Dogwood Country Stitches: Happy New Year!

Happy New Year, All... Do you get a little nostalgic this time of year? I do... So, thought I'd bore you a little with stuff from the past couple years.I got my Longarm quilting machine a couple years ago and hit the road running so to speak.
My first quilt to quilt on my longarm came, the night before my machine was delivered. Scott from our quilt guild knew I was expecting the machine at any time. He brought his quilt top to our meeting because , he wanted to have the "first quilt off my longarm". My machine was delivered on Friday and we set it up the following Tuesday. Needless to say I sat and looked at Scott's quilt and 'Blossom' (my longarm's name) for at least two weeks before, I ever turned the machine on. I was petrified. What was I thinking? Scott is a nationally know quilter and judge???? Oh My! Well, after I got over the nerves, I thru a couple of practice fabrics on to try this contraption out and then Scott's went on. I knew that our quilt show was coming up soon and Scott wanted to enter this quilt if, I got it done. I did! and he did! Turned out to be quite the surprise for both of us. I actually won the Carolina Longarm Association's ribbon that year. ON MY VERY FIRST QUILT! Wow! No pressure, now!LOL Scott's quilt was also in the Jan/Feb 2009 issue of Quiltmaker magazine.

Scott on the left with his 'Electric Boogie'. My ribbon hangs on the quilt, much to my surprise.

If you read a previous blog after the 2009 quilt show you will see the same quilt only in 'Girlie' fabrics that I made for the 2009 show.

Left is my original quilt design that I used to teach beginner quilting classes. It was in the 2007 show.

The quilt on the right was one of my students (Susan). She showed hers in the 2009 show.

The 'Pumpkin' quilt was for our 2007 silent auction. It brought in $50. so, I wasn't unhappy with it.

My fourth quilt was huge. You can see it below as well as part of my studio. Formerly, the living room.

It was a real challenge as I didn't really know what to do with it. So, I did 'stitch in the ditch' around the melons and a motif in the center.

It turned out well and Ms. Maness was very happy with it. It now resides in her guest bedroom.

Below is the cancer center quilt made by the Randolph Quilters Guild.

I volunteered to quilt a quilt that the Randolph quilters volunteered to make for the new cancer center at Randolph Hospital. Little did I know it would turn out to be an art quilt. It really is beautiful and I feel privileged to have quilted it. It now hangs in the lobby of the cancer center under Plexiglas. There are a zillion little things that are visible if you really look closely. There are dragon flies, butterflies, birds, turtles, bunnies and the initials of some who worked on it as well as a prayer quilted into the center of the quilt, that says: "May God bless you and keep you in His tender care" You have to really look for it but, it's there.

The top picture gives you an idea as to how large the quilt is.

This picture only gives you a look into the complexity of the quilt. It is absolutely gorgeous! I had no part in the design or the execution of the piecing and applique that went into this gem. Different people from the guild contributed to it's completion as a top. I only did the quilting and it took me about 125 hours to complete.

Some of the detail is visible in the close-ups below.

I did not quilt the little quilt on the fence. That was Scott's contribution. I did however, do the wood graining on the fence.

Most of these pictures were taken while the quilt was laying on the frame of my longarm so, they might look a little askew. Like the arbor in the lower right corner really looked better than it does above.