Finally Found a Name For My Quilt and More Strings Play

I finished the hand quilting on my Gold and Red Qtr. Triangle quilt which has now been graced with the new name 'Dutch Comfort'. If I would have pushed myself, I think this quilt could have been finished in 2013, but who wants to do that? The binding was laying towards the bottom of my tote of reds, a perfect sized piece of fabric to cut all my binding out with about 1/2" to spare through the width. Love it when it works out like that especially since this piece of fabric is at least 8 yrs. old!

Dutch Comfort

Then I was feeling restless. None of my current projects were doing it for me and really, I just wanted to dig through the scrap bin and play. Without consciously thinking it through (although my recently purchased used 'Old Swedish Quilts' by Asa Wettre book had to be an influence), I pulled these fabrics and made three quick string blocks. Okay now what? I need (at the very least) a little tiny plan of attack!

My starting blocks

I decided my perimeters would be like this: All the fabrics I pulled from the scrap bin would have to at least blend with these initial three blocks. Every fabric used would need to be just over 5" long (no little tiny piecings) and I would sew strings together willy nilly until the blocks were just over 5" wide whether they had two strings or five.

String blocks variation #1

After I had about half the design wall filled with blocks I stood back and took a good look. Very discouraging. Everything looked blah and uninspired (sorry, did not take a picture of this step). I felt that clench in my stomach that tells me my big, fun, play day had turned out to be a spectacular bomb.

String blocks variation #2

Okay. What to do. What to do. I turned off the iron and my sewing machine, left for a bit to change the laundry over and then climbed the stairs again to check things over with fresh eyes. Hmmm... I remembered my book and thought about connections. So.. after briefly perusing through the book, it occurred to me that scrap quilts should mean something. I rifled through my dwindling little stash of fabric from my Grandma and cut two pieces into however many string shapes I could get. Then I raided my scrap bin once again and pulled darks, more pinks and more rosy reds.

I know, I know--my fallback colors. Always and forever probably.

Getting the scraps organized

Gotta go with what you love. For some reason I respond well to quilts that have a dark edginess and also, for me, the pinks and reds make everything happy again. We'll see where this quilt takes me. I think it's coming along very nicely now and there's a quiet little happiness to working on it. That spells success to me.*wink

Hand Quilting Is So Much More Than the Time Involved

Hand quilting on the Gold and Red Quarter Triangle quilt is moving along very well now. I finished up the centerpiece and moved on to the surrounding blocks quick as a wink.

Gold and Red Qtr. Triangles in the hoop

(Still laughing...!) It always feels so exciting to move on from the center and initially there's this boost of pure energy (at least there is for me). 'Hey, I am making real progress here!'. But then, as I stitch and stitch away at my quilt, it sinks in that the rest of the quilt is actually the major work of the quilt. Oh yeah, how could I possibly forget that little piece of information?

A very simply quilted centerpiece

So funny because it happens to me every single time! I really make an effort to think of my hand quilting as quality time, something to relax into and just enjoy for the pure pleasure of stitching. The rhythmic sound and feel of the needle sliding in and out of the fabric, the contemplative state I reach so very quickly no matter the frustrations of everyday life, the lovely drape of the quilt across my lap, the visual feast of soaking up the various fabrics and fabric combinations, even the slow forward moving progress--it's something I want to look forward to for years to come without any negative influence to hinder my gratification.

Love looking at the stitching on a pieced back

That's why I try not to count the hours involved in a finish or make pressure with a deadline. But... every now and then I just can't help myself. Do you realize that if I keep on stitching at the current rate I've been stitching, I have approximately 33 frames left to quilt on just this quilt alone? 

It takes me about 1 1/2 hours to stitch a full frame (with the pattern I'm currently stitching) give or take how many interruptions I get from my loving family wanting help with homework or a fresh bowl of popcorn etc. That means I have about 50 hrs. worth of stitching left to do--not even close to being finished up girl! Yep. It can be very deflating when you look at it that way.

But who really cares? That's not the point. It really can't be if we want to quilt by hand. The reality is, we're going to have to ignore that part of the equation if we ever expect to enjoy slow quilting. So we'll make a few less quilts than someone else. Big deal. It's the process that matters. The finished product. And honestly, it's really about what quilting means in the big picture--just slowing down in order to enjoy (and savor) the ride. Quilting is sooo made up of many, many small moments. And too, isn't it a wonderful thing to be a part of many, many generations worth of hand craftsmanship?

It Feels Good to Have Something in the Hoop Again

It's only been a week or so that I haven't had a quilt in the hoop. That's all! But it feels like eons and I've been going a little crazy. Okay, a lot crazy with an extra side of twitchy.*wink I found a little window of opportunity the other day and madly raced around trying to get the floor swept, backing ironed, batting cut, pins found etc.

Gold & Red Quarter Triangles
(yes, it needs another name)

The only place large enough to sandwich and pin a quilt in my house is directly in front of our 'front' door. Ah yes. The area the entire family tromps through at random. I ran into trouble immediately when I noticed that I had cut my batting the width instead of the length. Grr... That cost me some extra time as I had to run upstairs and sew on about 16" more of batting to my previously cut out piece. I just hate it when I leave my brain somewhere on vacation.

In the hoop

Thankfully, this quilt didn't require a lot of close pinning and so it was going rather smoothly once I got to the 'pinning' phase. My youngest son offered to help pin (he was the only one home with me at the time) and we managed to get it all done and out of the way in plenty of time to avoid front door casualties.

Lots of scrappy goodness going on...

I am quilting a 1 1/2" grid through the center panel and inside borders. Then I will probably try to do some simple echo quilting throughout the rest--maybe boxes inside boxes? This quilt top has been finished since sometime in 2011, definitely time to get some quilting done on it! I've always had a tough time getting good pictures of this quilt and my oldest daughter (the self-acknowledged photography expert in the house) just mumbles at me to not take pictures of it in yellow light. Yeah, real helpful there kiddo.

So... Lovin' the time spent with this quilt already! Time to link up over at Kathy's Slow Stitching Sunday with all the other slow stitching fans.