Friday, May 3, 2013

Can I Get A Whoop Whoop? Lions and Tigers and Templates, oh my!


Hi, all!

It's Friday again - the first one of May, can you believe it?  Time sure flies when you're having fun!  I hope you're ready to get your whoop whoop on!!

Last Friday I had the opportunity to take a class from Kimmy Brunner at the AQS show in Paducah, and it was amazing!!!  The class was titled "Playing With Plastic" and Kimmy taught us how to use templates in long arm quilting.  Now, this has always intimidated me - but after a bit of instruction, I headed over to the machine and created this...



Now, I know it doesn't look like much, but it amazed me how really simple it was - once you know the tricks and aren't afraid to try it!  

So I came home and was dying to try out all I had learned - but only had ministry quilts ready to quilt.  One of them, though, was a man's quilt that really needed straight line quilting - and I thought I'd give it a try on the long arm, using my straight edge template.  (I didn't get my melon templates until yesterday - can't wait to play with them next!)

And here's what I ended up with!



Now granted, it looks a bit better from a distance - it was my first time using the template, remember?  But it worked up fairly quickly and certainly faster than it would have if I'd had to wrestle it through my tabletop machine!


I love the cross-hatching on this quilt - it was the perfect finishing touch.  The charm squares Pam and Deb used on this quilt had loads of texture - homespun, flannel, linen, pintucked - and this quilting didn't interfere with that at all.


And here's one last shot, showing the back - a gorgeous flannel print that we found a bolt of at a yard sale.  All in all, it makes this quilt very cuddly, yet manly!   It has found a new home with a man who was diagnosed several years ago with sinus cancer, and unfortunately the cancer has recurred.  They tell him he will have to be on chemo for the rest of his life....  I sure hope this quilt reminds him that folks are praying for him and his family!

So that's my whoop whoop for the week!!

*&*&*&*&*&*&*

And now it's your turn!

What are you whooping about this week?

What has made your heart sing?

Do tell - we want to whoop right along with you!!

The party will remain open until Sunday midnight - 

Be there or be square!

Hugs!

Sarah

PS - Kimmy has a class on Craftsy now - if you're interested in quilting with templates, check it out!




21 comments:

  1. Love this quilt and the cross hatch - so cute!

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  2. Wow, the quilting looks like church windows/walls :)
    Susanne

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  3. Looks awesome! Whoop whoop!

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  4. Whoop Whoop! Exciting! Will have my own whoop next friday as I should be done with Brandi's hand stitched quilt by then! Yay :)

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  5. I love what you did with those templates and the cross hatch quilting is just right for a man's quilt! Looking forward to see what else you come up with down the track!

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  6. Wow - I am wildly impressed with your long arm-ing!! Keep up the great work!

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  7. I think it looks great! I am glad you were able to take a class with Kimmy - isn't she awesome!!!! Can't wait to see what you show us!!

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  8. Excellent! The colors and quilting lines work great together.

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  9. I think it came out very well Sarah. The colors are fabulous and the backing fabric was a GREAT score!

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  10. Sounds like a very informative class. I might have to check it out. The flannel on the back of the quilt shown is perfect.

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  11. That REALLY looks good! It was the perfect quilting for a great quilt.

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  12. Your new skill is nicely done! Might have to check out that class.

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  13. Your new skill is nicely done! Might have to check out that class.

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  14. Whoop Whoop! Can't wait to see more of your quilting using this technique. And I just want to snuggle up with that man's quilt. What a pretty combination of fabrics. And the straight line crosshatch quilting is just perfect for it. Well done!

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  15. Great job! I am waiting for my extension table to play with rulerwork!

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  16. Awesome guy quilt. I can't imagine chemo for life.

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  17. I love your cross-hatching for the gentleman's quilt and I agree that it is perfect for this quilt. I can't wait for you to show us everything you can do with your new melon templates!

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  18. Sarah, your template quilting looks amazing! What a wonderful class to take. And the quilt is great - perfect for a man. I hope it brings him some comfort during his treatments.

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  19. Pretty quilting design. I have never really tried templates, other than some rudimentary freezer paper ones I made myself. Looks like I should explore this more.

    Nice quilt!

    I am linking up again. Thanks for hosting ... :) Pat

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  20. Hey, check those out! Straight lines, particularly on the diagonal, are not easy on a longarm. Looks great, Sarah. That deer fabric makes a wonderful backing, and they put the nicest charm colors together for it. Made a terrific quilt.

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  21. Great "man quilt" Sarah! The backing is perfect for it, and your quilting is too!

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