Little Penguin Quilts Through the Year

Little Penguin Quilts Through the Year

Saturday, November 26, 2016

A Little Hand Quilting

This week, I layered and basted my Rainbow Log Cabin quilt top.  Having discovered that I can use my dining room table, and some clamps from the garage, for this job makes it much easier to face my least favorite part of quilting!


This quilt is only about 48 x 48, too, so that also made basting it pretty quick and painless.

Here is the backing of this quilt - a fun find from Hobby Lobby!  I thought these little guys would be perfect for a scrappy rainbow quilt!


I decided to try hand quilting this quilt, so with a little advice from friends and after watching a Jen Kingwell YouTube video, I got started on that and have made a little progress.  


Right now, my stitches are a little wobbly and irregular, but I know they'll get better with practice.  There's no deadline on this quilt, nor is it really meant for anyone in particular, so I'm planning to take my time and enjoy the process.


Hope you all had a lovely Thanksgiving and are enjoying the weekend!  I'll be sharing at ScrapHappy Saturday today and Oh Scrap! tomorrow.  See you there!



23 comments:

Vic in NH said...

So pretty! Your stitches look lovely!

Kathy S. said...

It looks beautiful! I love that you are hand quilting it. Feel free to join us at Kathy's Quilts for Slow Sunday Stitching too! I love quilts with no deadlines! Happy holidays. Your stitches look great.

Vicki in MN said...

You are off to a good start on it. A late happy Turkey day to you!!

LA Paylor said...

I fondly remember learning to hand quilt. It was in the eighties, I took my first ever quiltmaking class designing a sampler myself. The teacher had us using thick white thread, somewhat like my granny used. I loved the repetition, the zen aspect, the texture growing under my direction.
The teacher told us our goal was uniformity. Same amount of thread showing as space between ON BOTH SIDES. That meant look under to make sure you're taking a whole bite each time.
I still love the process of hand quilting but now I'm old I don't want to blow out my hands,.. too much hand piecing and beading left to do!lol
LeeAnna

The Joyful Quilter said...

You are doing a GREAT job with the hand quilting! I would never have known that it was your first try at it.

PaulaB quilts said...

It's a lovely top and the quilting looks nice and even. Love the bright eyed owl in the bunch of sleepy ones.

Chantal said...

Welcome to the family of hand-quilters. We are not that many you know. You absolutely have the right spirit to make this a success. 1- your stitches will get better with practice and 2 no rush, no deadline. That's the best way to learn hand quilting. When I hand quilt after a long pause (like months) my stitches are wobbly at first too. But it's like bicycle; once learn, you never forget. Just rusty at first, lol. Enjoy the slow and peaceful process of hand quilting this charming quilt. ;^)

Cathy said...

So glad to see this lovely quilt coming together. My hands are numb too much to do hand quilting, but I truly admire you learning a new skill. The log cabin sure has some lovely fabrics in it (those greens!) and will be a real work of art when done. Good on you, Diann!! xo

gayle said...

I'm from dinosaur days when there was only hand-quilting, so that's always my first thought when I get ready to quilt. Enjoy the process!

Katie Z. said...

I love to hand quilt, so I hope you find the process enjoyable.

Cathy said...

Good for you to try hand quilting! I love hand quilting. I'm not sure I am getting better with practice but I do love the process, texture and look!

I forgot about your log cabin. Nice to see it out and about again.

Mari said...

Looks great! It doesn't look wobbly or irregular to me. Love the backing!

Kate @ Smiles From Kate said...

Your quilt is a great size for your first hand quilting attempt and it coming on great. Your stitches are fairly even and will only get better with practice, I must check out the You Tube video. Love, love, love the backing, it's going to be a lovely quilt.
Smiles
Kate

margaret said...

like you the layering up part of quilting is the part I least like, I suppose that is why I have 9 waiting to be done!
Love hand quilting I am sure you will really enjoy doing it.

Jayne said...

It's always nice to get to the quilt sandwich part! I love that you are adding hand quilting to it, such a special touch!

Cynthia Brunz Designs said...

That quilting is going to add such a wonderful texture to your quilt. What a great way to spend those winter evenings. Thanks for sharing with Oh Scrap!

Deb @ Frugal Little Bungalow said...

your stitches look wonderful; enjoy! :)

Linda @ kokaquilts said...

This is going to look wonderful! Your hand quilting will really add so much texture, enjoy!

Sandra Walker said...

I'm going to handquilt a quilt with perle cotton this winter. Seeing your stitches (which I cannot tell are wobbly or irregular!) makes me want to get started!

Preeti said...

Very pretty blocks. Those owls are adorable. I recently picked up Snoopy fabric at a Hobby Lobby in Statesboro, Ga. It is a long story. Hand quilting? Bless your heart. May be some day, I will have the time and the inclination (patience) for hand-quilting.
Hugs,
Preeti.

Kate said...

Very fun backing fabric. It's already a gorgeous quilt. Enjoy your hand stitching.

Linda said...

Pretty quilt and I love the backing! I have some log cabins that I was planning to group together according to color, but after seeing yours I'm thinking I might just use them as separate blocks! You are also inspiring me to hand quilt. :)

Marcy said...

Very powerful quilt. Great bold colors. I bet it was just too much fun picking through your fabrics. Your hand quilting is outstanding. It's such a relaxing processing.