I took a field trip to a quilt shop not far from my house, and the women working there were very helpful. They said the block is a variation on a carpenter's block.
No, I'm not really sewing outside in the 90-degree heat. I just hauled it outside for photographic purposes.
The quilt shop ladies helped me pick out a backing. They said that a plain cream muslin to match the background would be historically appropriate, so I went with that. For the binding, I picked this peachy solid. It's hard to tell from this picture, but it's just about an exact match to the peach in the quilt. (It's an Amy Butler solid...not sure of the name.)
Now. I have to admit I was not enjoying the hand-quilting at first. It's hard, and it hurts my fingers. Waaaaaaah. So I quit for about 24 hours and then started up again. I switched from hand-quilting thread to perle cotton and stuck on some thimbles, and I'm enjoying it much more. I really like the look of the perle cotton too.
I found two really helpful resources: these hand-quilting videos on Amy ala Mode's blog, and this post on Anna Maria Horner's blog.
I had big plans for the plain cream squares, but I'm going to switch to something a little simpler. That way, I might finish before my 3-year-old graduates from high school.
7 comments:
I can't wait to see the finished product, which I have total confidence will occur during my lifetime.... Aunt T
I love the Perle cotton too... it's beautiful.
What a gift of love!
Your work looks great. I just recently started to do some hand quilting too. I even have built up a callous on my middle finger that receives the needle underneath :)
it looks beautiful already
What a great endeavour! What type of thimbles to you use and what finger are they on? I still haven't figured out how to use them properly, my stitching goes to H*** if I wear thimbles or glue on things or whatever... I'd love to see pics (maybe in a post? Hint hint :) of your technique!
Cheers,
Christine
I'm glad you found the videos helpful!
What an amazing project! And so impressive that you're hand-quilting it. Your stitching looks great.
I'm currently working on a quilt top that includes blocks that were hand-pieced by my grandma about 40 years ago. She made a few blocks and then never finished it, so my mom and I decided to finish it for her. It's fun to have that historical/family connection in something you're working on.
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