Who is that woman in black? Yesterday at Kate's I managed to get the Dancing Dollies all layered up ready for quilting . I needed the shades as the sun in the morning was very bright. It didn't last long though and the rain lashed down and the skies were dark and threatening. Kate has devised a way of using her machine quilting frame to layer up a quilt and with her much appreciated help it all got done. First the backing and wadding are basted together and then the quilt top goes on and is basted to the other layers. It is a long process but it did save my knees from a lot of pain and trouble scrabbling about on the floor as is my usual method.
Starting the quilting process for me is always a dilemma. How should it be quilted? What thread to use? Which wadding/batting? I had to go back to Liz at Broderie to see how Trish had quilted the original and to help me decide on my version without copying it exactly. I wanted a motif and turned to my collection of Barbara Chainey quilt books as I knew there would be some inspiration in there. The motif on the left was what I wanted but it didn't fit the space so I did a bit of adapting and simplifying. I used a glass tumbler to draw the circle and the proportions of the petal are the same as Barbara's motif, shortened and rounded off to give the petal shape. As the Dollies have flowers and there are eight of them then the daisy motif seemed apt.
The design was then marked onto the quilt by placing the tracing paper with the pencil side face down and using a pencil I marked dots all around the motif. This transfers the pencil onto the fabric. I am sure everyone will have done this kind of image transfer at one time or another. It worked well and you may just be able to see the pencil dots on the unquilted section. I am using Gutermann Sulky 30 wt in shade 4013 and a size 11 John James Big Eye quilting needle. It is tiny. The wadding is a beautiful 100% cotton that is ultra thin. It quilts like a dream. I will have to do a bit of research to find out the name of it as I do not know it other than it was a summer weight cotton.
The centre motif is now done and the two outer circles are quilted. Work is under progress. Woohoo! I am a happy girl.
Nothing beats the feel of a handquilted quilt. It feels so different, soft and smooth, wish you could feel this wadding.
Happy Stitching.
Shirley.
Loving it - can`t wait to see it completed!
ReplyDeleteShirley your work is so beautiful - do you need a deadline to complete!!! Debbyx
ReplyDeleteWow, I love it Shirley...it's going to be so beautiful..
ReplyDeleteI really must try that big stitch quilting, love it every time i see it.
Julia ♥
Shirley, you've made a great start with quilting your beautiful quilt. I agree that nothing beats hand quilting! I'd be interested to know what the batting is called you are using.
ReplyDeleteVreni x
Wow, wonderful start, hand quilting is the best for this gorgeous top. XXX
ReplyDeleteYou have made a beautiful start - well done - gorgeous - I have hardly ever hand quilted but it looks just perfect for this quilt. Enjoy the journey :-)
ReplyDeleteI love the design you have chosen and your embroidery is absolutely stunning and I will look forward to watching your progress. Take care.
ReplyDeleteGreat that you have all the big heavy work out of the way and you can enjoy the quilting. It looks so good Shirley, very, very pretty.
ReplyDeleteSo exiting to finish your quilt.
ReplyDeleteI'm cannot wait to see the result!
Nice week-end and warm regards, Evelyne
Gorgeous needlework! Like the idea for basting..makes great sense and sounds less painful than crawling around on the floor :o)
ReplyDeleteGreat adaptation of the design. It is perfect for this. You look more like a member of the Russian Mafia than a quilter in the top photo:))
ReplyDeleteOoohh -- thinking about crawling around on the floor just makes my knees ache. Glad you found a way to baste that's easier.
ReplyDeleteLovely quilting. I'm not a hand quilter myself, but I admire all the hand quilting I see. It's definitely special and worth the time involved.
I spray baste most of my quilts, but otherwise, use a couple of tables as doing the knees isn't in my dna.
ReplyDeleteBlack is great to wear when sewing...able to see the threads so easily...lovely blog.
Shirley, your quilt is amazing, I love it, so much work yet what a result. Well done you!
ReplyDeleteWow Shirley, this quilt is looking fabulous already, loving all your little dancing girls and the embroidered flowers really add to the whole quilt. This is going to be a real stunner when complete!
ReplyDeleteIt looks fabulous! Last stretch! Well done!
ReplyDelete