If I have shared about starting to hand quilt this, I can't find it on my blog. My eyes have evidently changed quite a bit since I last hand quilted anything. I can't thread the needles of my usual betweens needles anymore. It's rather depressing.
I finished piecing this in February 2008. Its time has come to be finished.
Somewhere (of course, with old age comes forgetfulness) I read about "big eye" quilting needles. I could not find them locally.
On my trip to take my kids to camp 90 minutes west of here, I scouted ahead and Googled a quilt shop one mile out of my way. Yay!! And they had the exact needles I was looking for. Double yay!! See second picture for needles. I got the same size I used to use, and they are fabulous.
Here is part of the progress on my Mennonite Mosaic quilt. I am hand-quilting this to use in my bedroom. The one with the yellow walls.
I am marking a diagonal line with a disappearing ink through every color and hand-quilting with the same color thread as the fabric. It's all about the texture.
There was a first for this quilt. I basted it on my Handi-Quilter for hand quilting. I had never thought of doing that before. It sure saved my back. I have always hand-basted them in the past. This worked splendidly.
I have a large stencil for the border, which I think is 12" wide. It's an outlined feather, with corner!!
4 comments:
Thanks for the tip about the needles Joan. I am looking forward to seeing your quilting in progress.
Another tip, Joan: I have a MUCH easier time threading needles with Gutermann hand quilting thread than any other quilting thread. The thread is stiffened with something and feels like wire when you unfurl it and thread the needle, then gets soft like regular thread as you quilt. It's almost like it's been spray-starched. Tangles less, too. In any event, it is so much easier to thread needles with it than any other thread. Gutermann hand quilting thread is available at JoAnn Fabric store, so I know it's around. I just love it. One tip working with it: don't wet the thread with saliva before trying to thread the needle; this takes away the starch. Just go from spool to needle. It's great!
Your quilting looks perfect! Can't wait to see the whole quilt.
Pretty quilt and nice quilting. I can really sympathize with you on the aging eyesight. I had cataract surgery in both eyes and now have to use a needle threaded
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