Wednesday 9 December 2009

On The Road to Hand Quilting


I had put a machine quilted heart in the middle of Isabel's Christmas quilt. I hate it. Not the sentiment of course but the execution. Even though many of you pointed out what a nice touch it was, I have been bothered by the machined look. Well I've never really hand quilted before - at least not through cotton, wadding and flannelette! Boy, does it hurt, especially when using a Sashiko needle because that's all I could find! Anyway it's a nice hand stitched heart now and the railway track machining is about to be ripped out.
After I finished I went and bought some proper quilting needles and a pack of curved ones for the next time I have a go. I do like the proper bumpy effect of the hand stitch. Bring on the arthritis!!

9 comments:

  1. Some types of batting, etc. are easer to quilt through than others.

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  2. Too funny. I haven't used the machine for quilting for a couple years now. Don't think I'm going back. (Although I know I'll use it for some piecing.)

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  3. I have to say that hand quilting really has its place as does machine quilting. Certain work just looks better with the hand quilting and I'm beginning to like that term slow cloth. Doing things by hand makes us slow down as we all need to do especially this time of year.

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  4. Hand quilting sounds daunting to me! Go you!

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  5. Beautiful quilting - I have enjoyed reading back through your recent posts and love the quilts and other pieces you have made. I am not a quilter but always want to buy those lovely round bundles for stripey quilts - they look so inviting. You mentioned snowdrops and raspberries in your comment on my blog - two of my favourite things but only at the right times of year! It's a worry isn't it?

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  6. Clare, I too suffer painful hands from hand stitching. I am starting to do some exercises on a DVD a friend gave me. It is called Healthy Hands, Wrists & Forearms by Martin Gray. It is really helping. I want to be able to hand stitch for a long time to come.

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  7. That was a very courageous thing to do! I am sure it was worth the effort as the quilt is bound to become treasured.

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