Sunday 7 August 2011

Helen's Quilt

I have brought Helen's quilt on holiday with us. I have intentions of working on it while we are away. I did the same thing in February. I didn't do any then. This time it is going to be different. I know this because I have made some decisions. I love the stitching that I was doing on the quilt by hand. But it was taking forever. I was using two strands of embroidery floss, because when I started this project (a very long time ago - we're talking about three years here folks, at least) I didn't know about perle cotton and I thought that the embroidery floss would give more impact that traditional hand stitching. It does. But it still takes forever.

To complicate things, I stitched a little two close to the seams, so when I was in an area where the seams had been pressed on that side I couldn't get the needle in and out in one motion without creating a massive stitch that was totally out of keeping with the rest of the stitches. So I had to do each stitch by pulling the needle all the way through on the bottom side of the quilt and then feed it back up again in the desired position.

This was one of the reasons it was taking me so long. It looked great but I didn't want to play that game any more.


I've measured. Each of those wee stitches measures about 1/8th of an inch. What was I thinking?! So I am going to rip them all out. I got Helen's permission first. There are 20 'X's and 'O's on this quilt. It took me about three years to get not quite four done. The odds were that this was going to be finished for a grandchild, not Helen.

I ordered some perle, did a quick round of stitches to show Helen (and myself) and also to show her how much faster it would be for me to do it this way. I am making the stitches even bigger than I did in my Wonky Stars quilt. How very brave of me. I also stitched further away from my seams. You can teach an old dog new tricks!


It might not be as graceful a quilt. But it will be finished. There is a lot to be said for that. Perle cotton is my saviour. I hope to be able to show you a lot of progress on this by the time we return from 'up north'.

Susan

16 comments:

  1. Congratulations - you have won the Go! Baby giveaway! Could you email me to arrange the shipping when you are back home? Hope your mum recovers soon.

    Pomona x

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  2. Oh you lucky duck winning a Go! Baby! You'll have lots of fun with that. Great stitching on Helen's quilt too - it will be so worth it to have the satisfaction of another finish! Jxo

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  3. Oh you lucky duck winning a Go! Baby! You'll have lots of fun with that. Great stitching on Helen's quilt too - it will be so worth it to have the satisfaction of another finish! Jxo

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  4. Well, I was going to leave a comment about how fantastic the quilt is looking.... but then I saw that you have won a Go! baby. Wow, lucky you, congratulations. Cant wait to see what you will be creating with it (no pressure :0 )

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  5. Oh my goodness there will be no stopping you now and with no internet connection at your mum`s you probably don`t even know you`ve won! I am so envious I can`t tell you. Congratulations - you are a great quilter and so deserve it!

    I think you`ve made the right decision looking at the perle cotton - it looks super!

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  6. I think you made the best decision! It is going to look fantastic.

    Another bonus is that perle cotton is spun and is more durable than the embroidery floss. You may have found down the line that all that quilting wouldn't have withstood the rigours a quilt might go through.

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  7. P.S. Just read the other comments and saw you won a Go Baby! Welcome to the "family" enjoy!!

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  8. Good decision! For many reasons - and a quilt on the bed is so much better than one in a cupboard! Looks promising...promising to be another stunner!!

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  9. It must have been hard to rip out the stitches that took you years! But, good move, definitely, its going to look fab and I'm sure Helen's going to love having a finished quilt! And YAY!!! GO BABY!!! Lucky you :-)

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  10. I don't believ it. That was mine! Oh no, i'll let you off, I didn't enter that one. Congratulations.
    I think I'm going to like this quilt a lot

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  11. I don't believ it. That was mine! Oh no, i'll let you off, I didn't enter that one. Congratulations.
    I think I'm going to like this quilt a lot

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  12. congratulations on the go baby wow bet you are pleased :)))
    the perle is great look good

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  13. Well I was coming on to say how gorgeous your hand quilting looks but I see you won a Go! Baby!! Wow! You will love it, I love mine :-)
    Anyways, your hand quilting does look fab - where do you get your perle cotton, do you buy online or in your LQS? Sorry I haven't checked in for a while, hope your holiday is going ok :-)

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  14. Well... I WAS going to rave about how lovely your handstitching is. And I WAS going to say you are so clever. And I WAS going to say that I can't wait to see it finished. But now all I can say is that I'm green eyed with envy! I'll go email your lady for her and tell her not to give it to anyone else and that you'll email her as soon as you get back Xx

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  15. Lucky you winning the Go Cutter, congratulations.
    Your hand quilting looks gorgeous and I think it was a very sensible decision to change to perle thread and make your stitches bigger.

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  16. Hi just found your blog through Brit Quilt on Flickr. I love your farmers wife blocks and the perle cotton looks great - do you buy it in the UK?

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