Sunday, September 5, 2021

Quilting Welsh Beauty, a Whole Cloth Quilt

Several years ago I purchased a queen sized whole cloth flimsy called Welsh Beauty  from  Chris who had purchased it  from a shop. 

I took the quilt top out of the bag at the end of June and laid it on a bed upstairs to relax the creases. You don't press these whole cloth quilts ahead of time or you'll set the blue marking!

Here is a link to the Welsh Beauty available from the Stencil Company. And here is the link to the page with all the available queen sized whole cloth quilts if you're interested. Whole cloth quilt tops are also available at some fabric stores too. 

I've thought about quilting this quilt for several years but after watching Kathi Clower quilting her Garden Bouquet  and Kathy Reeves quilting her Welsh Beauty as a wedding present for her daughter, I decided it was finally time for me to get started.

Decisions, decisions, do I want to quilt the traditional way, all in one color thread like Kathy Reeves? Or if I want to quilt utilizing some colored thread like Kathi Clower?

My final decision, I'm going with two threads but the 2nd thread is a neutral too. For the main body, I'm using natural YLI hand quilting thread. For the feathers and flowers, I'm going to use a variegated #12 Sulky cream/beige thread called Parchment. The heavier thread will give a different texture than the regular thread, at least I hope it does. 

This may not be as flashy as Kathi Clower's quilt but I just couldn't decide what colored threads to use. I laid different colored threads on top and just shook my head. In the end, I decided to go with my original plan. 

I'm using Hobbs Tuscany Collection 100% wool batting which is available from Connecting Threads. The batt was also opened ahead of time so the creases could relax.

Muslin is the only fabric I can find in the 120" length anymore. But I remembered several years ago, when Calico Point was having sale on quilt backing fabric, I purchased a 120" length of 108" wide backing. This feathery paisley fabric will be perfect for this quilt.

I didn't want to use muslin backing since the front is muslin and will show the quilting perfectly fine. I wanted the back side to be a different fabric from the front. A friend asked me what fabric I'll use for binding, ah . . . I don't know, I'll decide that later!

Here is more information about whole cloth quilts from Carolyn Gibbs Quilts. There are a lot of links to read.

I've enjoyed my quilting break since Blue Stars Around the Garden but Welsh Beauty is in the quilting frame ready for quilting.

I'm going to take a blogging break for the rest of the week. I'll be back next Sunday to show you how much quilting has been accomplished!

Just a side note - Here's a link to the Michiana Mennonite Relief Sale website.

Here's a link to the Quilt Auction. You will be able to view all the quilts in the auction so far. You will be able to bid online during the live auction. The sale is Saturday, September 25.

Linking to Patchwork & Quilts, Kathy's Slow Sunday Stitching,  Oh Scrap, Show & Tell Monday, Monday Making, Handmade Monday, Design Wall Monday, BOM's Away

28 comments:

Kim said...

Oh wow, the Welsh Beauty Whole Cloth quilt is going to be amazing! I would find such a quilt intimidating as there would be nowhere to hide; all the quilting stitches would have to be near perfect. But, Gretchen, you will do this lovely quilt the justice it deserves, as your hand quilting is always a joy to behold. LOVE the paisley fabric you have chosen to back it. I cannot wait to see this quilt each week as it progresses.

Created by Kathi said...

Gretchen... I love your wholecloth welsh beauty in your frame... I hope you see a nice difference between the 2 weights of threads... the variegated will be nice as will the YLI on the background parts... I love that yours has a darker look overall than my wholecloth... it almost looks tea stained or coffee stained instead of beige as mine is.... Happy Stitching! Kathi

Julierose said...

I am totally blown away with your project--that is an amazing tour de force. Can't wait to see how it's going next week...good luck and enjoy your quilting hugs, Julierose

Karla (ThreadBndr) said...

Wow, that quilt will be stunning. Your quilting is always so beautiful.

I have a pair of wholecloth pillows from The Stencil Company in the stash. Thought I'd start out with a 'taster' to see if my quilting is up to par before diving into a huge project.

The Cozy Quilter said...

Your beautiful stitches will bring this whole cloth quilt to life!

Karen - Quilts...etc. said...

That will be a beauty - I keep telling myself to get a whole cloth to work on as I have always wanted to and never get around to it. When I do get one I will quilt it with a variegated color thread as that is what I want - I will be following your progress - thanks for mentioning about not pressing the piece first hadn't thought of that!

Chris said...

Maybe I can buy it back again after you are finished quilting it. I love watching your hand quilting progress. Seeing those nice taut stitches parading across the top.

Gretchen Weaver said...

I'm afraid you wouldn't be able to afford what I'd charge for this quilt after it's finished. The quilting going to take a long time but I've started the process now. Maybe you should find a smaller whole cloth project to hand quilt.

Gretchen Weaver said...

The background is cream colored, not beige or coffee stained. It just depends on the lighting. This quilt is going to take awhile!

Karrin Hurd said...

That Welsh Beauty is going to be gorgeous! I look forward to seeing your quilting progress!

CathieJ said...

I have always wanted to try quilting a whole cloth quilt. I have bookmarked Welsh Beauty as it is one of the prettiest pattern that I have ever seen. Thank you for the link. Enjoy your quilting.

Jenny said...

How exciting, another beauty loaded in the frame and ready to go. I'll look forward to seeing your stitches bring this to life.

K Reeves said...

I bet you are finished before me! Love your set up. My backing is a gray paisley!

Melisa- pinkernpunkinquilting said...

I am so looking forward to seeing your progress on this quilt, Gretchen. I am always amazed by all that you accomplish and you are a constant inspiration. Happy quilting.

Gretchen Weaver said...

I love paisley! I don't know I'll finish before you do, there is a LOT of quilting on this quilt. It's going to take quite awhile.

Sylvia@Treadlestitches said...

Wow, this is going to be beautiful! A labor of love, of course. Good luck and happy stitching!

Alycia~Quiltygirl said...

Oh My gosh!! one - you are handquilting this? oh my!! it will be stunning!

Robin said...

This is a major project but it is going to be so beautiful when it is done. Nothing beats the sunshine and shadows of hand quilting.

Jay said...

I'm eager to follow your progress on this one, as always. I have a couple of baby-size whole cloth panels, but haven't had the nerve to start one yet. Maybe your doing this one is the impetus I need?

Sue said...

Wow what a mammoth task you have set yourself Gretchen. It's amazing that you don't seem to suffer any problems with your hands or back! Well done! Looking forward to seeing your progress.


Annette Mandel said...

My package came with the unfolded binding strips included. Hope you find them

Chookyblue...... said...

Looking forward to seeing this come to life......

QuiltGranma said...

Already beautiful, anticipating the lovely finish this will become! What is the present size?

Birthe Marie said...

This is going to be a wonderful and beautiful quilt Happy stitching!

Frédérique - Quilting Patchwork Appliqué said...

What a wonderful project! It's going to take some time, but it's also going to be a beauty!

Quilter Kathy said...

So interesting to see how you set up a quilt on the frame. The thread colour is an important decision especially for a whole cloth quilt and you have to go with your intuition on that. I will enjoy watching this come to life!

Vivian said...

Ahh, so that's how you started! It's always interesting to know the inspiration for the start of a project. I look forward to checking out the other WC quilts made and the history information. Encourages me to get back to my own journey with this design!

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