Thursday, March 1, 2012

Ruby Experiment

I knew that this quilt was going to require some special time and attention for quilting....but what was i thinking when i decided to go for hand quilting?


This corner was a trial run. I was not sure, still am on the fence a little, if this was how i wanted to quilt something that was pretty large. But my design consultant, Avery, loves it....





...and since it is hopefully going to be done in time for her birthday(a present for her) i went with her on this one.

It is going to take a little while and my finger is killing me but in the end i know it will be worth the work.

Anyone have good hand quilting tips for me?


Leslie

16 comments:

Erin @ Why Not Sew? Quilts said...

go for it! it looks great!

Katie said...

I love to hand quilt, so I'd say go for it. My one piece of advice would be to use a finely tapered needle. Many have a short point and then almost immediately go to the shaft (is that what it's called?) If you use one that is more gradually tapered, you hand won't get as tired because you won't have to push so hard to get the needle through. It seems like a small thing, but when you're quilting a decent sized quilt, it can be e lifesaver!

Grammie/Mom said...

I like the hand stitching.

jlk said...

A good thimble and good tv. Have fun!

Alisa said...

I don't like using a thimble b/c I can't feel through it but I will put a bandage on my finger where the end of the needle keeps poking. Just to save your finger. It looks fabulous!

Miss Beau Jangles said...

I would say a thimble or a plaster to cover the bit where the needle is rubbing. By main tip though would be to drape the quilt over the back of a dining chair, so that there's space for your hand to manouevre freely at the back of the quilt. So that when you put your hand behind the quilt, there's chair on one side of your hand and quilt on the other, instead of quilt all around, does that make sense? I find my wrist gets tired from battling against the weight of the quilt, plus I get too hot!

tara said...

I love the look of Hand quilting. I have mo advive. I dont like thimbles so I end up with a bruised and mushy finger. I do like the round flat rubber grips for pulling the needle.

Dee said...

Chocolate? Wait. I mean more chocolate! LOL

Catherine said...

I think I've given you all my advice already. I think Katie's advice on the tapered needle is a good idea and something to look into plus I use a metal thimble on my middle fingers on each hand too and wouldn't be able to quilt without them. Another thing I can't do without is a hoop although I know lots of people that don't use them. It's looking great by the way!

Krista said...

It looks great! I'm impressed that you're going with hand quilting.

I haven't done a lot of it myself, but I do use thread heaven when I have to stitch bindings and I bet it would be great for quilting too. It makes the thread more slick so it doesn't drag on the fabric and prevents knots. Maybe worth a shot!

Tara Celeste said...

I don't have any tips but I love it, too!

Suzanne said...

It looks beautiful! I love the look of hand quilting but haven't done it in a long time. The things I have hand quilted I used a thimble and "hoop" (mine was square) and did the rocking motion.
Enjoy the process!

Kristin said...

It looks Lovely! I love hand quilting. I plan to someday hand quilt a quilt. I have watched lots of videos on You Tube of hand quilting, I would recommend checking some out if you have time.

Mary said...

Love hand quilting! For the longest time Kristen had me convinced that machine quilting was not quilting. :) Now I know better but you will have a special place in your heart for the hand quilt one because it took so long! Love the thread choice.

T.J. said...

yeah, no, no hand quilting tips ;) Just stopping by to say hi and happy spring!!!

Kirsten said...

Wow, your Ruby plus is going to look so beautiful with the lovely handstitching!

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