LadyLake

Nice resource -- thanks for telling us about it, Claire!

The quilting is gorgeous, Janice!!! Glad to hear that the red spotting will come out.

Congratulation, Marci! The look in the dad's eyes is almost as good as the new baby!

Neat idea with the filled echoed circles, Ardelle!

Yay, Ann!!! That's wonderful to hear.

I can see why she fell in love with it! Nice job, Mom!

Hey, Oma, my prayers and support are with you.

What a pretty quilt design!

It seems like it always happens with the large quilts! I remember when I first started long arming, how many times I would call the hubby downstairs to remove the leveler bar because I had loaded the quilt sandwich above it instead of below it (and didn't have zippers yet.) Yup, it is those times when sitting down and having a cup of coffee is the best thing to do.

My approach would be to look at the style of the quilt and fabrics, and then develop a ribbon filler that coordinates.

Gorgeous, JoAnn. I love the way your quilting created its own setting design with curves rather than straight.

You might be a longarmer when . . . Your dogs have colored threads interspersed with their fur You carry your iPad around the house, in case there is a new post on the Forum You stop piecing tops and never get around to getting them quilted You find it difficult to find things to talk about with people who don't quilt You spend days in the house without ever leaving because you are on a quilting 'roll'

Hi Mary Beth! Good to hear that you are doing well!

Neat story, Sylvia! I can't wait to share it with my family and friends.

ModernIdea by LadyLakeQuilting, on Flickr Here's an idea -- ribbon candy on sashings and feathers on squares (draw diagonal line and use it as spine for feathers). I also think a pantograph would be nice on this quilt. This 'Mistletoe' panto on the Urban Elementz site might be pretty. http://www.urbanelementz.com/shop/product/mistletoe/

You could start in the center of the twisted block and begin swirling out; as you get out toward the four arms, quilt a leaf and/or tendril in each arm space. I like texture, and would do as Lisa suggested, tamping down the white with some sort of meander, perhaps peacock feather meander. I would stitch the thin white border in the ditch, and then choose an easy border pattern, such as meandering leaves on both the outer and inner border. I would use either a gold colored thread or a variegated red and green thread. TwistedBlockIdea by LadyLakeQuilting, on Flickr

Do you know the age of who will receive the quilt?

Beautiful, Kay!

The first quilt I quilted on my machine was a queen size muslin sandwich with Hobbs 80/20 batting. I chose a pantograph that had lots of different shapes, so that I would get experience with all different shapes. I quilted the panto over the entire quilt--probably took 11 rows. It was a great way to learn the machine and gain experience, without worrying about ruining a quilt. That quilt became a dog bed, which my pooches greatly appreciated.

FirstQuiltTensionProbs by LadyLakeQuilting, on Flickr When I first started longarming, I often used PolyQuilter (very thick) with Aurifil 40 wt. cotton in bobbin. This is the back of one of my first quilts. I didn't care so much about the bottom tension -- so long as the tension looked okay on top. FirstQuiltStraightLines by LadyLakeQuilting, on Flickr This is one of my first quilts, the first time using a ruler. It had lots of bumpy seams and a flannel back. I was not using an extended base and was pushing down on the ruler with all my might, not realizing that was why the quilt was

Sometimes I find with the Bottom Line pre-wounds, that they will get caught up in the bobbin mechanism because they are either too full, or the thread is wound off-kilter just the first few feet. If a new bobbin gives me trouble, I take it out and pull off a few feet, cut it off and try again.

What type of quilting design did you do?

I remember realizing that straight lines would be easier for me, because there was only one direction to go. I also realized early on that organic shapes from nature, like flowers and grasses, looked better because they are naturally wiggly, compared to a quilted feather or other design shape. I stayed away from feathers for many years. It is dark now, but I will try to take and post a photo tomorrow.

I think you captured your persona well.

I like the 'Gothic Vine' panto, Ardelle. Thanks for sharing.