It's all in the details...

When I started quilting back in 2004 I didn't know anything about longarm quilting. I attended a class where I learned freemotion quilting on my domestic sewing machine, and started following a talented lady, Sharon Schamber, who did some gorgeous gorgeous quilting with feathers and other motifs on quilts using a sewing machine. 

Later I started following several blogs by quilters, and fell in love with some gorgeous quilting they did using a longarm machine. From that moment on I knew this was "my thing". 

I started dreaming about a longarm machine, and I bought my "Miss Monster", an Innova longarm, in October 2011.

Since I bought the longarm I have had lots of fun learning how to quilt on it from books, tutorials on blogs and YouTube. But I have some amazing longarm friends that shared tips and tricks too, and they have encouraged me and given me honest opinions that I needed the most. 

I planned to quilt for others, and maybe make a living of it if I did a good job and people liked what I did. I have quilted some quilts for others, and I was thrilled when they gave me so much positive feedback and was satisfied with my job. But... because of health issues this isn't an option for me anymore, which makes me really sad. To be able to practice I quilt for friends now and then, and it also helps me to "keep the moves" in my hands. Quilting is for sure the best therapy, and being able to do something you love and get a little bit better one step at a time makes my heart sing :o)

I have quilted two table runners made by Sølvi during the last week. Yesterday I finished #2. Sølvi did some beautiful needleturn appliquè on them both!

When I quilt white on white, I love to do it in daylight and turn off the lights in the sewing room. So much easier to see where to quilt, and the texture shows so much better! 

I really love to do McTavishing on quilts like this. It makes the appliquèd pieces pop and show off :o)

Both of the quilts are made from a pattern called "Hope Blooms" designed by Brenda Riddle. My local quilt shop, Quiltegården, are going to have both quilts on display in their booth on the Annual Quilt Guild meeting here in Trondheim in March, and you can get the pattern and kits to make them if you give them a call or visit their booth on the annual quilt guild meeting. You can also find Quiltegården on Facebook and ask for pattern and kits there.


This is detail photos of the blocks in table runner #1

I am an amateur when it comes to photography, but I love taking photos and still learning how to take good ones of quilted stuff.  I really like the tiny details, and I also study the photos to learn from them and try to remember what looks best in the end and be able to improve and do it even better on the next quilt.

And here are some detail photos of table runner #2

 This is the view I woke up to today. Lots of snow came during the night! I think it looks beautiful, and I hope it will stay this way for a while.

Happy sewing,

Laila