I started hand quilting Feathered Stars. I finished the top back in March of this year.
I used the pattern from 19th Century Patchwork Divas' Treasury of Quilts by Betsy Chutchian and Carol Staehle. I'm also hand quilting mine similar to the one in the book too. I knew I wanted to quilt in feathers somewhere in Feathered Stars. It looks like the quilting in the book was done on a machine; however, I am not good at quilting on my DSM and have better control with hand quilting designs like this as well as the straight lines. PLUS I enjoy hand quilting and find it relaxing. I don't enjoy quilting on the DSM and find it far from relaxing.
I've used this feathered wreath stencil several times before and I was lucky that it fit the centers of the stars in this quilt.
So far I've hand quilted all of the star centers. I used chalk and a pounce pad to mark on the dark centers and...
...I used a purple disappearing ink pen I had on hand still in the dusty package and never been used to mark the lighter centers. It's been a week and the ink still hasn't disappeared yet so I guess I need to apply a damp cloth now and believe in magic.
I agree with you...hand quilting is far more relaxing and enjoyable than machine quilting. I don't trust those disappearing ink pens...I would rather use a regular pencil and have those light gray marks (from the pencil)on the quilt than something blue or purple. I also use white chalk or pencil to mark my quilts. If you use a light hand with the pencil the marks seem like a shadow of the hand quilting.
ReplyDeleteI am looking forward to loading a quilt on the frame after the holidays!
Hand quilting adds such a beautiful touch to a quilt. I admire your work and those of other hand quilters. I find it relaxing too for the most part, but I find it hard to stitch for long periods of time, so I have to FMQ.
ReplyDeleteGorgeous quilting!
ReplyDeleteThe feathered wreath does look perfect for the star centers! I hope you find a way to get rid of the marks.
ReplyDeleteIt was a delight to see your feathered stars. I love the feather wreath quilting. I, too, don't like doing machine quilting. It is beautiful but I don't enjoy doing it at all. I much prefer hand quilting. I usually keep a spray bottle by the frames when I'm quilting with a marking pen. I spray down the area rather well after I've finished the stitching and the marks disappear quickly. I hope that helps.
ReplyDeleteSomehow I must have missed the earlier finished flimsy post. I love how you take a traditional pattern like this and make it whimsically your own. It's going to be wonderful with the hand quilting. If it were mine I'd call it Feathering my Nest.
ReplyDeleteI love the play on words here ... feathered stars with chickens in the middle! Hahaha!! Now you're quilting feathered wreaths in the centers! Too funny and beautiful work!
ReplyDeleteI also prefer hand quilting over machine - both as a method and esthetically. But as slow as I am with the hand quilting, I can see that I need to get better with the machine work if I'm ever to have any hope of finishing half the quilts I start!
ReplyDeleteI read that Crayola washable markers can be used for marking quilting lines, so I tried some on sample fabric and washed it. Sure enough, the lines washed right out, but I'm awfully afraid that all that proves is that it works on a sample... (Still haven't been brave enough to try it on something I actually care about!)
This is a cozy time of year for hand quilting, and I like your feathered stars! Soon I will be hand quilting the center medallion of a quilt I had longarmed. It's a sashiko that I will echo somehow. I look forward to quilting under the quilt while the snow is falling outside.
ReplyDeleteI do most of my quilting using a walking foot and have gotten pretty good at echoing and slight curves. I do think free motion by DSM is very stressful, so if I think a quilt calls for swirls, I quilt "by check" and am lucky to have a friend who does a great job.
It's going to look fantastic. Kudos to you for the handquilting. I put that aside years ago when I starated FMQ. I now have a sit down long arm but I actually think I did pretty well on my DSM!
ReplyDeleteCrossing my fingers on the purple ink! Your feathered friends are looking great in their extra feathers :)
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