For the past several months, my evenings have usually been spent on hand quilting a whole cloth quilt. Hand piecers (and especially hand quilters) Unite!! The hand quilting was a dream. I used a cotton lawn on both the front and the back and a wool batting. It is feather light. The biggest challenge on this project was the marking. I didn't mark every element - but just the BONES of it. I measured and sectioned off the rows and marked the large wreath in the center and the cables. Once those were quilted, I used hand made stencils to mark the leaves as I went. There are some individual elements that I hand drew and the cross hatching was marked using masked tape. Basically, I made it up as I went along. Most of the elements are classic whole cloth quilting motifs - particularly from the British Isles. Those antique whole cloth quilts from the UK that I love were the inspiration for this quilt.
Other elements were completely individual to me. Because of the many hours spent quilting this summer watching Detroit Tiger games - I needed some comfort and solace. Those were some difficult games to watch, but if you are a diehard fan - NOT watching isn't an option. There are Detroit Tiger motifs stitched into this quilt: Olde English D's, baseballs, mitts, bats, and leaping tigers.
Here is the quilt drying on the dining room table. There is more on the sides. I tried to take photos outside of the entire quilt - but all I got is red glare, but you get the idea. The wool batting, and the shiny cotton lawn fabric really makes the quilting pop.
In other news...... those worn sofa cushions got an upgrade. In an effort to use up and recycle, I only used quilt blocks in my "orphan block" basket. Those blocks left over from other projects. And yes, they are machine quilted. Speed was one reason, practicality was nother. Gibby spends a lot of time on the sofa arranging the pillows. I wanted these pillows Gibby proof.
See what I mean?
and lastly....... The Derby House Block of the Month is starting!!!!!!
Laters,
Laurie
