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)

Dust off that half quilting hoop you have stuffed away somewhere and let's learn how to use it!   It may feel awkward at first, but soon it will be your saving grace when trying to finish hand quilting the edges of your quilt. In order to load your quilt, work on a table or flat surface. The ticking is where you will pin the edge of your quilt, being careful not to attach it so deeply that you will catch the ticking with your quilting stitches. Use study, large pins, what some call "nails" - not the fine, very bendy kind we like to piece with on our sewing machines. Here is the very edge of my quilt.  I usually quilt as far as I can with my regular 14-inch round hoop.  The large half hoops are not balanced as nicely, and therefore a little awkward.  That is because the straight edge where the ticking is located is lighter than the round edges securing your quilt. See my blue line...that is my reminder to quilt no farther. The tension adjustment is just like a regular...