I have to say that I am thrilled to have found the Celebrate Hand Quilting button by Michigan Quilts. All of my earliest memories associated with quilting have to do with my grandmother on my moms' side who faithfully hand quilted all of her quilts for years. My stitching isn't as tiny and precise as hers was, but when I go back and do the penny test on her quilts and compare them to mine? Her spacing between stitches is approximately the same as mine, which translates like this: she got about 4 to 5 stitches to the 'penny' while I only get 3 to 4. Ouch. I just admitted something that I'm not super proud of.
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| Probably my favorite hand quilting job ever. |
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| Sisters Around the Block: each border made by a different person. |
Now that my grandma is gone, I can't compare our adult hands for similarities. I do know that when I make a conscious effort to slow down and make teeny, tiny stitches I can definitely increase my stitches per inch. In doing this however, I always lose something very important to me. I lose my ability to relax and enjoy the process. I know because I've tried over and over to 'improve' until finally, I had to re-evaluate the reasons for which I love quilting. It can't be about perfection for me. I'll leave that to others and gladly admire their incredible handiwork from a distance.
Audrey, I just visited your blog after reading your comment about hand quilting on mine. I'm so glad you contacted me! Our color palette is very similar... I love browns, tans and greens as well. In reading through 5-6 of your posts, I feel like I found a kindred spirit. Stay in touch! We have much in common!
ReplyDeleteThank you! I'm so glad I found your blog.:)
ReplyDeleteAudrey, I love your sense of humor! And your quilts are so warm and charming. I love those wonderful colors. I am currently hand quilting my Dear Jane quilt and have found that with all those tiny pieces comes wall-to-wall seam allowances that are not much fun to try to handquilt through, let alone get small stitches LOL! Glad to have found your blog :)
ReplyDeleteI love all the hand quilting on your blog - stunning!
ReplyDeleteAll the comments are greatly appreciated! I've tried to go through all the linked hand quilting blogs and I'm very inspired!!
ReplyDeleteI am with you!....I think that the quilting process needs to be enjoyable...perfection is something I admire but I quilt for enjoyment!
ReplyDeleteYour quilting is beautiful!
Thank you. It's hard to put less than 'perfect' work out there for everyone to view, but I know there are a lot of 'everyday' quilters just like me and maybe you too! Your work looks pretty fantastic to me though.:)
ReplyDeleteYES! A kindred spirit! Enjoyment over perfection, I love it!
ReplyDeleteI'm too much of a perfectionist everywhere else, quilting has to be about relaxing!
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