One Moose Open Sleigh by Ty Livingston for Bigfork Bay Cotton Company

OK, I know what you are thinking. "Wow, Sylvia finally learned how to take a decent photograph!" As much as I would like to take the credit I have to say that I am just using the photography of the famous John Staloway. He is not only my boss, who I have NEVER met, he is the photographer for all the pictures on the cover of the Bigfork Bay Cotton Co patterns. He's the owner of the company too, along with his wife Lynn, so I'm guessing it's ok for me to use his photo which shows how great the quilt is, instead of my photo's which make it look like the colors don't match.

One Moose Open Sleigh is one of the new designs by Ty Livingston for Bigfork Bay Cotton Co. This one isn't for their trunk show, which I will make three more for. It is for a Distributor in Sweden who has picked up the Bigfork Bay Patterns and the fabric from Batik Textiles. I told my family that I'm International now! She is having me make 4 of the BBCC quilts for shows in Europe. I am very excited. I am making some for a Distributor in Denmark too, I am International you know!!!

Sebastian the Beagle Quilt

I'd like to introduce you to Sebastian. This adorable Beagle is the newest friend of Perrito the Pug. The pattern for this quilt, from Bigfork Bay Cotton Company, http://www.bigforkbaycottonco.com/ is adapted from a painting by David King who is from Halifax, Nova Scotia on Canada's Atlantic coast. His art business is called Pugcasso. http://www.pugcasso.com/ I am a huge fan of his work.

I just finished making three Sebastian quilts for the Bigfork Bay Trunk Shows. He really is even more adorable than in the photo and the fabric really does look like that in Bigfork Bay's kits. The fabric is all from Batik Textiles http://www.batiktextiles.com/ . You can get the Aurifil thread pack as well as the kit from Bigfork Bay. Aurifil thread is the ONLY thread I quilt with. Why, you ask? Well, let me tell you. It is made from long staple Egyptian cotton which gives the thread the strength needed for high-speed quilting. Because of the longer fibers in the Egyptian cotton the thread is tighter and smoother than other brands. This means that if I wind a bobbin with Aurifil thread I actually have more thread on my bobbin than with other brands and so I change bobbins less often. Machine quilting can be hard on a sewing machine and I take exceptionally good care of my machine. Aurifil thread has less lent than other brands which means my machine stays cleaner and runs more efficiently. In the long run I spend less money on thread since Aurifil thread goes farther, I change bobbins less often and I spend less time cleaning my machine, but the biggest and most important reason is that it has a more luxurious finish.

Wild Horse Canyon Re-Do

This is what I am working on today. I will have it ironed down and ready to quilt for tomorrow. If it looks a little familiar you are right. Wild Horse Canyon is a pattern designed by Toni Whitney for Bigfork Bay Cotton Co. that has been changed a little. They changed the colors and they made it easier to make. I LOVE the changes, however I LOVED the first one too.

Although this quilt looks hard I want to assure you that it really isn't. It is time consuming to a point and using a pressing sheet is so important. I use the pressing sheet by Bear Threads that measures 27"x30". With this pressing sheet you can do fusible applique on just about any size quilt. I can use it for ALL the quilts from Bigfork Bay Cotton Co. Even the big American Icon! Using this size pressing sheet has made my life so much easier. You can order one directly from Veronica Cox, the owner at http://www.bearthreaddesigns.com/ if your local quilt shop doesn't have one, or you can ask your local shop to carry it. They won't be sorry. It does come in smaller sizes too. Bigfork Bay Cotton Co. carries them too at http://www.bigforkbaycottonco.com/.

For those who don't know, I make trunk shows for Bigfork Bay Cotton Co. It's my dream job. There is such a wide variety of patterns and kits available. There are the most amazing wildlife quilts by Toni Whitney, a baby quilt by Katie Bramante, frogs, dancing chickens, and Italian series from Debi Hubbs...the list goes on and on! Wait until I show you the newest artist Ty Livingston. I will be making his quilts next! You can see them right now at http://www.bigforkbaycottonco.com/ too.

I guess I should get to work instead of playing on my blog so you can see all the new quilts too!
Did I mention how much I love my job?