Quilt as desired part one

This is the last day of the Celebrate Hand Quilting spring blog hop and since I put my hand up to do a post, I've been racking my brain thinking about what I should talk about. Then it came to me, why not chat about how I choose my quilting designs.
I could talk about that subject for a long time so I decided to break it up into separate posts starting with big stitch quilting.

This style of quilting has always been around but I only became aware of it after an article in the Quilters' Newsletter Magazine in the nineties. Then a member of a local guild started doing it on her quilts and raved about how extraordinarily fast it was to quilt a whole quilt in a short amount of time.

I like to think about how I'm going to quilt a top during the making of it so I almost always have a plan by the time it's basted. This one was easy enough when it came to the blocks but the space between each block was a head scratcher.  I used Perle # 8 in white and yellow with a # 5 embroidery needle.
The blocks are quilted in the ditch to hold the coloured patches down and the centers are just radiating lines. I finally hit on the idea to fill the negative space between the blocks with a motif I drew up.

Motifs can be found in all sorts of places, look at your quilting stencils and just use parts of them or take photos of quilts at shows or off the Internet for studying later and getting some ideas. I have a few quilting books that provide some inspiration.

The next quilt is scrappy trip around the world and I again used Perle # 8 cotton.
Even though this one is queen sized, it took very little time to quilt. The quilting is a simple cross hatch across each square. I tackled it by zig zagging vertically across the rows of squares, first one way then the other which is what made it go so fast.

The borders are often the part that I plan the quilting for last, especially if the fabric is busy like this spot. It doesn't much matter what one does, the quilting isn't going to be a feature. In the end I chose a simple baptist fan which was a good contrast with all the geometric shapes in the quilt.

You may remember this pickle dish quilt which I made for a granddaughter. It was also done with Perle #8 cotton thread but I went for a pile of variegated colours to make it more fun for me.

It didn't need anything fancy but it is important to distribute the quilting evenly throughout the quilt. Too often I see quilts that have very little stitching on the borders which says to me that the quilter ran out of steam. Those quilts are often the friendly ones that wave a fair bit on the outside and look unfinished.

I had another busy fabric on this border and opted for interlocking circles that mirrored the circular patchwork. Another good option would have been to do piano lines which would have been a good contrast to the round shapes.

I got the quilting ideas for the Mariners Compass quilt from looking at some books containing those types of quilts. I liked the effect of the offset compass lines in the spires. The only consideration is that the seams have to be quilted through. In this case, it wasn't too difficult as I had used a soft wool batting.

In the quilt below, I did another very fast but fun design of all circles. I used plates, cups and egg cups to draw the circles. They were all placed randomly, some interlocking and some smaller shapes inside larger ones. This is what I'd call an all over pattern and is a good standby for scrappy quilts. The threads I used are different colours of sashiko thread and even managed a  larger stitch than what I'd used previously.

It's normal for the stitches on the back to be smaller than the front, this isn't fine hand quilting after all.

Here's the only unfinished quilt that has Perle cotton quilting. I used 1/2" masking tape to guide my stitches. I place the tape and draw around it, I can't seem to cope with tape on the quilt while I'm trying to stitch.

If I were doing this quilt again, I'd up the size of the stitches but back in the day it was hard to go big for me, I think I've gotten over that now though.

There are no size guidelines for using big stitches with a thicker thread. It's what you feel comfortable with and whether or not they'd be toe catchers. I think I do smaller than a lot of people but then again, I've seen this size of stitch done with a Perle cotton # 12 for a more elegant look.

 

This is a great technique for beginning hand quilters, it's easy to master and the bonus is that a quilt can be finished sooner. I love the relaxed look and it's been perfect for utility quilts, scrap quilts  and quilts for the kids because they turn out soft and cuddly.

 

If you'd like to see Perle quilting in action, click on this YouTube link to see Sarah Fielke demonstrating how to do it.

 

The Japanese quilt and the scrappy trip around the world can be see back in this post.

Time is a thief

I've been so busy that my blogging has been falling by the wayside and June has been a blur.
What a neglectful blogger and just when I have more time, dh and I get sick. Bring on the drugs, they can make me feel almost normal.

Enough of the whinging, I did tease a bit last time with the block of the month  I got from the quilt show and a couple of smart people guessed correctly. It's the Jane Pizar quilt ( the Marriage Quilt) from Carolyn's Quilt Room. Carolyn does the most amazing and authentic looking reproduction quilts. These blocks are 7" finished and hand pieced. These are challenging for me but do-able and I'm happy to say I think I'm over over the fear of hand piecing. The more I do, the better I get.

My other reproduction quilt is growing. I have just finished panel #7 out of thirteen which takes me over the half way point. The sun is shining today so I took it outside for the photos.

And yet another reproduction quilt is moving along at a snail's pace with the quilting. I decided on a grid for the center of the wreaths in my Coxcomb quilt. It contrasts nicely with the straight lines for the rest of the background quilting. This is the back which I'm showing first because.........

The front looks like a dog's breakfast with all the pen marks. I started off by marking the grid with one inch lines, divided those for half inch lines but that looked way too big. You guesed it, I went for quarter inch grid which was far too small. Well it stands to reason that 3/8th's was going to be just right so it's been marked to death in rainbow colours and looks a mess. Fear not, it all washes out in the end.

Apart from the bom I bought at the show, I was quite restrained and only bought a few fat quarters. I was trying to get some fabrics like Jean from Linen and Raspberry uses in her fabulous hexies. These got the Jean stamp of approval and she was kind enough to send  me a few of her hexies in the mail. I'm yearning to play with some fussy cut hexies now.

Until next time, Janet

Loaves and stitches

Thanks to all of you who helped me make a decision regarding which backing to go on my Coxcomb and Currants quilt. It really helped me make up my mind. This is the Windham bird toile that I thought would be good but after thinking about shadowing and other things, I decided it would be better saved for another quilt.

I had trouble getting a suitably off white wide back but ended up with this Moda Muslin in warm white. It's a 200 thread count, a bit of a higher thread count than what I'd prefer for hand quilting but it'll do.

As you can see I have basted the quilt and started some hand quilting. You might have to click the photo to see it better.

This won't be done in a hurry, I'm quilting 1/4 inch straight lines in the background. I have to pace myself since after a few evenings of quilting, I was waking in the night with tingling, numb hands. It's being done in the hoop so there's a lot of wrangling happening when going around the circles.

What else has been going on, well I've had some lovely mail from Sarah over at Kit-Bik Quilts. I won her  awesome giveaway of  lots of yummy fabrics including Liberty lawn scraps, taupe Japanese fabrics and Denyse Schmidt's. Thanks Sarah!!

Skip the rest of the post if you want, it's all about my bread making. Ive been baking a whole heap of bread, mostly sourdough and the starter is going so well that I decided to rename bubbles. What a prissy name anyway. He shall now be called Chuck after Chuck Norris cause he's just as strong.

I've turned into a major bread head and I've started to experiment a bit more. This one is spelt and quinoa flakes. Makes me feel healthy just saying it. The ancient grains are making a big comeback, have you noticed?

I make up my own formulas and recipes now and love this fig and walnut loaf with a bit of honey, wholemeal flour and cinnamon. It's delicious with cheese.

I made two different Tuscan schiaccatas with some dried yeast yesterday.

Buffalo mozzarella, basil and sweet cherry tomatoes. I like it better than pizza.

The seedless grape with raw sugar and olive oil, otherwise known as schiacciata con l'uva.

thanks for visiting, till next time, Janet

What was I thinking?

You may remember this top I made last year that I wrote about here.  I basted it up this weekend using Sharon Schamber's method that I've used before quite successfully.
The links to the how to videos are on this post. if you haven't seen them before.

Once I had it basted up, I attached the quilt to the planks of wood from my old basting frame because I had this bright idea that I might like to learn how to quilt in a frame. The frame quilters over on the blog Celebrate Hand Quilting have inspired me.

It might be a bit of a grand plan but I thought if others could do it, maybe I could teach myself. I'm using Quilters Dream wool so it'll be easy to needle.

I have now taken over the lounge which is OK because we're going away for Christmas day anyway so no visitors are expected.

So here's what I was thinking.
I'll be able to quilt through summer.
The top won't get dirty from being flung around.
The quilt will stay nice and straight.
I'll be humble about my stitches and not worry about how big they are. I'll aim for even and be happy if that's how they turn out.
It's supposed to be quicker as there's no constant readjusting of the hoop.
I've only tried frame quilting once years ago but I didn't get to do any thumb quilting. A minor hitch, surely.

Here's the reality.
I can only stitch as far as my arm reaches and I can't turn the quilt.
The thumb thimble I have is bulky, heavy and I don't like it. I may have to wait for my new thumb thimble I ordered.
I can't use my quilter's spoon underneath the quilt, I may have to poke my fingers with the needle.
I feel out of my depth and comfort zone but I'll give it about 20 hours and if there's no improvement, I'll go back to the trusty hoop for this one. Wish me luck and I'll report back later on.

Gone quilting and thoughts turn to batting



Summer is around the corner along with the hot weather so I've spent quite a few evenings this past month hand quilting that old thing that's been hanging around.

Round and round I go, echo quilting in the borders. I have two completed and the last two are half quilted. Don't clap yet, I have trapunto to do.

I've used a Quilter's Dream Request cotton, Request is the thinnest weight and I used the bleached one.

I used to think this batting was the be all and end all batting but I've since changed my mind.

I like cotton for the crinkly, thin antique look and I like the Dream Orient for Perle quilting that's got a better loft.

Having a natural material is important to me for two reasons. It's better from a fire safety view and a Polyester causes the sweats in bed because it doesn't breathe, it traps moisture.

I'm thinking of also going back to a wool for extra warmth and for showing the stitches in a different way. It's much lighter in weight than cotton but the last time I used one was years ago and showed fibres on the surface of the quilt otherwise known as bearding.

Wool batting has come along way and I decided for hand quilting, I'd give this one a go. It will quilt like butter and I'm looking forward to it. It's not needle punched and it doesn't have a scrim. The fibres are thermally bonded.

My only concern is how it will wash up so I'll be using it on a quilt for everyday use to test it before I use it for a lifetime quilt. I have done a google search to find some reviews and so far, I've only heard good things. I'm hoping the bugs won't like it too much

If you've had experience with this batting, I'd love to know your thoughts.

The blinkers are back.

I think I found my blinkers! I'm nearly at the end of the Baltimore blocks, this one is the latest. It's one of my favourites, possibly because of the colours and the fact that it's asymmetrical. I did change it a bit from the pattern which had all the green done in one piece of fabric. I separated the leaves for a more precise look that was simpler to stitch. One more block to go and that will be twenty five done.

The only other thing I've been working on is the border quilting for the double wedding ring. It takes a long time to go around each piece of applique and then echo quilt it. I'm just tackling the inside part of the borders for now.

I dug out my pattern because I'd forgotten how wide the border needs to be. I love my extra large square ruler for squaring up the corners. I've marked a line 8" from the edge of the rings so that I don't have to do more quilting than necessary. I'm sure it'll distort and I'll have to mark again down the track to square and block it.

There's not much else going on since these two are taking all my time at the moment. I feel bad that I haven't been around blog land much in the last couple of weeks to do much visiting. My apologies, the reason is that I've had headaches every day for that length of time and I can't seem to shake them.

Trapunto by hand

I'm aware of two main methods of adding trapunto to hand quilting. Since most of my quilt is already quilted, I've been left with just one option which I'll try to explaining here step by step. This is my first try at it and I'm no expert but I found it relatively easy to do. All the photos can be clicked on for enlargement.

• I'm using an acrylic bulky yarn that is very soft and doesn't have a tightly twisted ply. You can use wool but it must be washable and preshrunk. Matilda's Own had one for trapunto that they discontinued several months ago.
• A six inch trapunto needle. I do know that Clover, Bohin, John James and Birch all make them.
• A shorter tapestry needle can be helpful for small shapes.
• Small sharp pair of scissors.
• Rubber finger to help pull the needle through.
• A toothpick.

This yarn is very soft and doesn't feel like nylon at all. I like that the plies can be separated if needed.

Double over the yarn and thread the needle through the eye. I'm using doubled yarn so I make the tail ends even.

Because the tip of the needle is blunt, it won't damage the threads, it will separate them. A sharp pointed needle would damage the fabric threads and that's not what we want. I'm glad I used a plain muslin fabric on the back, it would be harder to see the quilted shapes otherwise.

You can work the stuffing with or without a hoop. I like to do without since I can hide the thread ends easier later.

Wiggle the tip of the needle into the shape to be stuffed on the back side of the quilt. In this case, it's a feather shape. I'm holding the quilt sandwich in my left hand like a sock puppet. The needle goes between the fabric and batting, not underneth the batting or in it.

The needle exits at the bottom of the teardrop shape. It doesn't seem to matter if I start at the top or bottom of the shape.

Pull the needle and yarn through, you'll need to tug a little.

I leave about 1/8" tail at the entry hole, sometimes a bit less.

I like to put my finger behind the thread at the exit end so that I'll be more in control of cutting the yarn. About an 1/8" is good. I make this cut very deliberate and slow so as not to have an accidental cut into the quilt. I've found that I can cut quite close after a bit of practice. Caution is paramount though.

If I stretch the quilt sandwich like so, the thread ends often disappear inside the shape.

Another option is to take a sharp needle and insert and twist around the yarn inside to get it to go inside the shape.

Or you can use the toothpick to poke the ends in the holes.

If you lightly scratch the warp and weft threads around the holes in the direction of the straight of grain, the holes will almost close up. I use the toothpick or a sharp needle. After washing, the threads around the entry and exit holes will close and tighten up further and there will be no evidence of how the stuffing got in there.

After doing what I described above, you can hardly see the gaps. Cotinue adding the yarn until the shape is stuffed sufficiently.
I'd hate to tell you in what order to stuff the shapes as I've found what suits me depending on the size. You could start in the middle and alternate side to side or you could start at one side and go from one side to the other.

You may need to stagger some yarn so that you stuff more plies at the fat end of the shapes. Do that by adding yarn from the fat end to about the middle or two thirds of the way down.
You know you've overstuffed if the quilting stitches on the right side look wrinkled. Stuff enough to give a full look but not too tightly that there's no give in the fabric. Check on the right side of the quilt.

Here's how it's looking so far. I still have more to do on the bottom left ring.

See, it's not hard but it does take time and it can be hard on the hand pulling the yarn through.

For cording or stuffing narrow lines, I would assess how many plies it would take and the process is exactly the same. If the channel is narrow, try a smaller tapestry needle.

You can click on this link here to a very helpful video which shows the steps as I've tried to explain them.It shows French boutis but it's the same method only without the batting in the middle.