Category Archives: Hand Quilting

Hibernation Projects

art quilt, Hand Quilting, landscape quilt, piecing

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The hand quilting on the vintage project is coming along nicely, what with our long Michigan evenings.  Retirement finds me quite content to while away the hours with fabric in hand.  The vintage quilt ended up having nine squares, consisting of four fans put together to create flowers.  I am now quilting the eighth one, and, when the ninth is finished, will begin work on large-stitched vines in the borders, to help it blend with it’s surroundings when it reaches it’s home (the “She Shed” of a special friend).

The machine sewn project, which has been keeping me bIMG_20160125_165754usy most recently, is a “Mystery Quilt” project, organized by Midland Quilters Squared, to which I belong.  Each month we were given a segment of the directions, until this month, when the final diagram was revealed.  This has been a challenge for me, as piecing is not my favorite style and I am not given to perfectionism, so this has been a good stretching exercise for me.  Somehow, it has resulted in a gallon sized baggie full of extra squares and triangles, so I obviously misunderstood a direction along the way.  It was a happy day when it all came together this week.                                                                                                                                     Here is a closer view that also gives a better ideas of the colors.  (Pale sky blue and raspberries)IMG_20160125_165926

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Finally, the other technique tried since moving from the busy holidays into hibernation mode, was inspired by a class taught by Tawni Young from Interlochen, Michigan.  This was totally fun and a process that allows completion of a small landscape quilt in a day.  I believe it is termed “confetti quilting”, as you begin by shredding piles of several colors of fabric, using a rotary cutter.  The results are then sprinkled onto batting topped backing fabric.  Trees, etc. are then layered on with embroidery floss branches in places.  When happy with the result you cover all with black tulle and begin quilting.  The trees and any other large objects are outlined first, and you then just enjoy lots of free-motion quilting all over the rest, to hold everything together.  Tawni often puts hers in a frame, but here is my first attempt.

A new art quilt was started today.  More on that in the future.

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Finally Finished!

Free-motion quilting, Hand Quilting,

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After a full year of dragging this lap robe quilt about with me, it is finally finished.
This is the quilt which has been the inspiration for my desire to perfect free-motion quilting. The quilting is hand done, and I have now realized how few hand quilted projects I would be able to finish in my lifetime.

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Here is the detail. My stitching is coming along, but it was during the long process of finishing that I began to experiment with free-motion.

I do love the colors in this quilt and am drawn to batiks. As you can see, it is another simple design, purposely chosen for ease of hand quilting. It would, however, equally have lent itself to free-motion. So on I go to perfect those skills. First class tomorrow! The teacher has directed us to Patsy Thompson’s website to make copies of the free-motion designs offered there at no charge.

Remembering the Flowers of Summer

Hand Quilting

Poppies wall-hanging

Poppies detail 1

While excitedly awaiting my first free-motion class, I have taken time to record some of my earlier work. This wall quilt of poppies was completed last summer. I was working on my hand-quilting, and chose to outline the flowers and mark lines for quilting the borders. Because I am currently more focused on the quilting process itself, you are probably beginning to see my penchant for simple piecing. One of the things I love so about quilting is the many aspects of the art. There will always be something new to learn.