Great plan Judith! Is she new in the area? Maybe there are other quilters who used her services?

Thanks for the compliment! Yes, it's really rewarding. Now if my machine would have played nice I would have finished it by now but it doesn't so I stopped trying to put the zipper in. The machine keeps skipping stitches while without a zipper it sews just fine.......beats me!!

I've been working on wrapping up the presents!

these are the bows and assorted 3.5" blocks

http://i31.photobucket.com/albums/c3...psvo7bniqc.jpg

And the presents! I'm adding the bows and sashing to get to the finished size.

http://i31.photobucket.com/albums/c3...psatqluoaa.jpg

And a few completed - Thinking about calling it "Delilah's Christmas" I made a few changes so I could have some rectangular blocks too. These three are the largest.

http://i31.photobucket.com/albums/c3...psfyaaezgv.jpg

I don't know Anael. I found her card in JoAnn Fabrics. That's why after Christmas, I will interview her and see some samples of her work and ask if she has a multi media account. I don't plan on trusting her with something I'm completely invested in right off the bat.

Right now, I made a deal with someone here on the board (who shall remain nameless at her request) to quilt my quilts for $100 each. Edge to edge. I let her pick all the designs she sees fit. I trust her. She makes some amazing quilts and quilts with her own Long Arm. She does this for me as a favor.(She is not a professional Long Armer. I bartered the deal.) I have to mail everything to her and she has to mail everything back which I pay for. And, I'm so grateful, she is helping me get caught up on some old projects. But, if I could save myself the postage by having it locally quilted, I could probable afford to have 1 or 2 more quilts quilted a year. I just don't have a machine that will handle large quilts right now. So, this is a big convenience to me to have a little Long Arm help.

It is my goal this year to learn to do quilt-as-you-go better this year. The only problem I have right now is all the tops I have sitting and waiting for quilting are already together. To do the quilt-as-you-go, you have to plan out the top in steps. I just ordered a book by Marti Mitchell, Machine Quilting in Sections. I'm hoping she will inspire me to tackle more of my own quilting. I did a little research to even find a book I thought would be helpful to me.

And, I think all of your quilts are amazing. I think that thread is about inspiring others to make that quilt on their bucket list. The quilt that made them fall in love with quilting. The masterpiece that makes them smile every time they see it. I think that's what makes an amazing quilt. Also the stories behind the quilts in that thread that are just as inspiring as well. You can just hear the love and pride they have for their craft. I really enjoyed stumbling upon that jem.

MacyBaby, that quilt is going to be another stunner. Thank you for sharing your progress. It's helping to put me in a Christmas state of mind. The colors are beautiful.

Wow Macy, that's going to be a wonderful Christmas Delilah !!

I never inquired having my quilts quilted. I know there are a few shops that do it here in The Netherlands. I prefer to do it myself, though sometimes........
It's quite expensive, no doubt.
Quilt as you go needs another approach, you're right. I've done it, like it but most of the time I quilt the whole top at once. Quilt as you go needs a lot of hand sewing and I don't like that.

I'll think about posting one of my quilts. I might post the Fairyland quilt, I really like that one. Or one of the other embroidered quilts. Or.......hahahahaaaa

Now I"m going to the shop to get my bike. One of the breaks was making a funny noise and they told me a part had to be replaced. Hopefully it won't cost a fortune!

Loving the present quilt!! What a fun project to just create and sew. Love it..

My LA'r lives 2 blocks away and I love her work.. My SIL also does some E2E for me. With the applique quilts, I've been doing those myself but I can hardly wait to get my own LA. Most LQS have business cards of LA services done by others. That is how I found mine. Plus, I saw a lot of her work before I took one to her. She designed the custom quilting for a BOM quilt that many of us did, including herself. She quilted 11 of these quilts. This was the first one she did for me and the rest is history. She, also, quilts my QOV for free as her contribution, so both our names are on the label, which I love!

Yes, Anael...post your Fairyland quilt. I was actually thinking about that one, too....though Imlove the purple one in your avatar too..

wasn't this a fun pillow to make? Yours turned out so cute.. I just did a pocket pillow backing instead of the zipper backing the pattern calls for. Me and zippers don't get along...lol...

Yes it was a fun project. I might do the pocket pillow backing. The zipper can be removed very easily.

I just found the Fairyland quilt on my computer. I need a better picture. Maybe tomorrow, if the weather is nice, I'll take a picture outside. The one in my avatar still needs a lot of quilting but my lady cats love that quilt so much, they don't let me quilt it. It's on my machine as we speak. I want to finish it because I want to go back to the Kingwell quilts. I think about quilting Gypsy Wife next. Maybe a wavy line in the strips and each block a different pattern. Still thinking about it.

Yeahhhh I just purchased a Bernina 930 - I once owned the same model but had to sell it years ago due to health problems.
I've been searching for one for quite some time now and finally found one today. The seller will ship the machine on Monday! I'm very happy!!!!

Congratulations....that's exciting. Well deserved....