faulker094

At the risk of showing this "Contentment" quilt ad nauseum, I made a real effort to take some decent pictures yesterday...then I scheduled an appointment with a real photographer 75 miles away in Huntsville. I was already making the trip for another appointment and I realized I really needed help.  I took these pictures with the quilt pinned against the outside of our log home in what I thought was PERFECT indirect, balanced, natural light.  The picture of the whole quilt view gets steadily darker as you get near the top...best made efforts... The close ups of the blocks and borders look dull and a little dark, as well. I'll be watching and waiting for my new picture CD to come in the mail! I have gotten used to the effect of the hand quilted stippling.  At first, I thought it was too severe, but I like how it makes the applique motifs "pop." I quilted the larger applique motifs so there wouldn't be too much puffy "popping." The quilt top started...

Here is is, stretched out on our lumpy ol' bed...the hand quilting is done on our anniversary quilt, "Contentment." This is a crappy picture, but I will take a better one after I bind it. Thank you to all of you for your love and encouragement on this project!  I could not have done it without YOU!  This is the first thing I have finished since my parents' fatal accident, and I am in a much better place now than I was when I resumed my work on this project. Now, I am going to plunge my craggy thumb in my tub of Bag Balm and put on an old sock for the rest of the day! In stitches, Teresa   :o)

The hand quilting is progressing...hoop-full by hoop-full.  I finally got around to cleaning up the scraps and snippets left over from basting the layers and realized I used a " Quilter's Dream Cotton - Select" batting remnant.  I wanted the applique motifs to really "pop" prominently.   (Jill, was it you who asked about the batt?  It was not a " Warm and Natural" batting remnant, as I first believed.)  I have got to start stapling a label on my batting remnants... I really like hand quilting with a "Request" weight batt...it is easier to make finer stitches.  But now that I am using this thicker weight batt I am having to just do the best I can. I have all the center squares and first stop border done, so now I am concentrating on the second and outer borders. The center of the quilt (all blocks plus both skinny inner borders) is 1936 square inches to quilt. The outer border alone is 1428 square inches.   I have learned not to get to exci...

"Contentment" is a flimsy!   Now to sew a seam on the backing and get this thing basted for hand quilting.  I don't see how I can do much more than outline and echo quilt...it is soooo busy already.  I will study it as I baste and see what comes to mind... It is a hair over 59-inches square, which I hope makes it legally a wall hanging. In stitches ( and doing a happy dance! ), Teresa  :o)

The final, longest border is finished for my "Contentment" anniversary quilt... happy feet, happy dance! It will go across the top.  The left and the right border ends are more or less mirror images of each other, with different fabrics. Here are some closer pictures, from left to right. I decided not to put our names or the wedding date around the wedding rings due to the fact that those little tidbits are already incorporated into some of the individual blocks. I really hunkered down this week to get this finished as my email and housework lanquished!  Due to the way I designed the outer borders, they have gotten progressively longer as I have stitched them...I should have started with this one first! It will be nice to get my work area straightened up after having over 1000 tiny bits at loose ends during the process of getting the four borders prepped and finished. I hope to work on top assembly this afternoon and evening.  Now we will see how accurate my math was as I...