight. Especially when quilting a quilt that is pieced on the bias. Sometimes batting likes to bunch on me, with blocks sewn on point...I don’t know why, when I’m advancing the quilt on the machine. The reasoning behind using two layers of batting, is to add extra loft and help the quilting POP! I actually rubbed my hand on this quilt dozens of times to feel the texture. Haha! I used a white 30 tex poly wrapped poly Perma Core A&E thread.
I’ve been sleeping with this on top of my bedspread, and it’s been so cozy and warm in the freezing northern Utah winter we are having.
See...here is the backing fabric!! Does it make a little more sense why I wanted to quilt this design on this quilt??? The dots have a rounded top and bottom mimicing the scallop in the quilting. I think they pair nicely together. This quilting may not be your favorite, that’s okay. I also love this grayish bias pinstripe for the binding. It’s a Bonnie and Camille basic by Moda. The backing fabric is from one of Vanessa Christensen’s old fabric lines, Color Me Happy by Moda.
This is also my first quilt that I was able to put my custom made label on!! I love these!! Of course I went for Navy/Aqua, with white...they are my favorite color combo! So many of my quilts have navy and aqua in them, so I thought it would complement them nicely. I also love the clean simple look and the cute font they did my name in.
Custom Labels 4 U, did them for me. They are awesome to work with, and I got a ton of labels for a great price!! Here is their website... https://www.customlabels4u.com/mobile/custom-woven-labels.htm
If any of you are wanting more specifics about my labels...size, fonts, colors... comment below, and I can dig up the emails with all the details. I had these made awhile ago, so I can’t remember everything off the top of my head.
Thanks for following along and reading my story!! When I was teaching my longarm quilting classes, deciding on which patterns to quilt, was something they all wanted to learn more about. So, I hope you learned a little something about the process I use. I definitely want to include the “why I chose this design” in my posts, in hopes that can help those of you who are new to quilting.
Hope you’re having a great day!! Happy quilting!!
- Leisha
Becky’s Nursery Rhyme Quilt!!
Okay, so there is sweet and then there is super sweet. This quilt that Becky made for her grand baby is such a treasure. Some of you may have seen the header image to this post, on my Instagram. It definitely got some wows!! Let me know if you are interested in me videoing any of these designs being quilting... I already have plans to video me quilting a crackle design. Which I’m going to quilt on the next quilt, I quilt.
Becky requested something custom and different in each background!! I’m so glad she did, I think it’s just what this quilt needed. It’s so fun to freehand and use rulers, on a quilt like this. I actually went back to my post on Cindy’s Raincheck quilt, where I quilted 28 different backgrounds on the umbrellas, to get some ideas for this quilt. It was great to refer to. Check out the post here: https://www.quiltingit.com/blog/2018/11/17/cindys-raincheck-quilt-including-28-different-background-quilting-designs
I want to show you close ups of each block, so you can see them better.
I love this random pedal design, it’s not like a regular feather with a spine, just randomly dancing around in the background. This is one of my new favorite designs to freehand quilt.
My arch echo design, this is fun around these facing characters.
I love the mixture of hard lines with the other softer curvier designs. I used Linda from thequiltedpineapple.com Edge ruler to quilt all the straight lines in this quilt, which also includes in the sashing. I love her rulers, the lines are perfect so I don’t have to mark anything when I quilt.
This is always a fun background filler. Especially on a snowy or Halloween quilt, but I even think it’s cute on this particular square!
A little swirly feather seemed fancy and sweet, with Mary and her little lamb. I went around the outside of each embroidered character, so they would pop!
I don’t know why but bubbles (or pebbles) just seemed like a great fit for Jack and Jill. For this one it was about adding the right texture.
When I saw this quilt, and knew Becky wanted different backgrounds, there was no question what I should do on this particular square...grassy hay was a fun combination with the embroidery. The texture in this block is my one of my favorites.
The overlapping swirls on this one are just fun and perfectly girly with Little Miss Muffet.
Years ago I saw a quilt someone quilted on their sewing machine with tiny loops close together, I saved that picture on my phone for inspiration for a long time. I can’t remember who it was...but I love it when an oldie but goodie can come back. This is simple, but I prefer it to bigger loops that are more spread out.
Okay...I don’t know about you, but I’ve never heard of Lucky Locket before. These fun little leaves seem to dancing all around her.
Some pinstripes fit this young man pretty well, never heard of this nursery rhyme either.
Okay, so this one is my absolute favorite texture on this quilt. That swirly wind behind Little Bo Peep, is just sooo much fun to quilt!!
Becky brought a nice Hobbs Polyester batting with her. I’m not typically a polyester batting fan, maybe it’s because I think most of them aren’t made very well. The Hobbs Polyester is awesome!! It’s bonded and doesn’t pull apart as you lay it out to cut/measure/put onto the machine. Great job Hobbs!! If you want the extra loft from a polyester batting, don’t get the cheapest thing you can find. Polyester can go super lumpy as it’s used/washed. If it pulls apart when you touch it, that’s a good indicator you don’t want it. Get yourself some Hobbs Polyester, and you’ll be happy you did!! Bonded batting’s are important when you’re getting a batting with a high loft, you’ll know it will keep its shape. I also used 30 tex poly wrapped poly Perma Core A&E thread.
Becky requested a straight line down the middle of the sashing, which I used Linda’s Edge ruler on. Then I did a freehand pebble around the outside border.
So, you may be wondering where Becky got this pattern??? She said she thinks she got it at Walmart. Well, the pattern for the nursery rhyme characters. She decided to do the striped sashing. She cut the sashing strips at 1.25” . If she remembers for certain, I’ll edit this post. I love the 30’s fabrics Becky used with this quilt!!
I certainly hope that this post will also become a great resource for quilting a variety of custom backgrounds. It’s great to see what works together.
Have a great week!!
- Leisha
Angela’s Star Wars quilt!!!
Angela made this awesome Star Wars quilt for her son. Seriously so cool!! She used a variety of Star Wars squares to mae the border, but the real focus is the awesome planet she created. It felt like a few different layers of fabric, which made it more dimensional than the rest of the quilt, but it was easy to quilt through. (The best picture of the planet is the header for this post, and you have to go to my blog to see it. The post header pictures don’t show up I. The emails.)
I used white 30 Tex A&E Perma Core thread and Winline’s 8020 cotton poly blend batting.
Anglea asked if I could do a design that has squares in it, so I suggested my “Squared”©️ design. I think it turned out great, and added some fun texture to the quilt, especially all the background fabric.
Squared is available on my website: https://www.quiltingit.com/shop/squared in several different digital formats or at Urban Elementz: https://www.urbanelementz.com/squared.html in paper and several different digital formats. This design needs to be offset every other row. I have an option on my gammill machine, and it offsets it for me. Check if your machine does that too.
Those space ships are pretty cool, too!! I’m bad, I don’t know what they are called.
This is what I love about my job!! I get to see such an amazing variety of quilts. It’s fun to add my little touch to help finish them.
Hope you have a great day!!
- Leisha
Laurie’s t-shirt quilt!
Laurie made this for her son for Christmas!! It’s such a cool t-shirt quilt. Such an awesome variety of shirts. One thing I love about this one, and the last one I quilted...the nuetral sashing between the shirts. It just frames the shirts so nicely!! Without competing color wise.
I also love the variety of t-shirt sizes.
I used a white 30 tex Perma Core A&E thread and Winline’s 8020 cotton poly blend batting.
When I saw this quilt I knew that I wanted to quilt my Squared©️ design on it. Laurie agreed, and I love how it turned out!!! Squared is available on my website in several different digital formats. Go to: https://www.quiltingit.com/shop/squared and also in paper and digital formats over at https://www.urbanelementz.com/squared.html
One thing I’m always looking for, is a great masculine design...without it being too juvenile or out there. I think this design is perfectly awesome! I’ve used it quite a few times, and have seen it on a variety of different quilts. I have a couple of my own quilts to put it on. I guess I have to make them first. Haha!!
If you’ve never made a T-shirt quilt, and have wanted to, and don’t know where to start...check out the post I shared when I made one for a customer. https://www.quiltingit.com/blog/2018/3/26/t-shirt-quilt-a-first-for-me?rq=T-shirt
Look at the minky texture!!!
I hope you had a great holiday season and have some amazing this in store for you this year! Happy 2019!!
- Leisha
Jana’s “Mario Brothers” Quilt!!
Wow!! Just wow!! When Jana messaged me a picture of this quilt I was impressed for sure, but when it came for me to quilt, I was in awe. This entire pixelated quilt is 1” squares, and this quilt is quite big. I posted a picture of this before I started quilting it, on my Instagram...and it got a fun response. Now...I’m sharing the quilting.
The quilt pattern is by Nicoles Nerdy Knots, and used to be available on Craftsy. I heard recently Craftsy was taking some patterns off of their website, I’m not sure if this was one of them. I couldn’t find it anywhere. If you google pixelated Mario quilts, you may find some quilts that are similar.
I suggest to Jana the Good Vibrations design by Patricia Ritter, which is available at urbanelementz.com, for the quilting. Jana wanted to keep it simple, and not take away from the quilt itself. I love it!! The quilting was perfect at creating some texture and enhancing the quilt design. That is what I want with each quilt. Plus...I don’t know about you, but it reminded me of the old TVs back in the day, that sometimes had lines on them as you play Nintendo. Haha!!
I want to share these close ups, just so you can see all those 1” squares.
I used white 30 tex poly wrapped poly Perma Core A&E thread and 8020 cotton poly blend batting. The white thread blends nicely over all the dark fabrics. When I’m quilting an edge to edge design, I prefer lighter threads on darker fabrics than darker threads on lighter fabrics.
When it comes to quilts, this is seriously one of the coolest that I’ve ever quilted.
Have a super day!!
-Leisha
Skye’s Half Square Triangle quilt
I love this quilt that Skye made for her son!! So much so, I have some solid fabrics leftover from my Modern Building Blocks quilt. So I just might have to make this, if my scraps are big enough.
I love the random layout of the blocks and colors. If I remember right, these blocks are 5” or 6” big.
Skye loves strait line quilting, and asked that I do the line 1.25” apart. There is navy minky on the back, so she wanted to keep it soft. I also used the channel locks on my machine, instead of a line created in the computer. I had better accuracy as I advanced the quilt in each section.
I used a white 30 tex A&E Perma Core thread and Winline’s 8020 cotton poly blend batting.
What quilts are you planning on making this coming year? I’ve been working on two different quilts for awhile, that are quite involved. So maybe I should sneak in a quick one like this.
Happy Quilting!! Happy New Year!!
-Leisha
Maria’s Cheer Quilt
My aunt Maria made this cheer quilt for her daughter who is a senior in high school. She’s been on the cheer team all three years. I love the fabrics she chose.
Maria had a local embroidery shop (The Logo Shop) do all the embroidery, and they always do an awesome job!! They have great options for all of the local schools.
Maria chose this freehand swirly feather design that I do, for the quilting. Yes, it’s done freehand. I even videoed it while I was quilting so you can see how I do this design randomly. It’s all about filling each space. Quilting tip: for those of you wanting to try freehand or enhance your freehand quilting skills...give this design a try. It’s very forgiving. So, for the tip, think ahead. Where are you going to quilt next and where do you need to quilt so you don’t leave any spots unquilted. Once you start doing that, it will become second nature to you.
Give it a try sometime, you’d be surprised how fun it is!!!
Here is an angled and close up view.
I used white 30 Tex Perma Core A&E thread and Winline’s 8020 cotton poly blend batting.
Love when I get to quilt for family!! My grandma even helped Maria do the binding.
If any of you are strictly computerized or paper pantograph quilters, don’t worry...Patricia Ritter and I designed a pantograph after this design. It’s called Venice Too and it’s available at https://www.urbanelementz.com/venice-too.html
Happy Quilting!!
-Leisha
Liz and Pat’s quilt and runners...
Liz and Pat made this mini quilt and runners together.
This beautiful unicorn pattern is Lisa the Unicorn by Elizabeth Hartman. Fabrics are Ombré Confetti by Vanessa Christensen from Moda.
I was excited to quilt this one custom because of all the quilty textures I wanted to create. I love how it turned out!!!
I love the look of the hard lines in the mane and horn, with the softer swirls in the background and grassy texture on the horses face. I used white 30 Tex A&E Perma Core thread and my favorite winline 8020 cotton poly blend batting.
With a little border around it, ribbon candy was just the thing to frame this quilt off nicely. I used a couple of different Edge rulers from Linda at thequiltedpineapple.com to quilt the lines in the mane and on the horn. Those straight rulers are my favorites!! The lines make it easy to quilt without having to mark a thing.
Pat and Liz each made one of these Halloween runners...one with black borders, and one with orange.
It’s from a Halloween panel. I’m not sure who the fabrics are by, sorry!!
Pat requested the Haunted Web quilting design by Apricot Moon Designs, it’s available at www.urbanelementz.com/haunted-web.html
I used a Dyed Natural 30 tex Perma Core A&E thread and Winline’s 8020 cotton poly blend batting for both of these.
Hope you are enjoying your holiday break!! Happy New Year!
- Leisha
Jeanne’s Lone Star Quilt
Jeanne made this lovely quilt for her mother in-law for Christmas, she lives by the ocean. The pattern is called Lone Star Quilt by Donna Jordan from Jordan Fabrics, and it’s free at: https://jordanfabrics.com/pages/lone-star-jelly-roll-pattern
Jeanne made her star bigger and added the on point squares at the top and bottom, so the quilt wasn’t square.
I love the batik fabric she used, the purpled are a perfect addition to all the blues.
Jeanne choose Patricia Ritter and my Opal©️ quilting design for the quilting. I love it!! She thought it reminded her of shells. Opal is available at https://www.urbanelementz.com/opal.html in both paper and several different digital formats.
I love the quilty texture on the cream background as well as the lovely batik fabrics.
I used my favorite 8020 cotton poly blend batting from Winline and Dyed Natural A&E Perma Core 30 tex thread.
The backing picked up all that texture, too!! Hope you enjoy seeing this quilt and the many more I’m going to share over the next several days. Happy holidays!!
- Leisha
Mary Ann’s t-shirt quilt!
Mary Ann made this for her daughter for Christmas. I think this is one of my most favorite t-shirt quilts. The reason being, the light grey sashing. It frames the shirts nicely, without competing with the colors in the shirts.
I made a t-shirt quilt in the spring for a client, and if your interested in some tips, read this post: https://www.quiltingit.com/blog/2018/3/26/t-shirt-quilt-a-first-for-me?rq=T-shirt
I used white Perma Core A&E 30 tex thread, and my favorite Winline 8020 cotton/poly blend batting.
When Mary Ann was showing me the quilt, I knew exactly the design I wanted to quilt on it. My Beaded Clam Take 2. Mary Ann’s daughter played tennis, and I told her the design reminds me of a tennis ball bouncing. So, it’s a hint of tennis without being so literal. I think it looks awesome quilted on this quilt. Beaded Clam Take 2 is available in my shop. The original Beaded Clam design needs to be offset every other row, Beaded Clam Take 2 doesn’t. It’s available in my shop, in several different digital formats. Go to: https://www.quiltingit.com/shop/beaded-clam-take-2
See that tennis ball bouncing???
Mary Ann did pretty great for this only being her second quilt.
Loving all this beautiful texture!
Hope that you’re having a great holiday season!!!
-Leisha
Urban Elementz 25% off Sale
If you follow me on Facebook or Instagram, than you’ve probably seen me post about the 25% off sale that Urban Elementz is having right now until Sunday the 9th, for those of you who don’t follow me...this is for you. No code necessary.
I started working with Patricia Ritter at Urban Elementz 4.5 years ago, and we have a variety of beautiful machine quilting designs together. Patricia is amazing!! She’s taken my freehand quilting or drawings, and made them into the cohesive designs we have today. To see all of our designs, click here: https://www.urbanelementz.com/catalogsearch/result/?cat=0&q=Leisha+Farnsworth
The following are a sample of a few of those designs.
Marmalade - https://www.urbanelementz.com/marmalade.html
Diagonal Plaid-Hexies - https://www.urbanelementz.com/diagonal-plaid-hexies.html
Kindling - https://www.urbanelementz.com/kindling.html
Chantilly - https://www.urbanelementz.com/chantilly.html
Birchwood - https://www.urbanelementz.com/birchwood.html
These are only a small selection of the designs that we have. We have a variety of flower, feather, modern and traditional machine quilting designs. Each of the designs come in paper or digital formats, some also come in the tear away option...for those of you who quilt on your sewing machine, and there are even some design boards for those of you who like to use a stylus instead of a laser light. Thank you so much for your support over the years. I had no idea how much fun this was going to be when I started. It thrills both Patricia and I when we see our designs on your or your clients quilts. Please share pictures with us. We love to share them on our Facebook or Instagram pages.
Hope your holiday season is off to a great start!!
-Leisha
Kathy’s + quilt and star runner...
This is one of my favorite + quilts, that I’ve ever quilted...first and foremost it’s navy!! My favorite color. Kathy made this and I love her fabric choices...even the printed minky she used on the backing.
The quilting texture on this quilt is also why it’s a favorite of mine!
I used my Squared©️ digital machine quilting design, to quilt it. Squared is available in my shop, go to: https://www.quiltingit.com/shop/squared
Every other row of this design must be offset, but if your quilting machine has an Alternating option like mine does, it’s easy peasy and lines up beautifully as you advance the design...as you quilt. Its available in several different digital formats and is my most popular design.
This design is so versatile, it’s been fun to see it popping up on a variety of different quilts.
I used white 30 tex A&E Perma Core thread, and Winline’s 8020 cotton poly blend batting. The awesome thing...if I quilt a throw size quilt first, there is a perfect batting scrap at the bottom...because the batting I use is 96” wide...for the table runner I quilted next.
This is the picture that shows the sweet x’s and o’s, in the fabric that Kathy chose. Plus an awesome close up, and angle shot are always great.
Here is the minky...how cute, huh?!?!?!!
Kathy also made this fun Christmas table topper using Sweetwater fabrics.
She requested tight stippling so that the stars would pop, and some light quilting in the stars to make them stand out.
I used an Edge ruler, one of Linda from thequiltedpineapple.com straight rulers, to quilt the lines in the stars!! Love her rulers. I also used 30 tex Dyed Natural Perma Core A&E thread.
I hope your holiday celebrations are underway!! And, maybe even some Christmas sewing!!
Happy quilting!!
- leisha
Skye’s half squared triangle quilts
Skye makes the most awesome modern simple quilts. Both of these quilts are made with simple 1/2 square triangles! It’s also all about the layout, fabric choices, and colors!!
I love these 10” (If I remember right) squares. With the being so big, you can see the fabric prints sooo well.
Skye asked for lines 1.25” apart. I love it!! Especially with the random layout of these blocks. I totally want to make a quilt like this.
I used my Gammill Statler to computerize the quilting.
I used white 30 tex Perma Core A&E thread and Winline’s cotton poly blend 8020 batting.
Next up, Skye’s Halloween half square triangle quilt.
I love the layout of this one, turning the triangles opposite ways. Also, the black background fabric makes all the colors pop!
I used a new digital pantograph design by Natalie Gorman from Urban Elementz called Bubble Gum go here: https://www.urbanelementz.com/bubble-gum.html
I also used white Perma Core A&E 30 Tex thread. The 30 tex is a thicker thread. I also used Winline’s 8020 cotton/poly blend batting.
The most awesome news...Urban Elementz is doing their semi annual 25% off all pantograph’s starting today, no code necessary. All items are already marked on sale. To check out all of Patricia Ritter and my pantograph designs that are on sale, go to: https://www.urbanelementz.com/catalogsearch/result/?cat=0&q=Leisha+Farnsworth
happy quilting!!!
-leisha
Laurie’s grandsons quilt!
Laurie made this super cute quilt for her grandson, using a map panel from Sarah Federking called Little Explorers, from Studio E Fabrics. The border fabrics, Laurie found before from doing a my spy quilt, and they fit perfectly with this cute map panel.
When I saw this quilt all finished, I immediately knew which pantograph I wanted to quilt on it. I used the digital design Malachite by Patricia Ritter from Urban Elementz go to: https://www.urbanelementz.com/malachite.html This design creates the most awesome texture. Which I think is excellent with this map.
The backing is a solid minky, and unfortunately I didn’t get a picture of it...but can you imagine those wonky swirls? It’s amazing!
I used a white 30 tex A&E Perma Core thread, and 8020 cotton poly blend batting from Winline.
Love this one!! I’m so lucky to do something I love. -Happy quilting!
- Leisha
Barbara’s quilts and Christmas runner
Barbara made these fun quilts, and runner.
First up, this super cool quilt is made using ombré dot fabrics by V&Co from Moda. The pattern is Ombré Weave by Tiffany Hayes. I love the ombré color look to the quilt.
I used Mod Dotz by Patricia Ritter to quilt it, it’s available at urbanelementz.com ...I love how it softens up the quilt, and those swirly dots go so well with the dots in the fabrics.
I used white 30 Tex Perma Core A&E thread and Winline’s 8020 cotton poly blend batting.
Up next her block of the month, that she got from My Girlfriend’s Quilt Shoppe, here in Logan Utah.
I wanted to do something more traditional for the quilting on this one, so I chose Ginger. It’s one of Patricia Ritter and my pantograph designs. It’s available in paper or several different digital formats at: https://www.urbanelementz.com/ginger.html
I used Dyed Natural, which is a lovely cream color thread. It’s a 30 tex A&E Perma Core thread. I also used my favorite winline 8020 cotton poly blend batting.
Aren’t those feathers so delightful.
Lastly, this adorable Christmas runner.
The pattern is by Disa Designs, in her My Table book. Aren’t those Santa’s soooo cute?!?!?!!! I used the same Dyed Natural thread, and 8020 batting. A quick quilting tip...if I’m quilting a runner and a quilt, like I did here...I quilt the quilt first. The reason, there is usually leftover batting at the end of a quilt that is perfect for a runner. This one fit perfectly.
I wanted lots of texture...so I freehand quilted pebbles, and wavy lines...and I love to add the straight lines for a different kind of texture. Barbara added little black eyes, it’s such a cute runner. I used one of the Edge rulers by Linda at thequiltedpineapple.com
Lots and lots to share...I’ve been quilting a ton. Hope you have some fun holiday plans.
Happy Quilting!!
-leisha
Sale!! Now until Cyber Monday at midnight.
So...I totally forgot about Small Business Saturday and Cyber Monday Sales, when I had my preholiday sale, at the beginning of the month. This is my first year selling something on my own website, so I’ve got a lot to learn. I greatly appreciate all the support I’ve gotten for my quilting business, and with the addition this year of my own digital designs and rulers...I feel blessed. Thank you so much!!
Since Black Friday is a busy shopping day, I didn’t want to offer sales and have anyone miss them, so thats why I did them early...so I’m doing another sale on both my Digital Machine Quilting Designs and my Circle2™ machine quilting circle ruler set. Another Sale isn’t a bad thing, right?!?!?!! I hope not. Sales goes today thru Cyber Monday at midnight. (Mountain Standard Time)
All digital quilting designs are 25% off, use code: THANKYOU25 during checkout. Each design is available in several different digital formats. Here are a few of the favorites!! I’ve seen each of these popping up on other quilters quilts...even some that went to International Quilt Market. Which is exciting! Check my Instagram posts, to see those. @leishakaye
Squared©️ is one of my favorites!! I’ve quilted it out more that any of my other designs, and it quilts out beautifully. It’s available here: https://www.quiltingit.com/shop/squared
Hopscotch©️ is such a fun geometric design, which popped on this quilt made by Kara Jo’s granddaughter. It’s available at: https://www.quiltingit.com/shop/hopscotch
This is Sweet Orange Peel©️, and I’ve seen it quilted out a few times by other quilters. It’s the second most popular design. It’s available at: https://www.quiltingit.com/shop/sweet-orange-peel
Beaded Clam©️ is one of my favorites...here it is quilted on Beth’s quilt. Beaded Clam is available here: https://www.quiltingit.com/shop/beaded-clam-1
Another super popular design is Fort©️. I’ve shared this one on my Instagram and Facebook, on a quilt that another quilter quilted. Fort is available at: https://www.quiltingit.com/shop/fort
I have several other great designs, all available at: https://www.quiltingit.com/shop/
My Circle2™ (said: Circle Squared), machine quilting circle rulers are made with 1/4” thick high quality acrylic. They come in a set of 6 circles, ranging in size from 2” to 13”. They come in both the green and clear, as pictured. They are already listed at their sale price, no code needed. If you’re local to Cache Valley, Utah and want to pick up your rulers, use code PICKUP at checkout to get free shipping. The sale on these rulers ends on Cyber Monday at midnight, mountain standard time. So, if you’ve wanted a set of rulers on sale, this is your chance. Go to: https://www.quiltingit.com/shop/?category=Rulers
I have 1/4” lines and 1/2” measurements...as seen below, on each ruler.
For more info on these rulers, here are a couple of videos...one talking about the rulers, and the other using them while quilting. https://youtu.be/lDijS4EsPLY and https://youtu.be/GWyDTymyzoE These are everything I’ve ever wanted in a circle ruler set! I’ve also heard some great feedback from those who are already using them.
Here are the smallest and biggest circle rulers in the set. The 2”/8” above, and the 7”/13” below. The 4 others in the set are pictured on my website under the ruler sets. Go to: https://www.quiltingit.com/shop/?category=Rulers
All US shipped sets are sent priority. International first class shipping is available to save on the cost of shipping. International Priority can be arranged for faster shipping, contact me and I’ll get a quote for you.
Thank you!! Happy Holidays!!
-Leisha
Cindy’s Raincheck quilt~! Including 28 different background quilting designs...
This beautiful quilt was made by Cindy, and she requested custom designs throughout. She sent me some pictures from Camille Roskelley’s blog, when she posted about this quilt back when she realeased the pattern in 2013. Pattern is called Raincheck, by Camille or you can find it on her Thimble Blossoms website. Fabrics are from her and her moms April Showers line.
I noticed a variety of designs on Camille’s quilt, so I just went to town and did a variety of different free motion designs in the backgrounds of each umbrella block. This quilt has 49 blocks in it. I did do 49 designs, but I was able to do 28 different background designs. Some are similar, especially when it comes to lines, but they are still different in some way. So, I’m going to share oodles of pictures in this post, and hopefully I can show all 28.
I used 2 rulers to quilt this quilt. I used Linda’s from thequiltedpineapple.com 16” Edge ruler for all the lines. If you’ve heard me talk about or read about her rulers, I love them. The lines on her rulers are an excellent guide, which means I don’t have to mark anything. I also used one of my Circle2™ rulers, the 2”/8” circle, to quilt all the arcs in the solid umbrellas. The umbrellas with stripes, got a variety of different designs in the middle stripe.
This is my 2”/8” circle ruler from my Circle2™ set, that I used for the arcs in the solid umbrellas. They are available in a set of 6 rulers, ranging from 2” to 13” circles. Go to: https://www.quiltingit.com/shop/?category=Rulers
Before I start numbering off all the designs, I used an Omni Superior Thread, color Pearl White. Cindy sent a Kyoto Bamboo batting.
Designs...I’ll write the description for the designs, below each picture.
1- 1/2” vertical lines
2- a rippled echo
3- 1” left diagonal lines
4- little tiny close together loops
5- swirls
6- swirly feathers
7- random petals or feathers
8- wavy horizontal lines
9- arcs
10- square swirls
11- wonky swirls
12- scallops
13- 1/2” left diagonal lines
14- pebbles with circles inside some
The other two were mentioned in the previous picture.
15- 1” vertical lines
16- crackle
17- flowers with feathers and swirls
18- 1/2” diagonal diamonds (created by quilting 1/2” vertical lines and 1/2” diagonal lines)
19- stipple
20- pinstripes (1/4” pinstripes with 1/2” spacing between each line)
21- echoed pebbles (by going around the pebbles a few times, the thread makes the pebble pop and be more defined). I love this!
22- horizontal 1/2” lines
23- a meandering leaf
24- overlaid swirls
25- swirly wind
26- grassy texture
27- 3/4” squares
28- vertical up and down design that kind of echos...I don’t know how to describe this one, zoom in to the bottom right umbrella with the aqua background and you can see the quilting better.
Yay!! I’m glad I had pictures of each of the designs. Because of fabrics are busy on some blocks, you can’t see the quilting very good. Just zoom in using your two fingers on your phone.
So, the first four rows have all different backgrounds. With the last three rows, I repeated the same designs from the first three rows. So row 5 got the same background designs, that row 1 has, I just mixed up the order to make it more random. Row 6 got the same as row 2, and row 7 got the same as row 3. Doing this made the backgrounds cohesive and travel throughout the quilt, without it having to be in the same spot on the rows where I repeated it. Now...you may be thinking awesome, there are a lot of different designs I can use or you may be thinking, they aren’t really different enough to count as 28 different designs. They are still different, even if it’s just a difference in measurement, and they create a different texture. So, one thing to keep in mind when doing so many different background designs, you need to keep it cohesive or it looks over done like nothing is flowing or harmonious. The variety of line designs are great, because they add variety and yet are similar enough to still work together. The freehand all over designs are also important to keep cohesive, and I do this by pulling inspiration from the fabrics and quilt pattern, or the overall theme of the quilt. That’s why I feel that these 28 designs work so well together.
Now I want to show you a close up on some of my favorites. Pictured above and below are two completely different line designs, that I use quite a bit in small doses. For instance, I use them in all sorts of appliqué shapes. They are great on rooftops or bands on a hat, or even texture on the clothing of a character. Santa, witches, elves, ...you name it. I like textures like these in those random oddly shaped appliqué pieces. Lines of any kind are awesome appliqué filler. These two just dress it up a notch. I did both of them using Linda’s Edge rulers. Which I can’t give enough praises!! If you don’t have great straight rulers, check hers out at thequiltedpineapple.com
I talked about these pebbles a little in the description of design number 21, they really really make the batting pop and this is a thinner batting. I love the texture it creates. I love clean quilting, that’s my personal style, but sometimes the denser quilting is oh so good!!!
I love a good swirly wind, which is fun going in all different directions.
I tried to created ripple in the block, pictured below, and I think it turned out great with that polka dot background. I noticed some designs were just going to be too busy looking on some of the busy fabrics, that’s also why I did a variety of different lines designs.
I should just call the background below bubbles...that what it reminds me of with the circles inside the circles. It’s great, because it adds interest to the freehand pebble filler. I also love to add swirls inside some of the circles sometimes. It adds variety and helps in the overall randomness of the design. It’s important to distribute the filler inside the pebbles so it helps the eye travel and not just focus on one spot.
Below is one of my very favorites!! I love the randomness of the feathers or petals going in a bunch of different directions. It’s such a fun design to freehand.
You should get an award, if you read through this whole post. And, I know 21 pictures is a ton, but it’s much easier to see what I’m talking about, if you have a visual to look at. Thank you!!
I hope this post is a great reference for the variety of different designs and textures you can create in the custom quilting that you do. You may have a whole slew of other designs that you do...I’d love to hear about them in the comments below, and if you have a post including some background fillers, please include a link. I’d love to check it out. Thanks again for coming to my little place in the quilting world
Happy Quilting!!
-Leisha
Kara Jo’s granddaughters quilt!
Kara Jo’s 12 year old granddaughter decided she wanted to make a quilt, and she did an awesome job!!! Her choice of colors, and placement is just so cool.
Is that not seriously impressive?!!! It laid very flat for me, too. Sometimes quilts that are sewn on the bias tend to wave or grow in unexpected ways or spots. This one was perfectly flat.
Kara Jo told me to pick a fun design, and I thought my Hopscotch©️ digital design, would be fun! I hope she loves it!! Hopscotch is available in my shop in several different digital formats: https://www.quiltingit.com/shop/hopscotch
That angle shows the awesome texture, this design creates!!
I used a white 30 tex A&E Perma Core thread, and my favorite 8020 cotton poly blend batting from Winline.
I like to use a lighter/neutral thread, when quilting multi colored quilts. The lighter threads blend pretty nicely on the darker fabrics, which helps the design enhance the quilt. Using a darker thread, causes the quilting design to dominate the quilt. I really don’t like darker threads on lighter fabrics. You can see with these close ups, just how nicely the thread blends on all these fabulous colors.
I love the little white + that they chose for the backing fabric.
I have lots of fun quilts coming to the blog soon...the next one was quilted custom, with a large variety of different background quilting designs. Excited for you to see it!
-Leisha
Sharon’s Tumbler quilt!
Sharon made this beautiful tumbler quilt for her daughter, who is getting married soon. She took two tumbler quilt kits, from a local quilt shop and made one huge quilt.
I love the variety of colors and prints in the fabrics, which makes Sharon’s random layout work.
I wanted to make the quilting a little modern, but staying within the look of the fabrics, which makes my Woven Orange Peel©️ design a great choice. It’s available in several different digital formats on my website: https://www.quiltingit.com/shop/woven-orange-peel-1
I love the vertical look to this design, it’s so versatile, and I’m excited to see it used again and again.
I used Dyed Natural 30 tex Perma Core A&E thread, and Winline’s cotton/poly blend batting.
A close up, and angled view... Texture like this adds some interest to these simple quilt blocks.
Check out my other designs in my shop: https://www.quiltingit.com/shop/
Thank you for stopping by! I’m in Christmas quilting mode over here, and I have lots of fun things to share with you. Happy quilting!
-Leisha