My New WISP

I haven't done any hand quilting since I got the longarm in 2017.  The last thing I hand quilted was my mother's lone star which I finished for her.  When I saw this darling hexie flower fabric by Corey Yoder I knew I found my next hand quilting project.  I like to call it my WISP or Work In Slow Progress.  

I bought 2 1/8 yards of the 60 inch wide hexie fabric and 4 1/4 yards of the yellow print for the backing and binding.  This would give me a quilt that is about 60 inches by 72 inches.  I got a little more than 72 inches of the hexie fabric to give me some wiggle room when squaring up the quilt.  

I basted it on the long arm with an extremely large meander and two stitches per inch.  

It did not take long at all.

I was happy to find some white hand quilting thread with my specialty threads.

I quilted my first flower that day.  

And then I kept going.

I was once taught that you should start quilting in the middle and work your way out to the edges of the quilt.  However, I believe that if your quilt is well basted that you can start anywhere.  So, I quilted all of the edge flowers first.

I learned that your quilt doesn't have to be on the frames for a small child to play under it.  

I also learned that I am getting older.  I now need some reading glasses to see to thread the needles!

Once I got the edge flowers all quilted I trimmed the quilt and added the binding.  

I estimate that I have already quilted 1/3 of the quilt.  

I love how it is looking!

I also love that when I am finished with the hand quilting I won't have to finish the edges.  

XX,

Jasmine

Mom's Lone Star: A Custom Finish

It turns out that once I started hand quilting my mom's Lone Star, I just couldn't stop!  Instead of eight weeks of hand quilting it was four days.  It was wonderful quilting through the wool batting.

I searched around on the internet for star quilts with feather quilting and found this beautiful one quilted by Jan of The Secret Life of Mrs. Meatloaf.  I based the background feathers off of her quilting design.  I first took out the thread basting stitches.  Then I made a paper template for the arcs and started quilting on my Tiara.

Pretty soon I had some feathers.  (I can hardly believe that I actually quilted them,)

I decided to just stitch in the ditch around the inner borders and quilt a simple feather in the wide border.  (This is much easier to see on the back.)

I was amazed that after it had been thread basted and sitting in a bag for years that there were still no tucks on the back of the quilt.

My mom and I got together to work on the binding after I sewed it on by machine to the front.  She sewed about ten inches to the back by hand before her hand started cramping.  So I ended up finishing the binding for her as well.

This quilt turned out so pretty.  We are so happy that it is finished and can now be used instead of hidden in a closet.

It finishes about 91 x 91 inches and is now on a guest bed in my mom's house.  Start to finish this quilt took around 20 years.  It definitely deserved to be finished.  I guess I still need to figure out my next WISP.

Check out my previous two posts for more details on the quilt.  (Here and here.)

XX,
Jasmine

P.S.  I will be linking up with some of the fun parties on my sidebar.  Check them out to see what others have been working on.

The Quilt that Started it All

This is my mom's first quilt, or the quilt that started it all.  Without this quilt I wouldn't be the quilter I am today.

My mom picked out the fabrics and started it when my oldest brother was engaged.  (I was seven years old.)  She finished it three years later.  She cut it out with scissors after marking the pieces with plexiglass templates.  Then it was hand quilted on a Grace Frame.

It has been used and very well loved.

My brother brought it to my mom asking if it was possible to repair it.

I was thrilled to see it again.  The center of the quilt is in pretty good condition.  We may just need to trim off the borders and add a new binding.

When my mom finished her first quilt she became hooked on quilting.  She tried to pass her love of quilting on to her daughters.  While two of my three sisters have made a few quilts, I am the only one who really caught the bug.

And no, the grass at my mom's house is really not that green right now.  I took these pictures a while ago and am just now sharing them.  My sweet mother and her early quilts have been on my mind while I have worked on her Lone Star quilt.

It turns out that once I got started on this quilt that I just couldn't stop.   (I could have named this post "No Longer a WISP or UFO.") All of the hand and machine quilting is done.  I will have a finish to share later this week.  Here is a sneak peek.  My mom is so excited.

I am so grateful she started quilting and that it is something we still continue to do together today.  This is a picture of the two of us at the Handi Quilter Retreat we went to in March 2015.

I know that she hand quilted at least six queen size quilts and a few smaller ones.  I have pictures of one more of her early quilts.  This one was made for my second oldest sister.  It is a Heart and Home Log Cabin.

Isn't my mom amazing?

XX,
Jasmine

My New (to Me) WISP

I have missed having an ongoing hand sewing project since I finished my last WISP (work in slow progress).  So when my mother asked if I would finish her lone star quilt, I happily agreed.  She started it about 20 years ago, but it has sat untouched for quite a few years.  Her arthritis now makes it difficult for her to hand quilt.

She started out quilting just the outside tips of the diamonds a quarter inch in from the seams.

The entire star was quilted like that.  But then she decided she didn't like how unfinished it looked, so she started quilting the other half of the diamonds.

She did get a lot done before putting it away.  Wedding quilts for her children and baby quilts for new grandchildren took precedence.  This quilt is for her.

I told her that my goal is to finish the hand quilting the star over a period of eight weeks.  One week to hand quilt each of the eight big diamond making up the lone star.  That seems doable, right?

I have counted and there were 258 half diamonds for me to quilt, and I have already started.  :)  I am usually too tired for sewing in the evenings, but some hand quilting may be just right.

I will machine quilt the rest of the quilt after the hand quilting is all done.  My mom wants lots of feathers.  I better get sketching!

XX,
Jasmine

Double Irish Chain

 



I started this quilt in 1995 when I took a class at the annual Utah State Quilt Guild meetings. The class was taught by Cathy Kempton.  I was busy in school and had to put it aside for awhile.

I finished the quilt top in 1997 while I was still in high school. I was a member of FHA HERO (Future Homemakers of America and Home Economics Related Occupations--a club at school) and my teacher wanted me to finish it and enter it in the state fair the next fall. Obviously that didn't happen, but I did try to quilt it over the summer. 

The original pattern had hearts appliqued in the open areas. I wasn't interested in the applique, so I decided to do fancy quilting instead.  I love the look of the hand quilting on this quilt, but it took years. Each feathered wreath took over four hours to quilt.  I jokingly told my husband that it would be my eternal project. 



I finally decided after cheetah was born that I would make myself work on it a little each day or it would remain an eternal project. He really was a good baby and was happy to play on the floor near me.  With my sweet cheetah by my side, I finally finished quilting it.



The backing is a pink fabric which came 110 inches wide. It was really nice not to have any seams on the back of a hand quilted quilt. 



My husband was so proud of me and said that someday our daughters would fight over that quilt. I made matching pillow cases and put it on my bed. I love this quilt and it represents hours upon hours of work. I think there are over 200 hours of hand quilting that went into it.



Incidentally, I hung it on the quilt rack of my stair well for a few years. Even though it was not in direct sunlight, it has still faded. Though this saddens me, I am glad that I hung it there. I would get warm fuzzies every time I went down the stairs. I tell myself that it's better to get enjoyment from it than to keep it in the dark closet. 



There is not much cuter than a monkey on a quilt saying, "Cheese" with squinty eyes.

Quilt Stats: #9
Name: Double Irish Chain

Pattern: Handout from a class taught by Katny Kempton
Size: about  92 x 104 inches
Batting:  Hobbs 80/20
Date finished: 2002
What I learned:

• Hand quilting feathered wreaths takes hours!
• The Hobbs 80% cotton and 20% polyester batting is nice to hand quilt.
• If you work at something a little every day it will finally be finished.

XX,
Jasmine

Remembering the Year 2002

(A sneak peek at the baby quilts finished in 2002) 

This year brought a lot of change to my life. I graduated from college with a degree in Elementary Education. I quit working, and became a stay at home mom to a cute little boy who we now call Cheetah. In this time of crazy transition, my super supportive husband bought me a sewing cabinet, collapsible cutting table with a large mat, and a serger. 

I felt great and had an easy baby. Seriously, he was happy as long as he could see me. If I left the room for any reason he would become upset. So we spent a lot of time with him playing on the floor or in the high chair nibbling Cheerios with me at the sewing machine. He would also lay on the floor by me while I did some hand quilting in a hoop on my lap. 

Once I learned that we were having a boy, I made cheetah a Baby Twist quilt.  It is machine quilted with a walking foot. 

I also made these matching bumper pads for the nursery. 

I hand quilted another quilt made from blocks painted by my Grandma Mildred. 

I finally finished hand quilting my Pink Double Irish Chain. The quilting was beautiful, but I was starting to think it would become my eternal project.  There is over 200 hours of hand quilting in this quilt.  Each feathered wreath took at least four hours. 

I also finally put the binding on this whole cloth quilt I finished hand quilting years earlier. Why does something so simple take so long?  I know, it was because I was originally going to do a ruffle.  The ruffle intimidated me, and I put it aside.  I ended up deciding that finished was better than ruffles, so I used a regular binding. 

My last finish of the year was putting the binding on this quilt I had quilted by my sister-in-law JoAnn. I gave it to my husband for Christmas, because it was always his favorite.

I finished so many projects that year. I even finished some car play rugs and valences for my apartment.  My mother-in-law used to always ask me, "What project are you working on this week?"

XX,

Jasmine