A New Hand Quilting Project

 

I got a couple of borders on the basket quilt yesterday. The inner border was a bit sketchy. The combination of a thin border on a stretchy bias edge was almost too much. The second border seemed to bring everything back under control again, but it was touch and go for a while. I ordered a Baptist fan stencil, it should be here tomorrow. I was kind of surprised that I did not have one. I love doing fans, but they are usually free form. This quilt seemed to want something more regular though. I also ordered some 12 weight thread in a nice variegated yellow and pink shade that I think will work nicely. I have been streaming The Last Homely House on you tube while sewing lately and Kate does a lot of hand quilting with that type of thread. Sew, I thought I would give it a try. I have used lighter weight quilting thread as well as heavier Pearle cotton, so I am hoping that this will be somewhere in between. I got the back ready and pieced together some extra batting, but I don't want to layer it all up until after the stencil arrives. I am going to mark it with frixion pens that I have been using for my planner lately. I usually use Crayola washable markers, but they do tend to rub off over time, so I will see if I like this better. I am a slow hand quilter, so it needs to be sturdy to still be in good shape years from now when it is done.

There was a retirement party at work on Friday for our guidance clerk. She has always been so sweet and supportive of my quilting, so I just had to find a quilt for her to take with her. I chose a bullseye quilt which was one of my RSC22 quilts.  I am happy for her, but still sad that she will be gone. It is nice when people really want to help the kids. 

I have a draft of a paper that is due tonight on constructivist learning theory and educational standards. I will just give that a quick final edit and then make my way back down to the sewing space. I am thinking about pulling out a log cabin UFO that could be my next flimsy finish. I hope that you are finding time to sew something on this lazy Sunday. It is good to rest up before a new week comes on full force. Be sure to take some time to see what other slow stitching is happening at Kathy's Quilts before the weekends slips away. 

Finally!

It only took 4 years to hand quilt this little Dear Jane quilt.  I took the last stitches just a few minutes ago after catching up on Downton Abbey, Madame Secretary and The Good Wife.  I'll sew the binding on first thing in the morning.  Now though, I think I'll call it a night.  Good thing it is a school holiday tomorrow!

Handwork on Sunday

Kathy has started posting a linky on Sundays for handwork.  When I saw it earlier today I was inspired to settle in and enjoy a little hand sewing.  Like Kathy, I still do all my bindings by hand.  As there are now 7 quilts in the stack needing finished binding work, I thought I should get started.  I got some easy thread needles while I was out on Friday and wanted to try using them to finish off the joins where bobbins run out or threads break during machine quilting.  While doing the binding I like to inspect the quilt, get rid of all the little loose threads and generally admire the quilt a little.  Hand sewing binding is a long patient process, so it allows plenty of time for all of that.  While I had handwork in mind, I went ahead and printed out some 4.5 inch blocks that might work with my Midgets.  I think I've just about finished everything that isn't paper pieced and so searched for a few correctly sized blocks to work into the mix.  There were some block of the months from 2010 on the Dear Jane sight that I thought might work nicely. 

An Actual Quilt.

I loaded an actual quilt onto the HQ 16. I'm going to quilt it in a double bubble pattern that I have also seen as olives. Eventually I'm going to have to sleep, but I'm having lots of fun at the moment and don't want to stop. I've got dark colored thread in the bobbin to match the back, and I think the tension looks good on the front, but I'm afraid to peek at the back.

Something Good in the Mail

I ordered a Thimblelady thimble ages ago. It was right after Christmas, and I waited patiently, knowing that it was coming all the way from Australia. Eventually I contacted them and asked where my thimble was, so they sent another. Finally, I asked a third time and asked for an address verification, thinking something must be wrong. Sure enough, Paypal had the wrong shipping address and the thimbles had been going to the house we sold four years ago. It was entirely my own fault for not checking the address, but they sent me another thimble anyway. I am so impressed with their customer service! I have to wonder what the lady who bought my house is doing with all my thimbles? I am pretty sure she doesn't sew.
Anyway, they have been incredibly polite and accommodating. I saw the Thimblelady on Simply Quilts, and her hand quilting is just incredible. She quilts with the side of her finger and a deeply dimpled thimble, which is supposed to improve comfort and control. I'm anxious to see how it works. I've got the Elm Creek Quilt ready to go. I'll let you know how it tuns out. Maybe after Mom has left I'll have some time to practice.