15 May 2013

Hand Quilting - Then and Now


I love to hand quilt! Most of the 'real-life' quilters I know are speedy fast machine piecers and quilt with domestic or long arm machines; whilst I love the quilts they make, my heart skips when I stumble across a blog that shows a quilt being stitched by hand :D When I heard that Caron over at the Celebrate Hand Quilting blog was organising a blog hop I jumped at the chance to join in.  Click on the link and be prepared to be amazed by some stunning quilts! http://celebratehandquilting.blogspot.co.uk/

I have made several hand quilted items over the years including many quilts, I blogged about one of them 'Celine' HERE but one of my favourites has to be the second quilt I ever made and the first I designed and quilted by hand (My first ever quilt fell apart after a few weeks as I knew nothing about 1/4" seams or machine piecing or anything else 'quilting' for that matter!) I learned to quilt when we moved to Norway in 1998, from a group of very patient, very talented ladies known as the 'International Piece Makers'. My youngest son was 4 at the time and requested that I make him a grizzly bear quilt (he was obsessed by Animal Planet!) I managed to find a picture I could copy for the bear and was so excited when I discovered there was a quilt block called 'Bear's Paw'. With considerable help from my new friends at quilt group, I got it finished :)
This quilt has every mistake that you can think of, blocks that are different sizes and none of them  square, points that are chopped off...
and toe catching quilting stitches...
that don't even go through to the back...

I was so proud of this quilt (I still am!) and more importantly my son loved it! I love to show people this quilt, as when beginners especially, see my latest quilts they always say they could never hand quilt as they would be no good, their stitches wouldn't be neat enough or small enough etc etc. I get this quilt out and show how I started and how it really is just a question of practice, practice, practice!

This is my latest hand quilting project, a copy of a Welsh quilt held in the V & A, I blogged about it HERE





I have lots more finished quilts, hand quilted and otherwise, I really must take some photos of them to share.
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23 comments:

  1. Karen - Quilts...etc.15/5/13 16:10

    it takes awhile to get a quilt done but it sure is worth it in the end isn't it. And with time we all improve :) thanks for sharing

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  2. Margaret15/5/13 16:45

    So pretty! I love hand quilting so much. I always manage to bog down for some reason, but I do love hand quilted quilts so much more than machine quilted ones.

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  3. Frances Meredith15/5/13 18:30

    Great that you joined in the Celebrate Hand Quilting Blog Hop. I have been following, but didn't have time to join in this time around. Thanks for sharing Then and Now!

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  4. Dineke16/5/13 10:59

    Hi Elaine, What lovely quilts you have make. And I also love your stitching. Isn't the bloghop great to see lot's of handquilting. Dineke from the Netherlands

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  5. Carla A Few Of My Favorite Things16/5/13 12:01

    I am so glad you showed one of your first quilts, like with most things hand quilting skills get better with practice. I too love my first hand quilted quilt. It's wonky and has toe catcher stitches but it reminds me how far I have come.

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  6. Deborah Hamilton16/5/13 12:36

    Your stitches look wonderful!

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  7. Quilting Babcia16/5/13 13:14

    Your quilts are beautiful and precious. It seems so many of us get the quilting bug when we have small children, and those quilts are always well loved and worn out! I've loved visiting your blog, from western Oregon.

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  8. Anonymous16/5/13 13:20

    OMGosh....your feather quilting is lovely. What a beautiful quilt. And the first one you showed is precious with all its loving inexperience! Nice work.

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  9. Anonymous16/5/13 13:27

    I like the idea of how you quilted over the pattern, instead of in the individual spaces, in the last pictures. It reminds me of what free motion quilters are doing, in a much, much better way!! Your stitching is lovely and the Bear Paws quilt is perfect!

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  10. Little Penpen16/5/13 15:06

    You do beautiful work!! I love the Grizzly Bear quilt, too... a treasure forever! :)

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  11. eclecticfrump16/5/13 15:07

    I'm so glad you showed your first quilt. I've been a hand piecer for 30 years but quit hand quilting about 15 yrs go. I've just retaken it up and have to learn anew - I've got toe catchers going on but it is encouraging to remember that practice makes perfect (or at least smaller stitches) your quilts are inspirational in the truest sense of the word.

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  12. Quayceetatter16/5/13 15:59

    Beautiful hand quilting!!Love your projects.

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  13. Dawn16/5/13 16:20

    Thank you for sharing your work with us. Sweet Bear quilt, and story ;-)
    LOVE your Welsh repro - well done!

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  14. Fiona16/5/13 16:50

    Two beautiful quilts. One for the lovely memories created while developing your skill and the other for the pure beauty of the piece that you created through experience.

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  15. audrey16/5/13 18:13

    Wow! Love your stitching. Wonderful memories with the bear quilt I'm sure.

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  16. Ann-Mari16/5/13 18:24

    Love your quilt too. Thank you for charing your story.
    Ann-Mari from Norway

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  17. Anonymous17/5/13 00:16

    Hello!! from Sydney Australia.
    Always fun to see then and now - its like looking at old photographs (I cringe at me in the '90s!) to see how we've evolved. Your quilting on the medallion is beautiful! Such a lovely motif on the last pic.

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  18. Anonymous17/5/13 00:19

    PS we are being treated to the V&A exhibition in Australia which will be in Brisbane from June to September...currently planning a weekend! I will look out for your Welsh beauty!

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  19. Mary Ann17/5/13 00:30

    Hello from North Dakota(USA). I just found your blog and will be looking forward to reading all about your projects.

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  20. belarmina17/5/13 00:37

    me gusta su blog!!! la pata de oso es uno de mis primeros trabajos
    y me gusta muchísimo
    me gusta coser a mano, así que me alegre cuando encontré
    celebrate hand quilts
    saludos desde Gijon (España)

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  21. Lena17/5/13 01:09

    Hello tron central Texas your work is beautiful.

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  22. Sandra White17/5/13 15:00

    Hello from Ohio USA. Love your quilting. Just beautiful. Hand quilting to me is the most relaxing of endeavors. I love seeing blogs from other hand quilters. Your quilts are beautiful. Best wishes.

    Sandy

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  23. Quilter Kathy6/6/13 01:49

    Enjoyed seeing your quilting projects!

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