Crystal Vision Quilting

End of Graduation Season

May 10, 2017 / Sue / No comments

The tshirt graduation season is coming to a close. It
was a very long season this year and I was productive with all the Quilts I completed since January. Previous posts show some of the Quilts completed.

Each of of them were very different but all were based on a grid system with each block being the same size. Some blocks contained more than one logo. This is the last of them!

Whew! Now I should have time for everything else piling up. Seems that this time of year is so busy! I am always saying that I will not fall behind, however, I am on the same swift river as years before.

Speaking of rivers, we are having an issue with flooding this year. I needed to get a breath of fresh air so we took a drive up to a small town called Pine, Idaho.

I am so sorry for their flooding difficulties. Past forest fire issues and now flooding,I hope this tragic situation passes quickly.

The list is long as I move on to the next few projects. I have been organizing my fabric, cutting and sorting scraps, going through the holding bay (garage area where I have stored my quilting supplies), moved fabric to a storage facility so that the holding bay will be cleaned and everything is in order for the building of the Sewing Cottage.

Of course, I am still quilting so should have some photos available soon on the progress of my projects and of the building of the Sewing Cottage.

My next few writings will be about my thoughts of scrap fabric, scrap Quilts, and organizing those scraps. Hopefully I will be able to shed some light on this are we all deal with unless we just throw leftover fabric in the garbage bin ( wow, what a terrible image)!

Anyway, glad to have shared a bit with you today and hope to stay in touch.

Remember to to count your blessings!

Sue

Category: Tshirt Quilts / Tags: T-Shirt quilt

Quilting Studio Organization

April 17, 2017 / Sue / No comments

Every year at this time, I get the urge to organize my studio. Spending countless hours on that black hole known as “Pinterest”, I get very motivated, but I am no closer to being organized than if I did nothing. Staying off Pinterest might help. The pictures of these fabulous studios must be of staged, non-working spaces. I do not see how a creative soul can work in a totally organized, labeled, sorted, space with all the fabric in neat stacks that are color coordinated.

All I have to do is walk into my studio and the “tornado winds” hit with full force. My cleaned desk is suddenly piled high. I have several boxes of items to put away. There is not a neat stack of fabric in sight. I have a couple of cups and my lunch dishes precariously balanced on a stack of patterns and books, and it all happens spontaneously.

On the heavy workdays, fabric is everywhere. Unfortunately, my studio containing my longarm named “Crystal Rose” is not the same room as my sewing room. Double the tornados, double the mess seems to be a daily mantra.

I am able to find everything I need right away, I just do not have a beautiful, lovely staged studio and sewing room. They are work areas and I work in them almost daily. I do not have fabric on the floor, but it is in boxes and bins and disheveled stacks.

I wanted to “organize my scraps” during the month of April. To whom was I kidding? Regular yardage needs attention first. However, I read a couple of articles and a couple of books on methods of organizing your scrap fabric. Sounds great for someone who has lots of free time, no yard work, no garden, no garage, no housework, no dogs or cats, and definitely no quilting business!

We are planning on building a Sewing Cottage in the next couple of months so maybe there is hope. I hope to be able to at least post this beautiful space with everything in its place, color coordinated fabric, and darling decorations on the walls (might happen once when I first move into the Sewing Cottage). After that, it becomes a working space once again.

Speaking of working: here are a couple of tshirt Quilts made for clients.

Gus’ tshirt quilt

Wendy’s tshirt quilt

Ryan’s tshirt quilt

I have three additional tshirt Quilts I am currently working on and hope to get them posted this week for you to see. As I said, my studio and sewing room are working areas!

I was also given Levi’s and a BSU bean bag to make a quilt for a client. Thought I would share that as well:

Memory quilt

Well, it is late and I have a busy day tomorrow. I promise myself that I will not look at any Pinterest studio/sewing rooms tomorrow. I do not need that pie in the sky stuff to distract me from reality.

Imagine and creativity happens! Be kind to each other.

Sue

Category: Memory Quilts, Tshirt Quilts /

A New Year

January 27, 2017 / Sue / No comments

Life always seems to flit here and there. Sometimes it moves at a regular pace so I am able to get things completed in a reasonable amount of time. I am thankful for those times. I feel that I can breathe and enjoy special moments.

Then there are those times when I blink and life has jetted past me, leaving me in the dust and well behind schedule. I do not relish those times. I am still thankful I am here and able to look for blessings, but I do not like feeling behind.

This year, 2017, I am going to try to be more focused on my time around Quilting. I will be scheduling Quilting jobs a bit differently and hopefully more efficiently than I have in the past. So……….

It is time to book your longarm project for the year. Choose a month you would like to have your top to me and I will put you in that spot. I will call you to remind you that you need to have your top to me at the first of your month.

I had some clients do this last year and it worked out very well. One client chose every other month to have a quilt quilted. It gave her a deadline for completing pieces and it helped me schedule her Quilts.

Call me and let me know when you would like to be on the schedule! Don’t forget that I will do binding for you as well. That way you get a completed quilt!

I am sharing sharing a couple of projects to hopefully brighten your day.

Remember to hug your loved ones!

Sue

Category: Longarm Quilting Projects, Quilting / Tags: Scheduling

Busy Year

October 15, 2016 / Sue / No comments

It has definitely been a busy year. I had intended on posting more, updating my photo gallery, and printing new patterns this year. Alas, I have not had time.

Keep posted as I hope to meet one or more of those goals.

Remember, life is meant to be lived to the fullest. Be positive, loving and giving!

See you soon!

sue

Category: Longarm Quilting Projects, Projects, Uncategorized /

January 2016

January 8, 2016 / Sue / No comments

It is hard to believe that 2015 has come and gone in the blink of an eye. I thought there would at least be 12 months…..oh, wait…..there were and they flew by so fast that I can only hope 2016 will move a little slower.

This is the time of year that we all consider how to make this next year be different in some way. Some of us have goals. Some of us have resolutions, some of us make lists, and some of us just hope that this new year brings about some changes of some kind or continuation of things we like that happened last year.

I have never been one to make resolutions, but I do have hopes. For those of you that know me, I always have HIGH hopes. I seem to want the moon, but will take a piece of cheese if that is what happens.

My hopes for this year is for moderation in projects that I attempt this year. Moderation in gardening, moderation in landscaping, moderation in my budget, moderation in activities that take time away from what I would really like to do, and moderation in expectations of myself. There it is, those HIGH hopes once again!

I think my biggest hopes are to travel a bit more this year, to spend more time with my family, and to have a bit more time for my own quilting projects. Scheduling did not go as I wanted last year so I definitely need to make a change to allow more ME time.

I also hope to be able to write more on the blog and post more photos of the quilts that I complete for myself and for my clients. I was not very good at posting last year and I apologize. Time management seems to float right out the window on many days.

Speaking of time management, now is the time to think about the quilt tops you would like to get quilted this year and call to get placed on the schedule. The slots fill up before you know it and then my turn around time is further out then either of us would like. I do have some clients that keep a consistent slot every two months so they know when there time is available and they are ready to go.

I truly wish you have a 2016 that is relaxing, loving and pieceful! I leave you with a few photos for a bit of eye candy until I post again. Another hope, to post more regularly this year.

Sue

Summer Filled Quilting Projects

September 12, 2015 / Sue / No comments

I have been sew busy quilting that I have not posted in a while. The saying “the hurrier I go, the behinder I get” seems to match my summer. I have been very focused on getting quilting pieces completed for my clients but sometimes it seems that I am not making progress. It is always nice to look back at some of the quilts I have completed. Enjoy the show!

Here are a couple of the details from the darling snowman quilt.

This wall hanging was commissioned using antique appliqué blocks. The detail pictures below show how nicely it turned out.

This blue and white quilt was one of my favorite client pieces this summer.

I made this Levi quilt for a repeat client. I like to work with the varied shades from the Levi pants.

I loved the colors and movement this piece presented.

I have been able to be very creative this summer with my quilting. It helps to have great pieces to work with each day.

A little flower garden to “grow” is always a visual treat.

This was my Valentines For Aids auction piece this year.

Loved being able to be very inspired with this great quilt.

Here is the quilting on the back side of the quilt.

This cute snowman quilt just made me smile.

This quilt was very large and took a bit of time to finish.

Having a small piece made me think I was catching up on my client quilts.

My dear friend and I each did this embroidery piece to learn how to use our machines. She finished hers and I quilted it. Mine is not finished yet.

The following pieces continued to keep me busy this summer as I quilted, quilted, and quilted some more.

I also managed to make and quilt this commissioned Double Wedding Ring quilt. It took hours and hours to piece and then the quilting was not a fast work either.

I am still trying to stay focused and get these client quilts finished before the Holidays hit! Anyway, I had better get back to work. I hope you enjoyed the mini quilt show! Stay turned for more to come.

Sue

Category: Longarm Quilting Projects, Uncategorized / Tags: Client quilts

A Few Pictures To Inspire . . .

March 12, 2015 / Sue / No comments

Edit

This quilt was a very nice piece that I quilted along with the following small table runners. Here is the back side to show you how I quilted it:

The following were very fun, small pieces. Sometimes it is great to have a series of small pieces to get the creative juices flowing.

Detail picture below:

I still have many pictures to share with you. I have been busy quilting! Thank goodness it is my passion.

It has been terrific to have met so many of you over the last couple of months and to have seen and worked for all of you. Continue to keep being creative so I can be creative as well.

I will leave you with this gorgeous double wedding ring I quilted for Marianne.

Simply Gorgeous!

Keep quilting,

Sue

Category: Longarm Quilting Projects, Quilting / Tags: Double Wedding Ring, Table Runners

Back In The Saddle Again

March 4, 2015 / Sue / 2 comments

Seems that my posts disappeared for awhile as I moved into the summer, fall, and winter. I thought I was doing well with posting, until I wasn’t. I have so many pieces to share with you since last time. My goal during this next month is to get caught up and stay posting since I have been working on some fabulous quilts.

I have added pantographs for sale on the website. I will be adding more as they begin to filter in to me. Take a look and see if there are any that spark your interest. If you are local, you can contact me and pick them up to avoid postage charges. Remember to check back as more will be added. As always, it takes me a while to get some technology things set up. I am working on the postage calculation online. Until I have that figured out, you will get two charges on PayPal when you order pantographs, one for the pantographs and one for the postage. Sorry about the inconvenience. As most of you know, I do get things figured out but tech stuff just takes me a bit longer.

Here are a few photos from the booth that my sister and I shared at the International Quilt Show in Houston, Texas. It was definitely an experience.

At least you know I am still around and am still trying to figure out the tech stuff (ha, ha). Keep watching for updates as I try to catch you up on all the great quilts I have had the pleasure to work on these last few months.

Sue

Category: Quilting / Tags: vendor

Spring Projects

May 23, 2014 / Sue / No comments

Scheduling gardening, yard work, and quilting certainly becomes a juggling act at times. My yard is calling to me that it is becoming a hay field while I am quilting in the studio. Thank goodness I am as organized as I am. Nothing would get done if I let my attention drift.

I have completed a couple of projects this last month. I repaired an antique double wedding ring quilt but forgot to take her picture. Too bad. She was gorgeous with a green background and prairie points all around the edges.

I completed this memory quilt for a wonderful woman who lost her mother. I hope this quilt gives her comfort as she shares memories of Grandma with her children. Memory quilts are a fabulous way to use clothing items of the person who passed and create a quilt to wrap around shoulders or lay in a lap and remember!

I also have completed this very large T-Shirt quilt for a beautiful graduate! I really enjoyed making this quilt with all the different fabrics and photos added. It is a different layout than just a grid of T-Shirts. The time involved is more but it certainly was a darling quilt.

I have another T-Shirt quilt ready to go into the frame, a top pinned to my zipper system and ready to go into the frame after the T-Shirt quilt, am piecing a double wedding ring quilt (only two rows to go) and am cutting out a new top.

The garden is in and thriving, the iris are almost in full bloom, all the flower beds are weeded, am getting ready to paint three adirondack chairs and a bench, am working on my vintage trailer, Trixie, and am still “letting the grass grow under my feet”. Guess I need to fit in the mowing soon.

Was working in the studio and this gorgeous dragonfly came to visit.

Remember to be positive about life, count your blessings, and involve yourself in your passions.

Sue

Category: Longarm Quilting Projects, Memory Quilts, Projects, Quilting, T-Shirt Quilt designs and projects in the studio. / Tags: LongArm Quilting, Memory Quilt, T-Shirt quilt

How To Decide What To Quilt On a Quilt Top

April 30, 2014 / Sue / No comments

I am so excited to be asked to write a guest blog for APQS. It took me a little while to really think about what I wanted to share with you today. I know that I am going to talk about how I decide what I will quilt on a client’s quilt, but it is an involved process.
There are some basic things I go through with the quilt maker before I can begin to generate ideas for the quilt. I thought it would be easier to video my talking about those basics and give you a direction to think about for your own quilts. I hope you enjoy the video.

I have never done a video for my own blog: CrystalVisionQuilting.com but think that I will try it again in the future. I had a great time spending time shooting the video and do hope it gives you great ideas.

I have been involved in quilting since 1972, even though I do not see myself as old. All aspects of quilting from beginning, teaching, having a store with my sister, Trinity, to having my own business that does: longarm quilting, custom quilts, t-shirt quilts, and memory quilts, has given me a huge background in the industry. I am always learning and I hope that I have been able to give you some help in deciding how to quilt your own quilts or quilts for your clients.

For information on the Precise Pantograph System, contact Trinity at 2SistersQuilting.com or check out the 2Sisters Quilting.com website. For information on apps, look at what is available on your phone or tablet.
I hope that you have enjoyed this guest blog. Please let me know what additional ideas you may have or just if it was helpful to you. Keep quilting! Sue

Category: How To, Ideas, Longarm Quilting Projects, Quilting / Tags: Quilt Designs

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