This quilt is part of a four quilt series on friendship. I had 4 fat quarter bundles that I wanted to use and get out of my stash. I decided to “organize” a mystery quilt for my quilting buddies. I asked one to find a pattern for a fat quarter bundle without knowing what the fabrics looked like. That kept the fabrics a mystery for her. Not knowing the pattern kept it a mystery for me. I chose a bundle to gift to three quilting friends, keeping one bundle for myself. Each person was responsible for choosing their own background fabric and backing.

This quilt is vibrant and energizing. She loved the contemporary prints of the fabrics. I quilted it with variegated thread in the bobbin and a butterfly pattern. The backing is a sateen like flannel which was a beautiful backdrop for the quilting. Just wait until you see the other mystery quilts over the next few days.

What a privilege to be a part of this quilt. Designed by a grandson, pieced by the grandmother with fabrics they hand dyed together, this quilt is a stunning collaboration. The quilt top was brought to me by the daughter of the piecer to be finished as both her son and mother had passed away. There were a lot of tears when this was picked up.

Sister quilt in more ways than one to the Fishes quilt. Both were made for each of my clients sisters. What a lovely gift. This one has hearts and curls quilted with variegated thread that brings the design of the backing to the front.

My directive was to quilt “something like water”. This design had waves and fishes! What a terrific compliment to the border fabric.

What a fun quilting design. Great texture, great visibility! SUCCESS

It’s never too early to get those Christmas quilts into Ideal Stitches. The holly and curls are stunning on the back ground fabrics. Early wishes for Happy Holidays!

Cozy flannels, bold layout and textured quilting make a wonderful cuddle quilt.

Perfect little wall hanging for the Easter Season.

Charming little baby quilt for a dear boy. A little southwest and a little geometric make for a stunning combination.

Look at the texture that the quilting provides for this floral quilt. The pale yellow backing is the perfect backdrop for the flowers and leafy quilting. Charming.

This is a first quilt from a brand new quilter. The stripes were plain until I added the quilting! I think she is hooked!

Beautiful paisley quilting in gold thread adorns this quilt. I love the way it pops on the light colored blocks.

Made for a dear friend who is battling cancer, this quilt has white strips that are perfect for writing in blessings. I used a minky backing so it is cuddly and warm. What a blessing to share my quilting with others.

It was delightful to work on this quilt as a gift for a family friend expecting their first child. It’s a girl but you probably guessed that!

Bright colors and fussy cut blocks set the stage for gold thread and a quilting design with stars and moons. Magnificent!

What a magnificent ombre effect of light to dark. I can see this on a bed turned 90 degrees and it would look like day slipping into night. Incredible!

What a terrific layout to showcase memory fabrics! Add a heart quilting design and variegated thread and you have a “lovely” quilt.

Always a great feeling to get the unquilted tops finished. Loving the contrast in this quilt.

First quilt top by this client is now a charming baby quilt!

Here is the second blush quilt that my daughter designed and pieced. This one she gets to keep! Fun Halloween quilting looks incredible on both the front and back!

The borders are a fantastic place for the quilting to shine while the patchwork center showcases autumn colored fabrics. Amazing!

Charming baby quilt in vibrant yellow, blues and reds. Look closely and you can see the football quilting pattern especially on the minky backing. Go Team!

This is the third of the Summer Haze series. (check previous posts for Spring and Fall). This quilt has a snowflake border and a cardinal quilting design in the center. Looks Magnificent!

Fun and delightful way to use the Kaffe fabrics. Even more fun is the name of the quilt, inspired by the fabric pattern on the sashing.

I love seeing a quilt pattern made in different fabric palettes. This scarlet sky fabric line is just a little more bold than the lazy days from a recent post.

Vibrant and bold colors had to have quilting with a lot of movement! Swirls and hooks give it sizzling texture!

Pretty stained glass fabric inspired me to use a poppy quilting design. I can’t wait for spring flowers now.

Big floral squares alternate with nine patch blocks but what makes this quilt is the whimsical quilting.

A soft color palette, combined with a diagonal setting and delicate floral quilting, creates the perfect quilt for cuddling up in. Now I wish I would have made one for myself!

This vintage quilt top came to Ideal Stitches with tattered edges and unfinished. I trimmed the top square and turned it into a beautiful heirloom that my client can use and enjoy.

Quilt as Desired! This round quilt looks fabulous on front and back!

Cute little banner that is perfect for spring. It was a delight to custom quilt.

This quilt was designed by my daughter on graph paper. It is the first of two quilts she made, one for herself and the other for her dear friend. I absolutely love the color palette of warm pinks and blacks; it creates such a stunning contrast.

A hand pieced quilt top was brought to life on the quilt frame with a floral design. It give me great joy to turn a forgotten top into a finished quilt ready to be used and cherished.

This makes me think of opening a brand new crayon box! Add the doodle quilting and this is perfect for a budding artist!

Ovals and circles contrast the geometric lines of the triangles for a contemporary quilt that is sure to please. The avocado green palette gives it a fantastic retro vibe.

Palm leaves and jumping frogs give this quilt a tropical flair. This makes me ready for summer and reading books by the pool.

If I named this quilt pattern, I would have called it Kleenex boxes. But what ever it’s named, its a fun and whimsical quilt.

Bright colored stripes come together to form Magic Boxes for a quilt that is delightful. A paisley flower quilting design is the perfect whimsical finish.

This quilt is crafted from a collection of western shirts. They were chosen to create a memory quilt inspired by country western dancing between my client and her husband. Each shirt holds a piece of the past. They come together with denim sashing and backing and a western quilting design for a quilt that is truly memorable.

This is my shade of purple! It is double the fun to quilt when the fabrics are in your color palette!

This commissioned quilt came to Ideal Stitches as a few log cabin blocks and a bag of fabric yardage. I set to work making an extra fifty blocks to make a king size quilt. The autumn leaves quilt pattern look incredible in the cream background. Bonus is the gold bobbin thread on the rust backing. Wish I could have kept this one.

It’s fun to quilt extra fabric to make matching pillow shams. The Baptist Fan quilting design give both the shams and the quilt great definition! This is going to look fabulous on the bed!

My girlfriend and I each made an exploding heart quilt as a block of the month project together. Mine was red and hers is very pink!

Beautiful serene colors on this panel wall hanging needed no embellishment. I used a large water meander and monofilament thread. This is going to look amazing hanging in a foyer.

The black is spectacular on this quilt, giving it a stained glass effect. A subtle calm water quilting design keeps the focus on the piecing. Epic!

I watched this quilt top come together at a quilting retreat. I was excited to be part of this special gift for my client’s father. This is why I love what I do!

Just a quick note to let you know that Ideal Stitches has a new contact number! 📱
My email and web address remain the same, but I’ve dropped the landline. Besides the cost savings, the new number can receive texts—making it even easier to reach me.

For the quickest response, please reach out by email or text—I check both regularly between quilting sessions.

Ideal.Stitches@comcast.net

505 234 6808

Fun teddy bear quilt both in the piecing and the quilting. Add a stuffed teddy and this is an adorable gift.

I was thrilled to be asked to quilt this Dracula project! As someone fascinated by Bram Stoker’s Dracula and its many retellings, I couldn’t resist adding a touch of gothic flair. Spooky spiderwebs weave perfectly across the vampire-inspired blocks.

To see more of this hauntingly beautiful quilt—and even a feature on Ideal Stitches—visit Dave’s Craft Room on YouTube. https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=XxvM9XG8d48

You can almost hear the music on this notable quilt. Fantastic gift for a family of musicians.

This quilt was created because my client loved the tree fabric. Its framed to make the blocks on the front and cover the back. The quilting design has clouds and birds and coordinates well with the trees.

Calming neutrals and a razor grass quilting design reminds me of dormant grass in the winter time.

Huge undertaking to transform two large black bags of children’s clothes into a cherished memory quilt. When my client picked up the quilt, she cried! So many memories stitched into every block.

Oh what to quilt on this earthy quilt? A woodgrain all over design was the obvious choice and the result is spectacular!

Fun little zebra quilt with purples and striped fabric. The diagonal quilting pattern was inspired from the black and white fabric and looks like it was designed for this quilt!

A little custom play work on this quilt including free motion and computerized quilting. The minute I received this quilt, I could see paw prints in the cornerstones and in the border. Background quilting reminds me of long haired cats and brings out the embroidery.

Sometimes the great fun in the quilt is the research and development. I was commissioned to make an Anime baby quilt. First came the search for Anime fabric and this color palette was perfect for a baby. It also had a variety of Anime characters. Then deciding on a lay out. I chose a pattern that would feature the fabric and added quarter square triangles to set it off. Finally and search for a quilt pattern yielded a Naruto Cloud edge to edge design. Even better it was in my library! Fabulous!

Beautiful sage green and vivid dark purple are an incredible color combination. Gold thread is the perfect accent.

What fun quilts to give to young kids. I love all the novelty fabric that is available!

It is so much fun to use my novelty quilting designs. Look closely and you will see spiderman in the quilting!

Fabulous purples are graced with meandering hearts for a quilt that you are sure to love!

There are just some quilt that I wish I could keep for myself! This is definitely one of them!

This quilting pattern always reminds me of “The Jetsons”. It is perfect for this retro quilt!

Look at how the quilting pattern shows up on the minky backing but is subtle on the front. Great quilt to keep in the den for watching movies.

Beautiful snowflake quilting dances merrily across this winter star quilt. Cozy and festive!

Large cut fabric pieces are terrific for showing off the quilting design. The brick red thread is perfect on the black background and the golden backing. Stellar!

Beautiful Christmas quilt has both piece work and applique and was so much fun to custom quilt. From poinsettia motifs, background fills, continuous curves and border work, this is incredible!

Jagged blocks are both mesmerizing and electrifying. Lots of texture in the quilting for a quilt that is out of this world!

Fun southwest fabrics and bright colors set the stage for Anasazi quilting. The challenge for me was the free flowing appliqued hair. I had to wrap it up in a bun and tape it down so it wasn’t quilted. Always an adventure at Ideal Stitches.

This western quilt looks fantastic with straight line block quilting. There are so many fantastic fabrics in this quilt that I chose a texture pattern rather than a themed pattern.

There is always a challenge with every quilt that I put on the frame and that’s what makes my job fresh and exciting. This quilt has a custom center and an edge to edge pattern across the rest of the quilt. The filigree pattern was outlined by hand and then borders were ditched and customized. The rest of the quilt has a damask all over pattern. My customer was thrilled with the outcome.

Beautiful green batiks contrast with creamy white background that was plain until the spikey spiral quilting was added. The light bobbin thread shows fabulous on the backing; a fabulous bonus.

What better day to showcase this quilt than on my birthday! Twenty years in the making, this is the last of my unquilted tops to be finished. Detailed piecework and intricate applique come together in this block of the month featuring outdoor scenes. Finally custom quilting sets off each block, frames, sashing and border. I couldn’t be more pleased with how it turned out.

This reversible quilt looks completely different on each side. Both have great areas to showcase the jungle animal quilting.

Lots of places for this geometric design to shine. Again a reversible quilt. Magnificent!

Truly a reversible quilt! I wish I could capture the excitement of this customer when she saw her finished quilt. This is why I love what I do!

I was told this quilt is a gift for their family bishop. It is quilted with a dove of peace design and the magenta thread is spectacular.

I used a bright variegated thread that is subtle on the bright fabrics and is vibrant on the black fabrics. Great texture on the backing with light blue bobbin thread. Incredible!

Fun fabric with a map print set the stage for an airplane quilting design. Bonus is that the backing looks like sky and clouds. Soaring high with this baby quilt.

Snowflakes and curls are very subtle on this brightly printed Christmas quilt. Is it time to decorate for the holidays yet?

Vintage images in the fabric inspired me to chose a gingerbread cookie design for quilting. I can see using this quilt on a chilly winter evening and snacking on freshly baked cookies.

I used a graffiti style quilting design and I couldn’t be more pleased with the result. Even more spectacular is the use of variegated thread on the front of the quilt.

I made this quilt for a dear friend recently diagnosed with Multiple Sclerosis. She has two sons that are avid baseball players so I wanted a quilt that she can take with her where ever she goes and not miss a game! Play ball!

This beautiful machine embroidered wall hanging was custom quilted and I couldn’t be more pleased with the result. Why wait for the holidays to hang it up?

The piecing is simple but the fabric choices give this an elegant vibe. I chose a feather and curl pattern that makes this quilt exquisite on front and back!

Its time to pull your Halloween quilts out of storage and get ready for fall! This charming panel quilt has lots of space to show of Jack’s smiling face. Spooktacular!

This fun bright quilt is all line with the exception of one circular block. I took this shape and quilted interlocking circles. Magnificent!

I was asked whether I would custom or do an allover on this quilt. While I love custom work, the fabric prints are busy on front and back and doesn’t allow the quilting to show. I recommended an all over so the beautiful colors and piecework can be the focus of the quilt. Look closely and you can see denim blue thread on the top and khaki tan on the bottom.

Charming wall hanging with lots of movement. I love when the quilting stands out and makes the quilt come alive!

Tumbler blocks look like the retro lava lamps in this layout. Add a baby animal quilting design and you have a charming baby quilt that is sure to please.