Friday, December 20, 2013

Still Hand Quilting

So, I will be starting another 25 block applique quilt this January. I'm so excited, but will probably still be handquilting this 100x100 quilt in two years! (or more!)This one is based off an antique that Gay Bomers- Sentimental Stitches purchased on Ebay. She generously offered it free, one block a month. I have to admit, I'm a top maker, but thought I'd hand quilt this since I finished my 14 year handquilting project of  Jane Stickle this year.


This was the last block I finished outlining. This was also the block that I was hand appliqueing that made me decide to machine applique. There are 46 or 47 leaves in  this one block.  Is it any wonder I gave up the hand applique at this point? If you click on this to enlarge you can see some of the fun quilting motifs I copied from the original and added. I had a lot of fun stitching those.


My original plan was to cross hatch after quilting the motifs, but I saw a quilt recently that had these wonderful clamshells and motifs, just like the original Beyond the Cherry Tree quilt, so I went back to the idea of clamshells. I really thought they would quilt up fairly quickly too. (a bonus in my opinion)
I was on the fence about it and after a chat with my dear friend I decided to at least mark it and see what i thought.
 So I did, then I erased it quickly with a hot iron. Looked like a huge pain in the neck with all the applique.


So I used my hera marker and marked one block with lines 1 1/2" apart. Nothing is going to be easy about quilting the rest of this. I've worked on it 3 nights now and am still on this block!

PS I haven't quilted anything in the borders yet or outlined my applique. Maybe this will be another 14 year project!

I've got lots planned for the weekend. Enjoy!

43 comments:

  1. It is beautiful! You make me want to get mine back out and get to work!

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  2. Goodness, you are brave, but what a beauty it will be! A family heirloom, for sure.

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  3. It is beautiful Lori, I hand quilt on the 14 year plan also. I am really excited about Gay and Brenda's new block of the month. It is a great opportunity for all to work on a classic applique quilt. They are so generous to do this. Merry Christmas Lori!

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  4. Each time I see your quilt, my heart goes pitter patter. I know you are looking forward to the end of the quilting but it is going to be so worth it.
    Is the 25 block quilt you plan on starting the one from Sentimental Stitches and Brenda Papadakis? I think that one is going to be a good one. Another one for my pile to work on.

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  5. Just gorgeous, I love this quilt Lori! Take heart, at least you have finished your Dear Jane, mine is still half done and has been on the go now for 12 years.

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  6. OHHHHHH LORI! This quilt is MAGNIFICENT and well worth 14 years of stitching!! Heirloom for sure!! They will be lined up for this one...sure hope you have daughters in the family!!
    P

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  7. Lori - I am so happy to see this quilt top. I save all of the patterns with a view to making the quilt but completely forgot about it. Your version is just gorgeous and it will be even better when it is quilted! Thanks for sharing.

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  8. Gorgeous. I am still hand appliqueing mine. I have 6 more blocks to go. I did start it last year; but I am never in a hurry. I will start the new the new one in January. This time I will be making it as a block of the month. Thanks for sharing your progress and your beautiful quilt.

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  9. At least you have started quilting yours. Mine is in the tops box and may never get quilted.

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  10. Beautiful top! Hurray for the Hera marker! That little helper is what gave me the push I needed to try machine quilting! Love it!

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  11. Great quilt! I will set money aside each month to have my machine quilted. Not my favorite way of quilting but if I want to enjoy it in this lifetime that will have to do. Have a fun weekend! Saw sun yesterday for awhile!

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  12. I am impressed that you even decide to hand quilt them! I have worked on many a quilt that belonged to someone else, on a large frame in their home or at our church, but I have only ever hand quilted 5 large bed quilts. I have one more ready to go that I have promised to my youngest, but I have successfully postponed starting it for a couple of years now. It may take me 14 years to START mine! I wish you well on your journey. This quilt deserves the special treatment. It is stunning!!

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  13. What a treasure--a real family heirloom for sure!

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  14. Its a beautiful quilt Lori, and well worth the hand quilting. Hey, what else are you going to do for the next fourteen years? :-)

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  15. Oh là là Lori ! What a treasure, and good luck for the next 14 years :)
    Merry Christmas

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  16. este edredón es una maravillosa obra !!!
    me gusta
    buen fin de semana

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  17. I love the clamshell pattern for quilting - beautiful quilt

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  18. Hand quilting is so soothing, isn't it? I saw that Gay was offering another free BOM - so tempting.

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  19. Your quilt is FAB U LOUS! Keep at it and it will get finished one stitch at a time. I posted on BTCT and will go along this new venture with you!

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  20. This quilt looks like it wouldn't mind if you spent a few years hand quilting it! lol Great job with the applique blocks. It's going to be family heirloom for sure!

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  21. Just gorgeous!! I'm getting to really love machine quilting, especially, when I think about how long it takes to hand quilt a large quilt. However, there are some quilts that really "should" be hand quilted - if at all possible, that is. The Jane Stickle quilt and this one would surely qualify.

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  22. Oh my that is quit the undertaking! It will be amazing. Please tell me you have someone wonderful to look after these treasures after you are gone that understands what you have done to create these works of art,. they will not end up wrapping up a fridge to move or as a dog bed right!!! Of course that is way in the future but the hours you have in these quilts well I just want them to appreciated:0). I don't remember seeing your Dear Jane quilt........is it here on your blog?

    Merry Christmas, Happy hand quilting, and a blessed 2014

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  23. Again, so beautiful! [I am considering that January QAlong...]. This is another thing I so admire about you, Lori: despite being such a prolific productive quilter (and so creative), you are willing to take on longterm projects, and, for example, hand quilt one project for years if need be. Inspiring.

    Thank you for your blog, happy holdays

    lizzy

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  24. What a beautiful quilt. I am so glad you are handquillting, it keeps it with the vintage look. Can't wait to see what you do with the one starting in January.

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  25. It is totally stunning!!! Who cares how long it takes to hand quilt? It will be even better when you finish it. So fantastic!!!

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  26. Lori, that quilt is absolutely spectacular!!

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  27. Wow! This quilt is just beautiful Lori. Congratulations to you and kudos for doing the hand quilting too. What an heirloom. Your work is just stunning. Thanks for sharing info on the new BOM - I think I'm going to join in on that quilt - another beauty.

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  28. however long it takes you, it will be worth it.
    what a gorgeous quilt it's going to be, especially with all of your beautiful hand stitches worked into it~!

    happy holidays.

    :-)
    libbyQ

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  29. Wow! The applique is beautiful & it will be even more special with your hand-quilting. Some things are not meant to be rushed. Enjoy the journey!

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  30. This is such a beautiful quilt!! I love the fun motifs tucked in here and there. Handquilting takes time but it will be SO worth it!! I look forward to following your progress with this next BOM.

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  31. definitely hand quilt this one. question? will you quilt the design over the applique? I recently saw an antique quilt where that had been done. I think I will do that on my next hand quilt project. This is absolutely beautiful. I've been hand quilting my Roseville Album over a year now, but I've done several quilts inbetween time. Again absolutely beautiful

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  32. Wow! You got a stunner with this one. It's GORgeous!! I still have to try to machine quilt (maybe a 2014 challenge), so all my quilts are hand quilted. The more blocks you do, the more you'll find that they are quickly done. I mean, it's like birthdays: the more you have, the faster they show up LOL. On the other hand, where's the rush? So what if it takes 14 years? Enjoy the process and the anticipation of a GORgeous quilt on your bed. This one will be coveted for many generations! Congrats. Happy Holidays.

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  33. What a treasure...this is a stunning quilt! Thank you for sharing.

    Christmas blessing to you and your family this festive time of the year.

    Carolyn

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  34. What a beauty! I'll have to get an applique lesson, when next we see each other. Very inspiring!

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  35. Beautiful work, Lori.

    Gay's next BOM looks very tempting! It is another stunning quilt.

    Merry Christmas!

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  36. very nice, and me too...still quilting my boston commons!

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  37. Beautiful ( and your red and green and your red which I saw the other day...so much inspiration here! ) This is the 3rd time I've seen the Sentimental Stitches quilt mentioned ...the new one coming up and I am thinking about trying my hand at it but I am pretty much of a beginner so still debating.

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  38. Wow, what a beautiful quilt. I totally understand about the long time quilting. My first quilt (queen-sized) took me 16 years to finish. Not a good idea for a first quilt. I have since quilted smaller quilts in less time. This will be beautiful when it is hand-quilted. I'm sure you will finish it relatively quickly.

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  39. It's going to be so beautiful when finished! Just a suggestion--buy some of that plastic that comes on a roll at Joanne's or Hobby Lobby and mark your quilting design on the plastic. Then you can lay it over your block to see if you like it. I love to hand quilt, too, and I've got several tops just waiting and waiting and waiting.....

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  40. You've reminded me of the one I started and it makes me want to go back to it. Gosh, it's a beauty! Happy quilting.

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  41. Beautiful quilt, Lori! I admire the fact that you are hand quilting it. It will be a fabulous treasure!

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  42. beautiful and I'm with you - i like the straight lines better on this one than the clam shell.
    I sooo get you on the slow quilting- my Jubilee is taking forever!
    xx
    This will be lovely

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  43. Your quilt is just stunning! Stick with the hand quilting - it'll be worth it no matter how long it takes.

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