fabricologist

fabricologist

Monday, January 27, 2014

This Qulter's Journey, part 3

The next step on my quilting journey was to build a quilting frame for hand quilting. In those days (early 90's) all the quilting magazines had advertisements for quilting frames. Machine quilting hadn't really taken off yet. Most home quilting was still done by hand.  I loved the idea of having a quilt on a frame where I could sit down and take a few stitches whenever I had time.

They were pretty expensive, upwards of $300. I found one that would sell you the plans to build a frame and they sent you the plans and hardware. You bought the wood and the metal roller bars at the hardware store. So we did. My hubby helped me build and assemble it.  I think I quilted two quilts on it, and had this one on the frame when I had to take it apart and store it.

 The applique sections were made of old denim jeans and reds and yellow quilting cottons. They were fused on and zigzagged around. I loved the idea of recycling the old jeans.
 The star blocks were pieced, mostly from scraps left from earlier projects. I still had a very romanticized view of what a quilt should be. Scrappy was it.
 The pattern is in an old issue of Quilter's Newsletter Magazine. I have about 10 years worth, and haven't tried to find it yet.  I started hand quilting it in feathers  in all the white spaces.
 The whole thing is, I think queen size. It wouldn't all fit on the frame, so it is in two pieces. One big chunk and one smaller chunk.
 Here you can kind of see some of the quilting. My amateurish attempt at quilting feathers.


 I still love the look of this quilt and so much of the work is done on it, I know I should finish it. But I am stumped as to how. I already have an Irish Chain that I have been hand quilting on for about 5 years now and I just don't see this one happening.
If you have any ideas for me about how I can get this done, please, let me hear your ideas. For now, that is all from my quilting journey. I have lots more to say and show you. Talk to you soon.

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