Saturday, January 31, 2009

How Do You Do That, Vivian? Vol. 3

Before I get to my little tutorial, please hop over to Daughter #2's blog for her give-away. Click here: Check out Scentsy. I love, love it! I'll soon have a warmer for every room in my house! It's a scent system that is wickless, meaning that they do not use flames, wicks, or smoke. Much safer than candles in a quilt studio! And the scents are awesome! Check it out today!

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Now, I got an email requesting how I do this swirly, curly thing I do on many of my quilts. Here's how I did it on the Dazzling Dogs quilt I just finished. I hope this helps! It's super easy. First you make a little curl, going one direction. Below I curled in toward the left.
Once your curl is made, then go the opposite direction. This one I curled in towards the right.You continue doing this making lots of curls and swirls. I kept the size of these curls pretty consistant. On some quilts I go a little crazy and make large and small, alternating the sizes.
This is a simple, yet pretty, design that can be used on many quilts. I quilted it in a 'sky' once, and a friend said it looked like the Santa Ana Winds. (hot, strong winds we get from time to time here in Orange County. They caused the fires we had here last November!)
Tip : This design looks awesome in variegated thread, too!
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I also receive emails asking me what kind of machine I use. It's a Gammill Classic I purchased from Cranberry Quiltworks in 2000. It's a basic model, without all the bells and whistles, but I love it! I've been quilting with it, probably daily, for 8 years! Newer models have stitch regulators, and even computers! So mine's practically an antique now. But I love the feel of this machine, so why change?
Hey what's on the TV, there?
I usually quilt with the TV on, with movies and shows that I don't have to really concentrate on.

Hey, isn't that Napolean Dynamite?
Please excuse this photo of my messy quilt studio.
Hey, is that a picture of Sting on the wall?
Of course! A quilter needs a little eye candy to look at now and then!
Now back to work, Vivian!

4 comments:

Sherri said...

I love the tutorials...because someday I'm going to try quilting small things on my machine!

Anonymous said...

Great tutorial....you make it look easy!

Angie said...

Hi Vivian, Thank you for posting how you do your swirl technique up close. When I look at your beautiful quilting from a distance I couldn't see the actual swirl and how you accomplished it. I think I was the one who emailed you asking for details. I hadn't checked into the blogs I follow for awhile so I'm glad I went back to your previous postings. I'm going to try your Swirls on my next quilt. Lovely look! again---Thank You!

Lisa Boyer said...

Thanks for the tutorial! I love your swirlys! Thanks especially for showing step-by-step--sometimes it's not so easy to see how something is done. Yours is beautiful...