Origins Quilt

I've noticed a couple of things as I'm teaching myself to hand quilt.  Like the appearance of my stitches.  In general, I am pleased as they are neat and even.  But when I look at pictures of antique quilts, the stitches appear (1) tinier and (2) smaller, hahaha!  Like just a dot!  The way my stitches look with this thinner hand quilting thread better suits perle cotton, I think, as the stitches look a little big to me (see the close up).

A question: how many stitches per inch do people generally get hand quilting?  Mine are about 9 stitches per inch in this quilt.  Which calculates out to..... about 27, 216 stitches!  (378 squares, 8 inches of stitching per square and 9 stitches per inch?  Correct me if I am wrong!)

Quilt Stats:

Print Fabrics: Origins by Basic Grey for Moda

Solid Fabric: Kona cotton solid in Ivory (?)

Thread: Gutermann Hand Quilting thread 100% cotton in Ivory

Batting: Warm & Natural

Backing: cut from a 100% cotton Ikea duvet cover

Dimensions: 50" by 58"

Christmas Dresden Plate Pillow

Overcome with the urge to create something Christmassy, and quilty... (because frankly, much of thinking about other aspects of Christmas is far too overwhelming right now)... this Dresden Plate Pillow was created.

 

I used up a bunch of scraps from making the quilt you see behind the pillow a couple of years ago, and some table runners for family members last year. The scraps are pretty much all from Basic Grey's lines Blitzen and Fruitcake.

I hand quilted it with my favourite Aurifil thread in a nice heavy 12 wt. A thoroughly enjoyable experience, as always.



After it has a little wash, I'm sure it will fit the pillow form nicely, right?

So.... are you Christmas quilting?

From Tripping to Kaleidoscoping

Feeling in a daze, cuz I just got my Kaleidoscope Quilt Top done today! I cut into the fabric starting January 17, while I waited and waited for Bernina to come home. And I even pieced some blocks on old Kenmore. But now that she's here, there is no reason to stop quilting at every opportunity.

Just as I was sewing together the borders, my iron quit! Gah! So she hasn't been pressed in this picture, and the border hasn't been pressed at all, but it's a done top. So I'm happily rushing to share it in all manner of social media of course!

Go check out the tutorial from Don't Call Me Betsy on how to make one of these.  Or try this pattern.  I used a combination of both :)

Max and Whiskers Charm Quilts

Max and Whiskers Charm Quilt Number 1, a photo by Cora Quilts ~ MrsCarla on Flickr.

My little guys needed a couple of quilts to use when they sleepover with Opa and Nana (grandparents) in our guest cabin when they visit! Quilts are so much cozier than sleeping bags!!

Christmas Star Quilt

Finished!! I used Folksy Flannel for the back. I think it matched quilt nicely and makes it so cozy and festive looking. The idea for this quilt came from an issue of McCalls Quilting from last year found at a thrift store. The quilt was called a "Sparkling Sampler". I used some of the blocks from the large quilt, arranged them myself and designed my own border.

Christmas Quilty

In honor of it now being "Christmas month", tonight we watched one of my favorite holiday movies, "Elf", and I pieced a Christmassy block. Not sure if it will be in a table runner or a quilt. I used fabrics from Fruitcake by Moda and Kona snow.

One of my favorite little "tips" I've picked up is from Bonnie Hunter. It got me 20 "free" little half square triangles! This block has several flying geese blocks and one diamond block which use the "stitch and flip" method, where you line up squares, sew on a diagonal and trim the triangles. After sewing my diagonals, I sewed ANOTHER seam 1/2 inch away and parallel to the first seam. Cut in between them and you get an instant HST block! I trim and press them right away so they are ready to use in just about anything. They make such cute tiny pinwheels!