This quilt has been in process for quite some time. I finished the quilt top last March. The piecing was quite fun – I used two different charm packs from Benartex that both had a vintage feel to them. After sewing a 2 1/2″ wide strip to the top of each one, I sliced the block in 1/2 and flipped one side upside down. That gave me the rectangular blocks you see here. To add some size to the quilt, I sashed between rows. Finally I added a deep purple border all the way around.
I knew I wanted to try hand quilting and this seemed a good project to learn with. Wanting to think just about the hand stitching and not worry about the durability, I stitched in the ditch along the sashing lines and around the inner border. This was really helpful in keeping everything together.
There are many who would say I might have used a darker color thread but again, this was my first time and it shows! The stitches are inconsistent – honestly, I didn’t want them to be the star of the show here. I quilted around each smaller square and was ready to call it good there. However, what was the rush? I enjoyed quilting this in the evenings so I decided to go around the inner border once.
Then it came to me I might want to do some stitching in the purple border. I used a stencil to trace the curves here. I felt like I was done at this point so I put the binding on. For some reason, it was a challenge to find a binding I liked with this quilt. The neutral fabric used as the background is gone so that wasn’t going to work. There was enough of the purple fabric though and I decided I liked the simplicity of using the same fabric for binding and the outer border.
This quilt is sooooo cozy and soft. The only reason I haven’t yet washed it is there is one more thing nagging at me. I think maybe I should quilt another wavy line on the purple so it intersects and makes a bit of a chain. What do you think? Add more, or leave it as is?
Hand quilting was quite satisfying, especially since I was in no rush to finish this, and I knew I wanted to keep it so there wasn’t the pressure of it being just perfect for the recipient. I have a long ways to go. The back of the quilt doesn’t look so amazing. My stitches on the back look so tiny. I need to learn how to stitch so the front and back are more uniform. A few times, I forgot to pull my knot through and now it seems like it is too late. This doesn’t really bother me but you know…. it is a learning curve.
Spring is surely here! This pond is on the edge of our property and there are geese galore right now. Ray has seen a mama and her goslings swimming but I keep missing them.
Our yard is at its best in spring time, before it gets too hot and the plants become stressed. The iris are pushing loads of blooms so they will be putting on a show soon.
This weekend I am celebrating spring flowers with a sale for you. All fabrics with flowers and blooms are 25% off. Sale begins today and runs through Sunday, April 25th! Enjoy!
I like your quilt. I have wanted to learn to hand quilt. The pictures of your yard are beautiful.
Thank you! I love this time of year – I think I need to live somewhere with a much milder climate – The older I get the less tolerant I am of the hot summers we have! Someday….. 🙂
Hi Bernie! Your yard looks beautiful – like a golf course, it’s so nice and green and lush. Your quilt turned out lovely! How do you feel about adding an additional wavy line in the border? It’s your quilt – if you’re happy with it now, then it’s done. If it’s nagging you, then add one more wavy line. It sounds to me like you’d like to add it and I think it would look nice. No one else will care! They’ll enjoy the snuggle factor. {{Hugs}} ~smile~ Roseanne
You are right – I think I want to add the curved line and will enjoy the stitching.
Thanks for the yard compliment. I will pass along your thoughts to my gardener husband!
What a pretty finish. And hand quilted too! Your stitches look excellent to me. I’ve looked closely at the hand stitching on my Granny’s quilts, and they are perfectly imperfect and lovely. I like the look of same border with binding very much. Lovely yard and let us see your irises when they bloom!
Hi Linda: I do like the imperfection of hand quilting. I just need mine to be a tiny bit less imperfect! It will come with practice. Thank you tho. I will show you the iris in a week or two. I think it will be a great bloom. Each year is different – last year I didn’t get a good show with the iris. Who knows why??
Terrific pictures of your wonderful land and inspiring photos of your quilt. I will try starting this on one of my quilts before the end of the year. Thank you for the beautiful achievable quilts.
Thank you so much Robbin. I do love our property – my husband is a natural with gardening! The hand quilting is a nice thing to learn. I enjoyed it and will do it again. Certainly a slow process but that is ok. What’s the rush??
That is a pretty quilt, Bernie! Looks cozy and comforting. I loved reading about your hand-quilting because I’m in about the same place with my skills in that craft. Making sure the stitches are consistent in size and getting them to go through all three layers consistently, too, is always my goal!
I did think a bit about the days when all quilts were hand quilted and the precision that was achieved. I have a beautiful Amish quilt I purchased in Pennsylvania in the early 1990’s. It is really stunning and all hand quilted. Such talent!!
This quilt just makes me want to grab it, grab a book, find a lovely spot in your yard, and cuddle up and read. Or have a picnic, with H and A and you, of course! Anyway, as to the wavy stitch in the purple border, I like it as is, but adding another wave to it would be good too. Not helping, am I? Maybe let it sit for a bit and see what you think.
Someday Wendy, we are going to have a picnic or coffee or something!! I am sure of it.
I am going to add the second wavy line to the border. I think it will be enjoyable and will add a nice look to the border.
Have a great Friday!!
The yard is beautiful and I’m jealous of the pond–have always wanted one by our house but outside of some major $excavation$, that’s not happening. LOL. The quilt does look wonderfully cozy! I don’t think it necessarily needs more stitching but if it’s nagging at you, then–just my experience–it will continue to nag you and that might decrease the coziness factor!
The pond is gorgeous this time of year. It is a six acre pond and we share it with about six houses – each paying for the a portion of the upkeep so that works well. It is so peaceful to sit out there and my husband likes to fish there (tossing them back) in the mornings.
I decided to add the second wave of quilting on the border. I think it will look prettier and will be enjoyable to stitch! Thanks Cheree.
I love your finish, Bernie. The handquilting is the perfect touch. It doesn’t need another row, but if you’re enjoying the process and in no rush, go for it! Happy Weekend.
Happy weekend to you as well! Hope you are having good weather. I am going to add another wavy line to the border. It will be fun – and yes, there certainly isn’t any rush!
I think that the tiny stitches on the back happen naturally if you do hand quilting. If I remember correctly I learned that from Sarah Fielke’s youtube tutorial on hand quilting. If you want the look of even stitches on the front and the back check out the tutorial by Meredith on her blog Olivia Jane Handcrafted. She does lovely hand quilting and uses a different method to obtain the result of even stitches on the front and back. If I was a bit more techy I’d give you links for the resources…but I’m not:) Your quilt looks lovely!
Thanks Hannah. I am happy to look up these sites. I appreciate the info!
It looks wonderful! I vote that if you are having fun with the hand quilting to go ahead and add the second line in the borders. 🙂
Thank you! I am going to keep going with the border! Happy Friday Yvonne!
Wonderful finish. I find that most of the time I want to bind with the border fabric, but sometimes you just want a pop!
Interestingly, I have bound several quilts lately with the fabric from the border and I like it quite a lot. It seems to flow nicely. Thanks a bunch Chris.
That cozy quilt looks just perfect for curling up with a book and a nice cup of tea on a Friday evening in spring or fall, when it’s still chilly at night. It’s perfect as-is, but I bet you’ll enjoy adding that second wavy line to the border. Perhaps you should sit out by that pretty pond while you do so? 🙂 Have a lovely, happy weekend!
I think your hand quilting stitches look really nice and even, especially if you’re a beginner! The only thing I can see is that the stitches seem a little loose in places, like you might want to give a little tug to make them more taut when you pull the stitches through. Are you using a hoop? Roxanne McElroy’s That Perfect Stitch is an oldie but goodie book that might help with getting the stitches on the back of the quilt to look more like those on the front. It’s been a long time since I hand quilted anything, but I remember there being a trick about keeping the quilt sandwich pretty slack in the hoop so that you can sort of bend the quilt sandwich around your needle in a rocking motion as you form the stitches. I know I’m explaining about as clear as mud… But that book really helped me when I was learning. Your quilt came out great, and I love seeing the wavy border stitches on the back of the quilt where the thread contrasts! Totally up to you whether you add more quilting. It looks great now, but if you’re enjoying the process and don’t want to stop yet — go for it!
Thank you for the recommendation Rebecca. I appreciate that. I did try using a hoop for a bit but then found I preferred just leaving the quilt on my lap and stitching without the hoop. It is a learning process for sure. Thanks for stopping by.
That dogwood–! It’s more than breathtaking; it’s …well I sat thinking of an apt adjective, and well, I’m stumped. I love your homespun quilt, the simple quilt block and the hand quilted stitches. I never could get mine even top and bottom never mind just the ones on the top itself! I think another line in the border would be good if you feel so inclined. Even just echoing it 1/2 – 3/4″ away or doing the egg and dart motif if your first line allows for that…whatever makes you happy! I love the softness of a hand quilted quilt for sure, and it just has that extra ‘je ne sais quoi’. Glorious. There’s a good word for the dogwood.
Hi Sandra: The dogwoods are spectacular. We love when they bloom and when they turn color in the fall. So pretty.
I had not thought about just echoing the curve – that seems easier than my original thought. I like this idea! Thanks for your suggestion. 🙂
Kudos to you for trying hand stitching. Homespun is a lovely finish. Thank you for sharing the lovely pictures of the lake and tree in bloom. I will think about them when I must stare into my computer screen at work 🙂