Monday, May 16, 2011

Getting Up Close with Overall Swirl Quilting

Overall Swirls can be as small as a quarter and as large as a dinner plate.  It is a beautiful choice for an overall quilting for any quilt, especially a colorful, bright, or busy quilt.  The large swirls would be great for a quilt with large pieces.  The smaller swirls would be the perfect choice for a quilt with lots of pieces.  Tiny over all swirls work perfectly for a background filler.  I think the swirls look best on modern quilts, but can be quilted on any quilt.  Today I chose a variety of photos to give you an idea of how it looks on all different quilts.  Some you may have seen before but I would like to share them again.  There are more photos in the photo gallery.


This quilt was my 1000th Quilt!  In November of 2008, I knew it was coming close as I kept a daily count of quilts from my first quilt in 2003.  The count included customer's quilts and my own quilts.  I counted all the quilts I quilted on my machine from day one! 


As my customers were booking their dates for the 2008-2009 Winter Sale, which starts in December and goes to the end of February, (every year).  I told them, that I knew I was going to hit the 1000th quilt sometime during the sale, but it would depend on how many Christmas quilts I quilted in December. Sometimes I get emergency quilts and that would change the count.  So I could not be for certain, if it would be the end of December, January, or February.  So my customers booked their dates knowing that one of them may be the lucky winner. They would get their quilting for FREE!  The 1000th quilt was quilted the end of December, as it was a busy Christmas season. How exciting!  It was a special day for me and a lucky day for my customer! 



The front and the back of this quilt.  Cool on both sides!























You've seen this one before, although I haven't blogged about after it was completed.  There is a post about putting it together.  It is this year's donation quilt that my Mom and I started last year and completed in December. We donated to the Fireside in Fort Atkinson for their yearly fundraiser.  This year they are raising money for Rainbow Hospice. (Update: Raised almost $3000. - Quilts for a Cause Post). The Photo Gallery contains more photos of Quilts for a Cause - quilts from past years.





The block pattern of this quilt defines the lines of the pattern, so an overall quilting is perfect.  The next photo shows the back of this quilt.  She just pieced large sections from her leftover pinks, in no particular order for her backing fabric.
















You can hardly see the quilting on this colorful busy quilt.  That's why the overall Swirls are perfect!
















This shows tiny swirls for a background filler.  It's a hot apple pie table runner.

















Large overall swirls work perfectly on this quilt.  It is a quilt created with the Easy to Sew Quilt Pattern.





One of the questions for this week's Friday's FAQ's will be about pricing.  


What does it cost to have quilt quilted by you?  
On the Contact Marcia page is an order form.  Gives you all sorts of information and I can email you an estimate anytime.


Price per square inch is based on the type of quilting you choose …  ranging from 2 cents a square inch for Overall X Large Meandering with a Twist to 2 1/4 to 3 to 4 cents a square inch and up --- based on the detail of the quilting.  


Just to give you an idea:  The Large "dinner plate size" overall swirls would be 2 cents a square inch.  I think it adds more interest to make a dinner plate size and a salad plate size together.  That would still be 2 cents a square inch. The salad plate size or smaller increases in price from 2 1/4 cent and up.


By getting up close with my quilting, I am hoping to give you a better understanding of free style quilting and  all of the possibilities ...  it is almost endless... Thanks again for stopping by to see what I am up to!


Another May for Me Giveaway tomorrow night on Hodgepodge Patchwork Tuesday

Having fun in May!


Marcia

6 comments:

Linda said...

Marcia, I love this quilt pattern! So perfect for the quilt I am working on! Wish I had your talent.

Miss Hillbilly said...

Thanks for sharing these, I certainly helps to know when to do what types of quilting. Having quilted over 1000, I am pretty sure you know what you are talking about!!

Another question...what is generally your turnaround time? We have quite a few quilt shops in our area. The smallest shop actually does the most amount of business. (Missouri Star Quilt Company). Theirs is a two-week turnaround time. The next is the home of the designer Tula Pink. I've not checked on price/time there yet. Finally, about a mile from me is a new shop. They run two long arm machines and they told me 4 months turn around. It's the newest shop...only a couple of months old. I was SHOCKED that it was a 4 month turn around when they have 2 longarms!!

Melissa said...

1000 quilts! That is amazing :) You are a force to be reckoned with. Congratulations!

Vroomans' Quilts said...

Party hardy - 1000!!!!! Love the sharing of the quilting experience, either by machine or by hand.

Anonymous said...

Thanks for posting all of these inspiring photos....I would very much love to try some free motion work, but I'm scared to pieces! Yours is so lovely!
Jacque in SC
quiltnsrep(at)yahoo(dot)com

Belinda said...

Marcia, I just have to tell you how amazed I am by your quilts. Not only the designs and quilting, but your choice of colors and composition. I'm in awe and wish so much I had the insight you have. I'm very glad I found your blog and have the opportunity to see your lovely work.