A Hand Quilted Finish

It's a finish!

68 x 86

Hand quilted with perle #8 and #12 in a variety of different colors from ecru to a light brown. 

Top was finished back in December 2019.

I used an odd assortment of fabrics - an autumn themed jelly roll I won, an autumn themed charm pack thank you gift, a few quarter yards of Thimbleberries fabric someone gave me, some swapped four patches and some civil war reproduction scraps. 

Fragments of Cloth at Sentimental Stitches was my inspiration. 

Here you can see some of the big stitch hand quilting. I was working on some of this before cataract surgery and I could not see very well to thread the needle or stitch very evenly. I finished this and cataract surgeries so am now waiting for a new pair of glasses so I can see up close to read and do hand work. 

The backing and binding. Someone gave me that binding. Guess what...there was just enough. I think I had about 3 inches left over. I had to piece the backing but I had just enough of that fabric too. I guess it was meant to be. 

And now I need to decide which quilt will go into the hoop next. I have several choices but I think I  need to piece a backing for any of those choices. 

And sew on...

Slow Sunday Stitching at Kathy's Quilts

Oh Scrap at Quilting Is More Fun Than Housework

 

It's A Finish! Ribbon Candy

Ribbon Candy

It's a finish!

63 x 81

I started the quilt of Indian Hatchet blocks in June 2020. I used '30s reproduction scraps left over after making a Churn Dash quilt from yardage. 

I started quilting this on my sewing machine but then decided to hand quilt so I ripped out the DSM quilting.  I used a variety of colors of perle cotton and big stitched about 1/4 on both sides of all the seams.  

 I used a couple of bird and butterfly themed fabrics that have been around for awhile on the back. 

You can see the hand quilting a little better in the lighter section of the backing.  I used '30s reproduction scraps for the binding. 

Peacock Party at Wendy's Quilts and More

Finished or Not Finished Friday at Alycia Quilts

 

Not Hooping It Up

 I've been hand quilting this large 85 x 85 quilt I call Milquetoast.  It got that name because it pales in comparison to the loud and bright colors I prefer to use. But the Bright Hopes blocks were a nice way to use a box of low volume scraps accumulated over the years.  I finished the top back in August 2019 and I would say it is now in the hoop but it's not. 

I am not using a hoop for this one because I'm big stitching with long running stitches about 1/4 inch away from the sides of the long pieces and I didn't want to keep moving the hoop every few stitches or use multiple needles. 

 And speaking of needles I found some sashiko needles at Hobby Lobby so decided to give them a try. I'm using one of the longest ones and I'm glad I am. It seems that without a hoop to move and with a sashiko needle and big stitches that the stitching goes much faster. I'm using mostly white perle #12 but I don't think I have enough for the entire quilt so I'm filling in and stitching some rows with pink, blue, gray and yellow threads in perle #8 that I have on hand. (I'm not using that black thread. That was in my basket because I'm stitching french knot hair on a topsy turvy doll to be with it.)

I still have a long way to go but I'm moving forward and having a good time. 

I guess I'll also mention that this is a "summer quilt" and it has no batting. 

Oh Scrap! at Quilting is More Fun than Housework

Slow Sunday Stitching at Kathy's Quilts

It's a Finish! Chocolate Swirls

 Chocolate Swirls

It's a finish!

74 x 84

I think this block is known by many names  - Rising Sun, Cog Wheel, Wagon Wheel. Each of my blocks contains a little chocolate so I'm calling my quilt Chocolate Swirls. ( And when I use it I will be covered in chocolate. Oh, yeah!)  I started making this quilt back in October 2018. 

I enjoyed making these blocks. They were machine pieced and then appliqued to the background.  I finished the top back in July 2019. 

I started hand quilting on February 2, 2020.  I did big stitch hand quilting with brown, white and red perle #12.  I love hand quilting. I like to feel the fabrics soften as I stitch along. I like to feel the texture as I stitch along. 

 I found I had enough of the background fabric for binding. 

 I used a lighter brown for the backing. All the stitching makes the back look like a whole cloth quilt. 

 And now that I've enjoyed the process over a period of years I get to enjoy the quilt for a period of years. Ah, there's nothing like reaping the fruits (and chocolates) of my labor!

Finished or Not Finished Friday at Alycia Quilts

Peacock Party at Wendy's Quilts and More

What's in the Hoop?

What's in the hoop? 

Chocolate Swirls

I'm hand quilting with big stitches in red, white and brown. 

This is the top before quilting.

Photo is from July 2019 post when I announced top was finished. 

Finished or Not Finished Friday at Alycia Quilts

Peacock Party at Wendy's Quilts and More

Love at First Sight - A Hand Quilted Finish

 Love at First Sight

74 x 82

A Log Cabin quilt inspired by a c. 1890 quilt. 

Details on the vintage inspiration, how my quilt got it's name, the size of pieces and blocks can be found on my October 30, 2019 blog post. 

Hand quilted with big stitching using red, black and white perle #12. I stitched down the center of each 1/2 inch log cabin strip and stitched Xs in the white patches of the center little nine patches. 

Finished or Not Finished Friday at Alycia Quilts

Peacock Party at Wendy's Quilts and More

Slow Sunday Stitching at Kathy's Quilts

Oh Scrap! at Quilting is More Fun than Housework

Its a Finish! Bitcoins

 Bitcoins

84 x 84

It's a finish! 

I tried to take some pictures yesterday but it was partly cloudy, it was cold and it was windy so this is as good as it gets. 

 Except for chunks, strings, selvages and crumbs my scraps are sorted by size. This quilt was made from 1.5 inch scraps. From my blog history it appears I started combining a 1.5 x 2.5 inch colored scrap with a low volume scrap of the same color and just made 2.5 inch unfinished squares for the Parts Department around May 2017 as a Rainbow Scrap Challenge project.  I figured I could use them for a border, to make Four Patches or Whirlagigs someday when I had enough of them. 

 Around July 2017 I played around with the little squares and somehow ended up sewing them together by color into blocks of three columns and seven rows probably because I had at least 21 little squares of several different colors.   I called them 21 Patches even though there were 42 pieces. 

By November 2017 I was calling them Whatchamacallits because I was not sure what to call them but those blocks needed a name. 

 Sally of Objects of Design started making some blocks and by September 2018 she had a whole quilt top of them. She called hers Bitcoins and I thought that name was clever and more descriptive so my 21 Patch turned Whatchamacallits turned into Bitcoins. 

 In June of this year Bitcoins became a flimsy (or top if you prefer) that consists of 3528 little pieces of fabric if I calculated correctly. It was a charm quilt until it wasn't. I intended to use all different colored scraps and each time the Rainbow Scrap Challenge came around I only cut one piece off of each scrap that was in there; however, since it took me several years worth of scraps to get all the blocks I need a scrap may have been in the 1.5 inch scrap bin from year to year so there are repeats. 

 And then I finally put it in the hoop and started big stitching with ecru perle #12 that I had on hand. I didn't mark anything. I just big stitched about 1/4 inch either side of the lengthwise seams. 

The quilt fits perfectly on my bed and since it is square it can be oriented any way on the bed. 

I used wide muslin for the backing and muslin scraps for the binding. 

When I hand quilt I usually use Hobbs Heirloom 80/20 batting. 

This was my goal #11

for

Q4 Finish-Along

Slow Sunday Stitching at Kathy's Quilts

Oh Scrap! at Quilting is More Fun Than Housework

Rainbow Scrap Challenge ScrapHappy Saturday

What's in the Hoop?

 What's in the hoop?

Bitcoins. I'm doing some simple big stitch quilting with perle #12.

Quilt measures 84 x 84 and is made of 1.5 x 2.5 inch scraps. 

Oh Scrap! at Quilting is More Fun Than Housework

Slow Sunday Stitching at Kathy's Quilts

In the Hoop

Vintage Thingamajigs has been in the hoop for awhile. I'm about 3/4 finished with the big stitch hand quilting with perle #12. 

Getting this quilt to the finish line will be my OMG (One Monthly Goal) for April. 

Oh Scrap! at Quilting is More Fun than Housework

Slow Sunday Stitching at Kathy's Quilts

It's a Finish! Rocky Road to Kansas

 Rocky Road to Kansas

A string quilt

63 x 63

hand quilted

 Last year when my string box was overflowing I separated out all the pink and white strings for quilts.  Most of them were long quilt back trimmings.   I wanted to make a quilt I hadn't yet made of strings so started looking through some bookmarked patterns I wanted to try someday. 

I happened to run across a quilt called Chance in the book Making Quilts with Kathy Doughty of Material Obsessions.  She constructs the blocks with triangles but I thought I could modify the pattern and use strings instead.   

These are actually 31 inch Rocky Road to Kansas blocks and were a great use for long strings.  (I used the shorter strings in another quilt).  I happened to have enough of that pink polka dot for the centers and then couldn't decide what to use for the background. I finally decided to try some of that red calico with little black and light blue flowers. I bought a lot of it on sale a long time ago to use for quilt backs.  I figured a darker background would help the white and lighter pinks stand out. 

 I hand quilted it with pink perle #12.   In the triangles I just quilted across with straight lines with no marking at irregular intervals.  In the background diamond shaped areas I quilted concentric diamonds at 1/4, 2 and 3 inches in from the sides and then I put a little tie in the middle.  No matter how I tried to take a picture of that quilting it just didn't show up. 

 In the center I used an old cardboard template my daughter picked up for me at a garage sale, marked around it with mechanical pencil and hand stitched. 

I used a gray calico with pink flowers on the back and filled in with some pieces of pink gingham.  With the light shining through from the front you can kind of see all the hand stitching. 

That light shining through was the result of a beautiful sunrise. 

This was my goal #22 

for

Q1 Finish-Along

Monday Making at Love Laugh Quilt

Moving it Forward Monday at Em's Scrapbag