As George Clooney would say........

Good Night and Good Luck!

Happy New Year to everyone from Margaret and Johnny.

Nancy's two quilts are finished!

Nancy has a way with reproduction fabrics.  And I'm convinced she could sew a perfect 1/4" seam blindfolded.  Really.

Norma's Photo Quilt is finished!

Norma and her daughter pieced this oversize queen photo quilt for a dear family member.  They used a variation of Jacobs Ladder, inserting the photos.

The photos were carefully outlined and detailed using Whisper Touch thread, while the remainder of the quilt was treated to a beautiful floral design in Alabaster thread.

Here's a close up of the border detail.

 

Antique Quilt is Done!!

Carole's Grandmother pieced this beautiful quilt, and set it in a peach background.

She loved roses, so roses are what she got! Thanks Lori for letting me unfold this at the Yoga Studio yesterday, where it was delivered to Carole! 

And one more close up

Zig Zag is Done!!

Kim pieced this beautiful and spunky zig zag quilt.  She requested the quilting to be straight lines that followed the zig zag piecing.  Next, she selected the perfect  variagated blue thread from our King Tut Collection.  Let the Zig Zagging begin!

As long as you're here, you must must must check out this Website.  Kim and her husband are the owners of Spoonflower located in Mebane, NC.  They produce custom printed fabric on demand.  Go on, take a peek!  I can't wait to order some fabric with the Three Bears Logo all over it!  I'm thinking Tote Bags, Yoga Mat Carrier, Quilt Backs, etc, etc etc....Get your custom on!!

Oh, here's a close up of the Zig Zag Quilt

Barbara's Log Cabin Is Finished!

Barbara pieced this log cabin with a variety of  bright prints.  We used my absolute favorite batting, Hobbs Tuscany Wool. 

SID around the inner green border 

Detail

And one more

Laura's Quilt is Finished!

Laura made this quilt for her father for Christmas.  I can't imagine how thrilled he will be when he sees it!  The fabrics are beautiful and I can't get the  photos to do them justice.  Some are from Thimble Pleasures, but others were obtained by Laura  overseas.  The quilting design is an all over pattern called Brocade Fans.   I just love this quilt! Clicking on the photos brings in the details. 

 

Kyoko's Quilt is Finished!!

Kyoko did a beautiful job on this pink quilt.  The Quilting design is from our Ann Bright Collection, and is called Ann's Garden. 

One of the skills that Diane Donovan teaches in Quilt School Two at Thimble Pleasures is how to apply a border with Mitered Corners.  Kyoko gets an A!!

This Quilt looks like pants!

Oh my, what's this all about?  My yoga teacher Lori, owner of Franklin Street Yoga, needed a pair of yoga pants shortened.  (Lori's short and petite, but trust me, don't mess with her). I thought, how hard could this be?  After all, in my previous life, I made bridesmaid dresses.  (Yuk!)  This will be cake, I thought. And then I saw how much she paid for these pants!  Yikes!  Panic!!!

 Here's what didn't work (I butchered a pair of ugly cycling arm warmers made of similar knit fabric)

Here's what did work:  I cut off about 3" from each pant leg, then turned under the raw edge about 3/8" and hand basted

Then, I turned each pant leg up 3/4" and pinned it to death with ball points

Then I used a walking foot with the #8 stitch on my Bernina 440 QE.  The hand basting was removed and bingo --we are done! 

 My point is this:  I've been working with quilting fabrics and quilting techniques 24/7 lately.  I was amazed how different it was working with these stretchy knits.  I think in 2010 I'm going to mix it up a bit.  I love making quilts of my own, and I especiallly love quilting for my many wonderful customers.  But I kind of enjoyed doing something different, too.  Thanks Lori, and if you need another pair altered, I can do it in 1/10 the time!  I'll bring them to class tomorrow morning.

Grey's Anatomy

You know when you see a really cool photo done in Black and White?  That's what I thought of when I saw this quilt.  I decided the next quilt I make will be tone on tone grey's like this one that Celeste made for her son for Christmas.

The quilting design is called "square dance" and is just perfect for this man quilt.  Once again, our beloved King Tut thread collection came through with the perfect match.  It's called Desert Wind, all tone on tone greys and silver. 

Carol's Quilt is Finished!

Carol made this adorable little boy's quilt.  The panel in the middle is surrounded by checkerboard and pinwheels.  Very cute!

Lisa's Quilt is Finished!

Lisa works at Thimble Pleasures in Chapel Hill, and makes the most adorable quilts you can imagine.  Some are for sale in the shop, but this one I know is for a very special 6 year old boy:

The fabric can be found at Thimble Pleasures.  The swirling quilting design is called "sticky buns", and can be reduced or enlarged to any size you like.

 

'Twas the Night Before Christmas.........

......'Twas the night before Christmas and all through the house, not a quilt was stirring, except for this one that has Gold Metallic Thread all over it!

I suggested that the Gold Metallic might look really festive. Marion wanted to go for it, so we did!  Good choice Marion.  Maybe you can see more in this close up:

In addition to Extra-Long Staple Egyptian Cotton, Three Bears Quilting works with a variety of specialty threads such as Metallics, High sheen Polyesters, Neons and even Glow in the Dark.  Don't be afraid to try on something new!

Susan's Quilt is Finished!

Susan did a fantastic job piecing this beautiful, oversize queen size  bed quilt.

Once again, our favorite thread, King Tut by Superior came through with the perfect match.

Sail Away With Me!

Gail made this adorable quilt with appliqued sailboats.  She requested that it be very loosly quilted - 4" or more apart!  I suggested we use a 3/4" thick poly batting, like you might see in a comforter almost.  As you'll see in the pictures below, it turned out exactly like we discussed.  I'll attach the binding for her, and once she's done with the hand stitching, it's ready to put under the tree!

A close up of the boats

and one more

Mary's Quilt is Finished!!

Thimble Pleasures in Chapel Hill refered Mary to Three Bears.  Lucky us!  This quilt is beautiful and perfectly pieced in gorgeous greens and browns. We applied a fern design to produce lots of texture.  Perfect.

Quilting detail

and one more

Jessica's Quilt is Finished!!

We chose an allover design called "Field of Wheat" for this "man-quilt" (it's a Christmas gift for a guy).  I love the rich browns:

The back looks as good as the front.  Really, it's two quilts in one!!!

Go Big or Go Home!!!!

Kathleen has the knack for choosing colors.  This Bloomin' Nine patch is big, 106 x 116, and beautiful.  You guessed it - it's for Christmas!

Front and Back of Ellen's Quilt

Here's more pictures of Ellens Quilt for everyone that asked. There are more if you go to the Gallery of Quilts.

And the back:

This quilt is stunning!  Now all Ellen needs to do is hand stitch the binding to the back and it's done!

Jets and Mets!

Calling all Jets and Mets fans:  check out this pair of Quilts that my friend Christina made for Christmas.  She will no doubt score some points with her husband.  I'm hoping she has some more of the blue or orange fabric so I can make the labels that she wants.

Christina used a thick fleece for the backing on these Quilts.  They now qualify as true couch potato quilts!