Author Archives: Norma Hanson

Moving Projects Forward

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I have had a couple of fabrics lately that have decided that they do not want to keep all their dye. One of the fabrics was a deep blue batik and the second was a red cotton. Both fabrics can be bad for bleeding, but really, after 6 washes? I tried vinegar and salt and had to luck. Finally, I found a source for Retayne locally. After one wash with Retayne, the fabrics stopped bleeding. I could not believe it. I did a test wash with Color Catchers after the Retayne treatment and the Color Catchers came out of the wash as white as they went it. I will be using this product a lot more often now that I know how well it works! Friday, I spent my time making a Mother’s Day present for my Mom. This is the table runner that I made for her.

Today, we started the day with breakfast out at a local restaurant–my DH, DS, Mom, Dad, and myself. After presenting my Mom with her table runner, she took it home and put it on her coffee table and took this picture for me. I was worried that I had not made it long enough, but it looks like it works on her coffee table.

Saturday, I finished putting the last of the sashing bits on this quilt top and then added the inner and outer borders. The outer border fabric is suns on a black background. I loved this fabric. I had enough backing fabric and batting in my stash so by the end of the evening Saturday, I had this quilt loaded on the long arm and had started the quilting.

This afternoon, I was able to finish the quilting on this one.


I used a new to me batting on this one — Soft and Bright by the Warm Company. This batting is 100% polyester. It is needled to hold the batting together without glue, resin, or hard coatings. This batting has a bit of loft to it which shows off the quilting perfectly. Because the fibers are needled, they stay in place and the batting doesn’t shift or go thin in some places like other polyester battings do. My long arm did not object to this batting at all and unlike other polyester battings, this one did not slip or shift. Because this quilt top was heavy from the weight of all the seams in the string blocks, I really did not want to add more weight to the top by using a cotton batting. I also have intended this to be a utility quilt so I expect it to be used and washed frequently. I am hoping the polyester holds up to the frequent use I expect the quilt to receive.
This last picture shows the gold thread i used to highlight the Wave quilting design.

My plans are to bind this one in black. The binding will have to wait for another day though as I am short of black fabric in my stash. Running out of stash fabric is a good thing though–it means that I am using up what I have on hand!

Happy 23rd Birthday!

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May 3 was my DS’s 23rd birthday. This was also the day that my husband’s family had chosen to celebrate my MIL’s 80th birthday. My son was a little disappointed that his special day had been overshadowed by the 80th birthday celebrations and he would not be able to pick the menu for his birthday dinner. To help ease the disappointment, I took him out for a birthday breakfast. Here he is in the restaurant about to enjoy french toast and sausage.
After breakfast, we stopped by my parents’ for a quick visit. This is myself, my son, my mom, and my dad. A neighbour was walking by and offered to take the picture for us.

This is the cake that was at my MIL’s birthday celebration later in the day. All the grandchildren that have birthdays in the vicinity of Grandma were listed on the cake.


This is my MIL and some of her grandchildren.

Matthew’s special birthday dinner was rescheduled to later in the week–Thursday, May 7th. Matthew celebrated with a menu of pancakes, sausage, and a Dairy Queen ice cream cake.

In our household, you get to request whatever you want for supper that day–even if it is breakfast for supper! LOL


Happy Birthday, M!

Moving Unfinished Projects Forward

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Today I stopped at the LQS and picked up some of Mary Ellen’s Best Press. I have been reading the reviews and I decided to give it a try.

Today I washed a load of green fabrics and I knew some of those fabrics would likely end up quite wrinkled. I was very impressed with this product in removing those wrinkles effortlessly. The bottle says, “Mary Ellen makes ironing (almost) fun!” and I would have to agree with that statement. I think I am going to have to buy stock in this company!
I also finished one of my UFOs to the flimsy stage today. This top was started on June 28, 2008 on a FABs Saturday Sew-In. This top finished at 52″ x 59 1/2″ and will be perfect for a baby girl/toddler. The pattern is an original design by Cher, one of the FABs. We have been affectionately calling this quilt pattern, CGF or Cher’s Gym Floor. Bet you can’t guess where Cher got the inspiration for this design! LOL

Happy 21st Birthday!

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Today was my daughter’s 21st birthday.

We celebrated in traditional style for our household – a menu for dinner which includes all the choices of the birthday celebrant, right up to the kind of cake.

Tonight, my daughter chose, grilled chicken and bison burgers, green salad, macaroni salad, pickles, potato chips, lemonade, and Dairy Queen ice cream cake.

We had my husband’s mother and my parents in attendance. At one point in our lives, all grandparents lived in other cities far away from us. We are fortunate now to have everyone living close enough that we can celebrate milestones such as this together.

Happy Birthday, D!

Work, Work, Work

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Although I have not been posting that frequently lately, I have been quilting. I have been quilting, but not for me……only for others. I have been so busy with quilting for others that my life has slipped out of balance. My hobby–quilting–has been lost. Even my quilt tester, Joey, is starting to wonder if there is ever going to be a requirement for his quilt testing services in the future–he is not allowed to test customer quilts only my quilts. As you can see by this picture, he is currently considering employment in other fields–bird watching being one.
These are some of the quilt tops that have occupied my free time of late. (All of these quilts belong to customers.)

Stay tuned for changes. Recent events have caused me to re-examine my role as a long arm machine quilter and have caused me to assess how much of my time in the future that I am prepared to devote to quilting for others at the expense of producing quilts for my own enjoyment.
I am currently developing guidelines to assist quilt top piecers with determining if their piecing will best be complimented by my quilting style. I realize that just like there are many different styles of painters, potters, and other artists; there are also many different styles of long arm quilters.
I specialize in the use of Circle Lord templates. I do not use pantographs or quilt freehand. The use of the Circle Lord products allows me to produce very precise designs providing consistent results equivalent to what the computerized machines are able to produce – but at a fraction of the price.
The following guidelines are necessary for the preparation of quilt tops for long arm quilting. Following these guidelines will ensure that the piecer and the long arm quilter avoid disappointment and are both happy with the finished quilted results.
Backing:
– Must be 4″ longer and wider than the quilt top on all sides.
– Must be pressed.
– Pieced backs should have 1/2″ seams which are pressed open, selvages should be removed, and the backing overall should be squared up.
– Even backings which are not pieced need to be square on all sides which includes straight edges on all sides.
Top:
– All seams need to be pressed flat.
– No wavy borders or borders with extra fullness. Quilt tops pieced with wavy borders will result in a wrinkled quilt after quilting.
Batting:
– The same size as the backing which is 4″ longer and wider than the quilt top on all sides.
Thank you to all piecers who have entrusted your quilt tops to me in the past. I have appreciated the opportunity to work on your quilts. I have enjoyed the stories of the quilt’s origin whether it be the testing of a new pattern, piecing a special quilt for a relative or friend, acknowledgement of a milestone such as a new baby, wedding, significant birthday, or graduation. I have particularly enjoyed working on the quilt tops that have been left to the recipient as part of an estate which in turn have been entrusted to me to complete. Some of us will continue to work together in the future producing fabulous quilts and some of us will realize that there is a better fit out there somewhere between piecer and quilter.
To all of you, I say thank you!