Grrr, Wanting Something for Nothing & No Appreciation for Fine Hand Quilting....A Rare Speckledhen

[wyoDreamer]

The new try is a lot better, but you have the tension a bit too high - you can see the fabric puckering. What does the back look like - my guess is that the back thread is tight and the top thread is pulled all the way through and you can see the loops on the bottom.
It takes time to see how your machine works with the freehand stitching. I learned on a older brother, and then when my DH got me the new Kenmore, I had to relearn to free-hand with that one. And now I haven't touched it for over a year and will have to figure it all out again.

Who says you can't cross your stitch lines? I use a lot of patterns that cross. ha ha I know that in meandering your not supposed to, but sometimes you may stitch yourself into a corner and you will need to cross to get out...
And even stitches will come with time as you get more comfortable.

 

[speckledhen]

The new try is a lot better, but you have the tension a bit too high - you can see the fabric puckering. What does the back look like - my guess is that the back thread is tight and the top thread is pulled all the way through and you can see the loops on the bottom.
It takes time to see how your machine works with the freehand stitching. I learned on a older brother, and then when my DH got me the new Kenmore, I had to relearn to free-hand with that one. And now I haven't touched it for over a year and will have to figure it all out again.

Who says you can't cross your stitch lines? I use a lot of patterns that cross. ha ha I know that in meandering your not supposed to, but sometimes you may stitch yourself into a corner and you will need to cross to get out...
And even stitches will come with time as you get more comfortable.

Could be puckering partly because I don't have it secured very well, and it's also a poly-cotton blend, something I chose because I won't use it in a quilt and it was just sitting around. I agree that the tension should probably have been backed off a bit, but the higher tension was definitely working better than my usual #4. This will be a HUGE learning curve for me. When my son leaves, I need to search for my other machine I bought a hundred years ago and see what kind it was, now that I know a tiny bit about them.

 

[speckledhen]

Hey, which border fabric hits the spot here? It will be only a narrow border, then I'll bind with lavender that I already have, unless that just doesn't work with the chosen border fabric.

Please click to see the photos larger-I think with the last one, you need a closer look.
First choice, this print that is in the quilt top and will hit the binding in one place on each side:


Then, plain (well, tone on tone fern pattern) white



and I discovered that this lovely blue print matches the blue that pops up in the bird print very nicely-this is where I might not use the lavender binding I already have. And the blue may be too much off track anyway:




I think the winner is this purple blender fabric, which will also look great with the lavender binding.

 

[fisherlady]

I like the darker purple, it really gives it a nice frame and the lighter mottled part reflects the bird color very nicely!

 

[wyoDreamer]

I think the lavender blender fabric will overpower the lighter colored blocks, too strong of a color for the rest of the blocks for my taste.
My first choice would be the white, I think the white will look really nice as a thin border with the lavender binding; it will frame out the quilt nicely and really emphasize the quilt itself. The frame around a work of art.
My second choice is the blue - I like the tone of it, it is nice and soft.

That said, my tastes are very different than yours and yet I find that everything you make is beautiful. I am sure whichever you choose it will turn out gorgeous.

 

[speckledhen]

I got my son to comment. He didn't like the quatrefoil print where it met the same print in the quilt, didn't like the white (I was sort of thinking it seemed washed out myself) and he thought the blue brought in too strong of an element that wasn't really much there in the quilt, though I was almost set on the blue. Me, I would have preferred a softer lavender than the purple blender, and I did have one but just not enough of it for even a 2" border on this, unfortunately. In the name of going with what I have, I went with purple, but I may make another one with a different border color on it since I do have plenty more of each fabric left over.

 

[LadyHawkeAvry]

I have to agree with the purple blender. Just the right amount of contrast!

 

[cinken1968]

I understand your feelings, been there. If they have not tried it they need to shut up. I made a king size hand quilt (cathedral) , before I was done I was offered $3000.00 NOT FOR SALE. I will have to send photos of it. People need to put themselves in our place once. It took me 1 year ,10 months, 6 days complete our quilt. I am sorry you went through that. Please keep touch my email is [email protected] my nameis Cindy.
I made custom cakes they loved them but expected it to be Free. I am hardened now & will not give somethings away.

 

[speckledhen]

I understand your feelings, been there. If they have not tried it they need to shut up. I made a king size hand quilt (cathedral) , before I was done I was offered $3000.00 NOT FOR SALE. I will have to send photos of it. People need to put themselves in our place once. It took me 1 year ,10 months, 6 days complete our quilt. I am sorry you went through that. Please keep touch my email is [email protected] my nameis Cindy.
I made custom cakes they loved them but expected it to be Free. I am hardened now & will not give somethings away.

Wow, a cathedral and king sized, too! I have made that block myself a million years ago, but never made a project with it. Those are fabulous! Cindy, welcome to BYC to another fabric artist! When you have more posts on BYC, you can post a photo of it here, if you have a digital one. I would dearly love to see it. It would be very hard to let go something you put that much work and time into, even if that was the original plan. I've been in that position, not really wanting to sell something I made after it was done, but needed the money. I did this quilt so long ago, every piece by hand, every quilting stitch by hand. And it was the very first bed quilt I ever sold. My niece saw a photo and wanted one in those colors, but unlike most of my family, she really really understood the time, effort and artistry that goes into it. So, it took me awhile, but I made her one, all hand quilted, of course. I knew I made the right decision when she saw it and tears were running down her face. She offered to pay me for my work, but I told her to consider it for all the birthday gifts I'd not been able to give her (she's in her late 30's).

This is the one she liked:


This is the one I made for her:



For all you quilters out there who are feverishly creating like me, here's something to make you chuckle!

 

[speckledhen]

Interesting thing here. An antique company bought one of my hand quilted table runners recently off Etsy. Now, I see that they will be attending a huge quilt show and sale, featuring hand quilted quilts. Hmm, I'm betting they bought it for resale at twice the price, which, since they are featuring Amish/Mennonite quilts, puts me in the company of some great quilters! I'm actually quite honored. And I'm underselling, LOL!




Quote:

January 12 ·

Happy Quilting !!
Just a note to remind your members to put this Quilt Show on your calendars
44th Annual Kalona Quilt Show and Sale 2015
Thurs. April 23, Evening Only 5 pm – 8 pm
Fri. April 24, 9 am – 7 pm
Sat. April 25, 9 am – 5 pm
Admission $5.00 ( only pay once, good for all three days.)
Located in the Kalona Community Center, on the corner of 6th & D Ave. in Kalona, IA.
Over 300 New and Antique HAND QUILTED quilts will be on display and for sale. Many are
Amish – Mennonite made. Don’t miss the fabulous Kalona Quilt and Textile Museum just one
Block east of the show.
The downtown shopping area has 39 Quilt Blocks throughout .Come take the walking tour and visit
the nice gift shops, fabric and quilt shops, antique stores, restaurants, plus the Methodist Church does a
Special turkey dinner for the show. Large groups welcome!
For info call:
Katie Karnes at the Woodin Wheel 319-656-2240 or email [email protected]
Website: www.woodinwheel.com

This is the one they bought: