Well now it is all quilted, bound and ready to be snuggled under.
Eight months is a very long time for me to have a quilt in progress.
My usual motto is "A fast quilt is a good quilt". (For example ...)
But there is something very peaceful about having a slow project.
Taking your time to enjoy the process.
Having a warm quilt to throw over your knees and quilt at Perle 8's on cold nights.
Undoing and re-doing the bits that don't seem to work with the overall style of the quilt.
When I posted about this quilt that I hand quilted back in July last year, I was asked about my hand quilting technique and how I achieve such "perfect stitches".
Well, I am here to tell you that my stitches are far from perfection.
Unevenly spaced and rather wonky.
But I kind of love that aspect of it.
It's NOT perfect. It's rough and 'naive'.
For those of you looking for a good tutorial on hand quilting, a far greater crafter has beaten me to it.
Check out Anna Maria's tutorial here.
This quilt has a wide variety of fabric designers represented including:
- Kaffe Fassett
- Jennifer Paganelli
- Anna Maria Horner
- Amy Butler
- Lizzy House
- Prints Charming
- Sandi Henderson
The backing is a Michael Miller dot in my favourite colours: pink and red.
Thank you to Judy at Amitie for helping me find the perfect binding fabric.
It is from a range called 'Crazy for Dots & Stripes'.
Judy was my original quilting teacher who gave me a love for hand quilting.
I will always be thankful to her for that.
My husband is also thankful to Judy for slowing me down ("Are you trying to cover every inch of this house with fabric?") and saving us an awful lot of money on professional quilting services.
So how about you?
Do you craft slow or fast?
Or maybe a combination of the two, like me.
Andi :-)
It is really, really pretty, Andi! Congrats on the finish! Slow is just fine and much better than not finished at all ever. I think I have a t-shirt to that effect... It's lovely!
ReplyDeleteIt is really gorgeous Andi - love the layout you chose and the hand quilting.
ReplyDeleteShould have known it wouldn't have taken you long to finish the binding! It looks awesome, and I love hubby's comment- 'yes, I AM trying to cover the whole house in fabric' would have been my reply!
ReplyDeletethis is so pretty. i love the hand quilting so much. i have never hand quilted with perle thread...it is so worth it huh? gorgeous...and can i say i love love love the cushion covers on your couch. so pretty
ReplyDeleteJust sensational Andi. Your workmanship is exceptional.
ReplyDeleteOne very inspiring quilt.
This is divine Andi, I love the quilting on it and the binding is perfect. I am a bit of both, love having some hand stitching on the go (either quilting or applique) but also love to finish a quilt quickly on the machine! xo
ReplyDeleteThe old fashioned saying comes to mind "there are no flies on you Andi". Barely separated from the roll of fabric and there it is, already done. Lovely.
ReplyDeleteOMG, ANdi!
ReplyDeleteIts absolutely stunning! can i tell you how much I llove your couch? did you cover that yourself? its so you....
you make me want to hand-quilt something (even though I have no patience at all).....
I love that quilting youve done Andi, looks great.
ReplyDeleteI am slow and fast. Mostly slow- I am not a quilt in a day sort of girl. I tend to talk to much and concentrate too little!! Maybe one day...I doubt it, but I love the momentum of a quick projet
Oh Andi, it looks awesome! Watching you quilt at our first meeting I knew it wouldn't be too long before it was finished.... you have patience! V. interested to see your next project. Adele x
ReplyDeletePS: kitchen looks fantastic.
Hey - its lovely ... glad you enJOYed the journey on this one!
ReplyDeleteI like the 'wonkiness'!!
Cheers
Oh Andi, it's divine! I see you unstitched the flowers - it looks great with the squares, but I did like those flowers y'know!
ReplyDeleteYou made a beautiful quilt - love both your colors and the pretty quilting! I think the few blue fabrics in there makes the warm colors shine - great choice.
ReplyDeleteYou have inspired me to try hand quilting with perle cotton, Andi ; )
And I have to complement you on the "patchwork" kitchen - love how modern and playful you made it!
That is a beautiful quilt, Im just about to have a go at some hand quilting using perle 8 cotton! I'm a combo crafter, quilts take me forever, kids clothes are quick, other things somewhere inbetween.
ReplyDeleteBoth I think....some fast for machine time and some slow for couch time.
ReplyDeleteThe quilt is magnificent Andi...You should be thrilled with it!
I think you would call me a slow quilter more because I tend to start lots of quilts and projects and finish few :)
ReplyDeleteThe quilt looks amazing too
Didn't you just buy that binding on Saturday? The quilt may have taken 8 months but not the binding! Looks great.
ReplyDeleteVery nice. Seeing as I'm still on quilt no.1 I'd have to say I'm on the slow side although I'm impatient for other projects and just want to see the finished product evolve asap! Does that make me both or just indecisive ??
ReplyDeleteTaking those flowers out was soo the right thing to do. Oh and you already now that I'm a combiner.
ReplyDeleteThe quilt is stunning! I love all of the stitches in it. And that couch! That couch is like a little piece of heaven.
ReplyDeleteOh your quilt is gorgeous!! I love the mix of the pattern and the big stitch quilting! Really works well!
ReplyDeleteBeautiful quilt!
ReplyDeleteWhat's next.....?
I don't think I need answer that last question. I reckon you could take a rough stab at that one yourself. And given that I am in the middle of a whole heap of wonky handquilting, I'm all for the 'naive'! Quick sticks Mrs! On to the next slow quilt...
ReplyDeleteI love to have a bit of both. It's great to be able to whip up a quick present for someone and then it's lovely to slowly and carefully (and yes I have pulled out much handquilting because it wasn't quite right) create something super special. I just have lots of different projects to have ready for any situation!
ReplyDeleteIt's beautiful Andi - I love the colours and the hand quilting is just gorgeous.
ReplyDeleteGreat quilt! I am currently working on a quilt that I started last june! So I can relate. Great work!
ReplyDeleteAbsolutely beautiful! I am so impressed by your patience for the "slow craft." I cannot seem to make myself slow down, I'm always in such a hurry!
ReplyDeleteI really love this quilt. I've been doing a bit of hand quilting too. Actually I love the stitching on yours. I've been meaning to do some of that Japanese embroidery and your quilting reminds me of that. I think I'm going to have to do some stitching like that sometime.
ReplyDeleteThat quilt is gorgeous !!
ReplyDeleteHow do I get a couch like that too ??
Really love your colourful hand quilting! Great job and I'm all for slow quilting. Beautiful quilt!!
ReplyDeleteBeautiful Quilt..Love the Hand Stitching makes it Individual...
ReplyDeletecheers
This is beautiful! I love that you hand quilted it, too. It all depends on the project-some I have to finish right then and some need to breathe for a while before they get finished.
ReplyDeleteHow stunning and probably treasured even more as a consequence of the length of time it has been on the go. I LOVE the handstitching...but then that is my thing lol ;-) As for quick or slow? At the moment quick...very quick...I have an idea and I want to see it...NOW!
ReplyDelete