Monday, January 23, 2012

Week 4 - Quilting Your Little Quilt

This is the week you should be working on finishing your little Crosses Mourning quilt. I started quilting mine over the weekend and hope to finish before we begin another small quilt for Feb, sometime next week.
 

I really love the look of a little doll quilt that is quilted very simply. In this quilt I quilted in the ditch around the inside of each block, then quilted inside the black part and just a simple stitch through the center of the colored cross part of the block. The sashing will be quilted with a few straight lines and I have not decided what I will do on the border yet.

If you have not tried hand quilting, now would be a perfect time. If you do not like using straight-line quilting,  here's a great place to buy quilting stencils that are easy to use with a water soluble marking pen. They also have stencils for small quilt borders so check out the border page. This little wavy one is one of my favorites and I admit I use it often.


My favorite quilting thread is YLI quilting thread. I'm very partial to the light brown as it gives a nice antique look when stitched on both light and dark fabrics.

I'm clearly not an expert and my stitches could be a little smaller and straighter, but it sure is fun and I love the look of a little quilt that's hand quilted. If you haven't taken the time to do any hand quilting, try it out on a small quilt. It doesn't have to be heavily quilted--just try stitching a straight line or Xs in the blocks to get yourself going. Even a little bit of hand quilting gives a special look to a quilt. And, don't forget, if you make a mistake, it will only add to the charm.


If I use a simple quilting design, it usually takes a couple of evenings or a week at most to finish a small quilt and is very relaxing for me. If the stitches are less than perfect or a little quirky, oh well. Antique doll quilts were not perfect either. I'm not interested in making them perfect specimens or trying to win prizes. Just having fun. I hope you are too.



13 comments:

Merilyn said...

I agree, simple handquilting lines add such charm to a small quilt!
I'm still working on the sashing at the moment!!!

Litamora's Quilt & Design said...

Such a gorgeous quilt! Wish I could take the time to do more hand quilting, it really looks so lovely!
happy sewing,
Laila

Anonymous said...

Kathy,
You are an amazing hand quilter. I love the quilt and the detailed way you chose to quilt it. Your stitches are perfect and the thread is a great neutral color. Beautiful!!

Donna said...

So, finally, I am going to put together my big little quilt, of 90 blocks (like the top quilt pictured) set on point with a 5 1/2 inch companion block. Our quilt group is having an all night sew in, and that is my project! I started making the blocks when your book came out, they have been sitting, and now it is time to sew them together!

EllenaElizabeth said...

What a dear little quilt and I love your colours as usual....thanks for posting.

Colleen said...

The simple hand quilting is wonderful. I don't think I am ready to quilt mine because I really like it and might enter it in our local quilt guild show this year. I need to put some thought into this quilting part.
The little 9 patch is darling.

Cathy said...

I am so happy to see a close up of how you quilted this little quilt. I was having a hard time figuring out just what to do. I'm still piecing my blocks together and won't be finishing my quilt by the end of the month, but that's ok, because I'm enjoying it and your challenge has really been a boost to me. I also appreciate all the tips you have in this post. Thank you!

Cathy ♥

Cathy said...

I just finished my blocks today and will work on putting the quilt together tomorrow. This has been fun. Thank you so much for the link for quilting stencils. I have such a hard time finding good ones. Hugs

marian said...

Kathy, i must admit i also love to hand quilt all my quilts. i'm not overly fussed with the length of my stitches nor the puckering as i go along because as you say, it all adds to the charm.
i'm almost finished sewing the binding on my crosses morning quilt and i'm looking forward to next month's small quilt challenge:)))

liz said...

Kathy
What kind of batting to do use in your little quilts? Love the stencils website how do you ever choose? Do you go over handquilting in any of your books?

Kathleen Tracy said...

Liz, I use Fairfield's 100% all natural cottton batting for my little quilts. No, I really do not include instructions for hand quilting in my books but there are some great books out there that do. One of my favorites is Loving Stitches -

http://www.amazon.com/Loving-Stitches-Guide-Quilting-Revised/dp/1564774988/ref=sr_1_15?s=books&ie=UTF8&qid=1327859861&sr=1-15

Ingrids strik og patchwork said...
This comment has been removed by the author.
Lesley said...

Kathleen, Thanks for a wonderful project. Today I finished putting together the Crosses Mourning Quilt.I've been following your project for the past four weeks but just didn't have the time to start 'till a few days ago. I'm a little late to have it hand quilted by midnight tonight(giggle)but can't wait to see your February quilt! I love your small quilts!