Fall means lots of things to me, one of which is to cocoon into the house and work on some sewing projects. I have been working on the hand quilting of this antique quilt top for about a month now. I don't get to work on it every day, but my goal is to work on it at least a few minutes every day until its done
Here's how I hand quilt Baptist fans. I made my own quilting patterns from some thin cardboard from an envelope box. The lines are 3/4 inch apart and I quilt 5 arcs in each Baptist Fan.
These are my supplies for quilting: needle, thread, small scissors, disappearing ink marker, my cardboard quilting patterns and a thimble.
Its hard to capture the quilting lines with a camera when its still dark outside, but maybe you can get the effect.
I love the disappearing ink marker. It disappears just by being exposed to the air, which is so easy for me. I mark as I go so it doesn't matter to me how fast the marks disappear. Not having to doing any work to remove the lines works for me!
I'm not a big thimble user, but even though the skin on the tips of my fingers has toughened up as a result of quilting, sometimes I can't get the needle through some of Grandma's seams without the thimble to push it through. I've actually bent the needle trying to get through there!
I really love the way the Baptist fans look and feel when you touch the quilt. I think that even though by today's standards this isn't a "beautiful" quilt top, when I get finished with it, it will be one of a kind and beautiful in its own way.
I also love having a project ready to work on at any time that doesn't require me to think too much. I just sit down and start handquilting.
6 comments:
It looks so intricate but very beauiful, I do like to handstitch but I never think my stitching will be neat enough, yours looks very precise and lovely.
florrie x
Hi Debbie,
How pretty. I love to have a project I can sit and work on too.
Have a turtle week end.
Hugs,
Elizabeth
Love the Baptist Fans!
Marjorie
Love what you have done, the quilt will be a treasured heirloom to pass down, be sure to add a card or something that tells the history, including that you did hand quilting, it's so nice to have the "story" behind the quilt. Do you know if your grandmother used scraps or if she bought fabric to make this quilt?
Love the Baptist fans quilted top. It is a treasure!! Grandmother started and you finished.
I love the old things. I have two quilt tops made by my Granny that I want to finish someday. They're not pretty by today's standards, but I love them completely! I showed them to an elderly friend once, who happens to be a perfectionist, and she wasn't impressed with the uneven and bulky applique stitches. I hadn't even noticed that they were ugly stitches till I saw them through someone else's eyes. I guess I was just seeing my Granny in my quilt tops! :)
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