Sunday, June 6, 2010

Slow craft

Last October, I posted about this quilt top being finished.

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 :-)

33 comments:

alobsiger said...

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!

Kate said...

It is really gorgeous Andi - love the layout you chose and the hand quilting.

bec said...

Should 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!

Leslie said...

this 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

One Flew Over said...

Just sensational Andi. Your workmanship is exceptional.

One very inspiring quilt.

Cathy @ CabbageQuilts said...

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

a very fine house said...

The 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.

Anonymous said...

OMG, ANdi!
Its 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).....

Tanya said...

I love that quilting youve done Andi, looks great.
I 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

Adele said...

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
PS: kitchen looks fantastic.

ARTwendy ... said...

Hey - its lovely ... glad you enJOYed the journey on this one!
I like the 'wonkiness'!!
Cheers

Gypsy said...

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!

Marit said...

You 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.
You 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!

Kelly said...

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.

Jodie said...

Both I think....some fast for machine time and some slow for couch time.
The quilt is magnificent Andi...You should be thrilled with it!

Kirsty said...

I think you would call me a slow quilter more because I tend to start lots of quilts and projects and finish few :)
The quilt looks amazing too

meli B said...

Didn't you just buy that binding on Saturday? The quilt may have taken 8 months but not the binding! Looks great.

Jenny from Ohjoh said...

Very 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 ??

Mary said...

Taking those flowers out was soo the right thing to do. Oh and you already now that I'm a combiner.

MichelleB said...

The quilt is stunning! I love all of the stitches in it. And that couch! That couch is like a little piece of heaven.

Sew Create It - Jane said...

Oh your quilt is gorgeous!! I love the mix of the pattern and the big stitch quilting! Really works well!

Clair said...

Beautiful quilt!

What's next.....?

Tania said...

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...

Louise said...

I 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!

sophie said...

It's beautiful Andi - I love the colours and the hand quilting is just gorgeous.

2miracles/Tove said...

Great quilt! I am currently working on a quilt that I started last june! So I can relate. Great work!

Liz Jimenez said...

Absolutely 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!

Deb Robertson Writes said...

I 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.

Lorraine said...

That quilt is gorgeous !!
How do I get a couch like that too ??

Catherine said...

Really love your colourful hand quilting! Great job and I'm all for slow quilting. Beautiful quilt!!

Unknown said...

Beautiful Quilt..Love the Hand Stitching makes it Individual...
cheers

audreypawdrey said...

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.

Karen Lewis Textiles said...

How 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!