Hand-quilting
Today I’ve been quilting a little on my Winter White Schnibbles top. I seem to have been picking this up and putting it down again for months. Which is crazy really, because it’s so small I should be able to rattle it off in no time.
In the past I have hand-quilted, oh, I don’t know how many quilts. Lots. Queen size with intricate quilting. Somehow I seem to have lost the knack. Now I manage a couple of inches and then wander off to something more exciting. It’s a shame really, because there are few things more mellow and soothing than hand-quilting while listening to a good audible book or something interesting on the radio. When the children were smaller, I swear hand-quilting kept me sane. Sometimes it felt like the six inches or so of quilting I managed when the kids were napping was the only thing I had to show for my day.
To get back to my Schnibble…It would help a lot if I could quilt a little more quickly. I’m a self-taught quilter and (at this point I have to admit that I’m ashamed to say) I’m a stab stitcher. That’s just between you and me – don’t spread it around. After stabbing my way through several quilt tops, I decided to change a few years ago and learn to quilt properly. But it just didn’t work. With stab stitching I can make super teeny weeny stitches – and I love the effect I get. It makes me look like a really skillful quilter. But when I try to work with several stitches on the needle at once, all I manage are big ugly stitches that annoy me. My expectations are too high now. And since I learned to machine quilt I want instant results. Which certainly isn’t going to happen here.
So my Schnibble is rather stuck between a rock and a hard place. But it will get finished. Little by little.
They always do…
Helen
February 14th, 2011 at 8:57 am
I stab stitch too, and get lovely results. People are always amazed at how good my hand quilting is, and when I tell them I stab stitch it’s like they think I’ve cheated. I can quilt with a running stitch too, but I find stab-stitching to be really relaxing and meditative, so I’ll keep on doing it. And those quilts get finished, stitch by stitch, no matter what method is used. Do what feels best for you. Your little quilts is so pretty, and my favourite colours!
February 14th, 2011 at 8:49 pm
Your quilt is beautiful š I’m a huge fan of Schnibbles!! How nice that you are hand quilting it…..I tried hand quilting….once. I loved how it looked, I just don’t have the patience for it. I say hand quilt how ever you would like. Its your quilt š I have to remind myself of this at times š
May 11th, 2011 at 3:43 pm
I think it’s super cool that you are hand quilting. I hand quilt all my quilts for the most part and think it adds a lot of beauty to the final product. Looking forward to seeing more! Best wishes, and keep up the cool blog.