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Wednesday 20 June 2012

Rockin' It!

"Rockin' it"... as in rocking the needle.  I just received two mornings of hand quilting instruction from one of our guild members, Debbie Baumann.  I'm SO glad I did that!  She was a terrific teacher.  I've always wanted to learn how to quilt by hand for real, and this was a perfect opportunity with the remainder of the SQG scholarship.


I was expecting it to be quite difficult.  It was.  ; )  I find it really tough to use such teeny needles with a big fat thimble on my finger.  I did this today after coming home from the lessons.  It's just a sample of hand quilted running stitches by 'rocking the needle'.  I hooped a giant fat quarter quilt sandwich and learned SO much - knots, how to travel the needle within the quilt, how to thread baste, and different ways to mark quilting designs.

This next one was done without a hoop, and without a thimble.


I noticed a solids freestyle quilt project on her wall and said, "wow!".  Before I knew it, she had me sitting at her machine doing curved piecing.  I still can't believe it worked!  (Thanks Debbie!!)

Rocking the needle is tough - but I notice that I'm beginning to get the feel for it already, which is exciting for me.  I think hand quilted quilts are sooooo incredibly beautiful.  Thank you so much Debbie!

I'm linking to The Needle & Thread Network.  See you there!

and Lee's at Freshly Pieced!

13 comments:

Marjorie's Busy Corner said...

Good for you Monika!! If you can thread paint the way you do; you'll do just great at this....

Jennifer Scantlebury Vienneau said...

Hand quilting is so relaxing and meditative- in no time at all you will be addicted! I have been doing some lately after a long dry spell and am really enjoying it!

PrairiePeasant said...

I think I'd need to sit down with an experienced hand quilter for a little lesson if I ever decide to try it again. Good for you for making such good use of your scholarship!

Dolores said...

Way to go Monika. It's just like with everything else, practice, practice, practice. Before you know it, it will be second nature to you. So, you learned how to make a knot? Pop the knot into the fabric? Knot the thread when you've finished and bury it? One piece of advice - learn to use a thimble to push the needle through!! Your fingers will love you for it.

M-R Charbonneau said...

Yay for learning a new skill! Your hand quilting is looking really good, Monika! I suspect I may be a stab stitcher for the rest of my life. LOL.

Patti said...

Learning something new is always challenging! You are doing an amazing job already!

Jackie said...

Good for you!

Patti said...

You go girl! Your stitches look so lovely...you'll be zipping along in no time! Debbie's a good friend of mine...she is definitely fabulous!

elle said...

There is no doubt that there is something special about hand quilting.

Anonymous said...

i love hand-quilting! so meditative, so calming. glad you like it!
cheers
molly

Susan J Barker said...

the thing about hand quilting, is it is not at all like riding a bike, it takes a while for the fingers to remember how to use the thimble again if you have not done it for awhile! I have a project comming up that will need a "fat quarter" sandwich first to practice on before I get the needle "arockin"

Mary Ann Tate said...

I love hand sewing but I can't get used to the thimble. I have a lovely callous on the tip of my finger as a result:(

Alyce @ Blossom Heart Quilts said...

Wow, good job! This is one of my "Will learn one day" things, lol.

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