I was able to quilt the bottom half of four applique blocks on Elegant Garden. They're so pretty! I'm using a wool batt and that makes the applique slightly puff, the texture is wonderful!
Here are the blocks from right to left.
The pins show me where to start quilting. It's easy to miss some applique when there are a lot of little pieces.
Normally I quilt for an hour and stop but sometimes I stop sooner. It just depends on how my thumb feels. I don't wear the support brace while I'm quilting, my stitches aren't as good.
If you place the background stencil correctly, the lines match up at the seam lines. I like how they fit together. There should actually be a tiny little square in the middle of the square that is there now but it's so small, I decided to leave it out.
The blocks are stitched in the ditch along the seam lines and on both sides of the brown border. After I took these pictures, I rolled the bottom stick twice and I'll start quilting the top of these blocks this week.
Hand quilting isn't a race, it's a slow and steady process.
Last Sunday I showed you several stencils I marked the quilt with. I was asked about the name of the stencils. Neither one has a name however the large background stencil does have a label that says it came from the Stencil Co. The other stencil does not have a label to say where it came from. It can probably be found on the Stencil Co. website also.
Elegant Garden is designed by Edyta Sita, Laundry Basket Quilts. My Elegant Garden is finished differently than the pattern, my outside border is different. After the trauma of piecing the center block, I decided I was NOT going to piece anymore of those stars and settled for a simple outside border. I made this quilt because I liked the applique blocks, not the pieced outside border.
Linking to Patchwork & Quilts, Kathy's Slow Stitching Sunday, Stitching Stuff, Oh Scrap, Sew & Tell, Handmade Monday, Design Wall Monday, Monday Musings, To Do Tuesday
So fun to revisit each of your beautiful appliqué blocks as you quilt them. Take care of your hand. Gail at the cozy quilter
ReplyDeleteDear Gretchen, What a delight to see your appliqué and hand quilting, thank you.😊
ReplyDeleteah yes the quilting...best part in my book....lovely blocks too
ReplyDeleteLovely blocks and quilting! Sarah quiltingbythesea
ReplyDeleteYour quilting stitches look pretty neat and even to me. It's a slow process, but so worth it.
ReplyDeleteYour blocks are so lovely. I can't quilt for an hour straight. I believe my best was 30 min once but then my back started to complain. And you are right; it is not a race. Little by little, it will all get done.
ReplyDeleteI love the idea of putting a pin where you've stopped around the applique. Very smart. Enjoy the process. ;^)
Good morning and thank you for the close up pictures. They really show the depth of the colour of your fabrics. Lovely work, Gretchen.
ReplyDeleteI hope you are able to rest your thumb enough between quilting sessions to not have to take a break from hand quilting. That wool batting sure adds beautiful texture to your applique design.
ReplyDeleteI've been wearing the thumb supports at night while I sleep and that has really helped with the pain. Limiting my quilting to an hour has also helped. And I only quilt once a day.
DeleteI always like to see your quilting. I spent time this week scrolling through your quilts from past years to get some border quilting ideas.
ReplyDeleteThis is such a beautiful quilt, Gretchen! I love seeing your applique blocks and quilting up close. I went and looked at the original quilt pattern and I like your border finish better, too!
ReplyDeleteI like how you wrote that hand quilting isn't a race, but a slow and steady process. Beautiful words for a beautiful quilt.
ReplyDeleteooooooh! I'm long past doing fine stitching ...but these pieces are gorgeous, and so worthy of collecting...love the fall colors, as they are my favorite!
ReplyDeleteThe quilting on "Elegant Garden" turned out absolutely exquisite! Achieving such crisp seam alignment and smooth curved stitching across floral blocks takes tremendous patience and a steady hand. Spending hours at the sewing machine measuring fabric strips and pressing seams can be quite demanding on the eyes. In the evening, when I pack away my rotary cutter and want to clear my head, taking a quick mental breather on playregal helps me decompress and reset. Thank you for sharing your beautiful needlework!
ReplyDeleteI'm so glad you are able to keep hand quilting. Yours is gorgeous. I used to love hand quilting with wool batting.
ReplyDeleteBeautiful blocks and hand quilting, Gretchen. How many blocks are you quilting?
ReplyDeleteThere are 25 blocks in the quilt.
DeleteGretchen, these blocks are so beautiful and your hand quilting is exquisite. I hope you had a lovely day with needle and thread. Hugs.
ReplyDeleteLooking lovely - the quilting always brigs to life the gorgeous applique. xx
ReplyDeleteI just love this quilt! Your applique work is so wonderful and so is your quilting! The wool batting--wowsa! Wonderful inspiration, thanks Gretvchen!
ReplyDeleteYour Elegant Garden is gorgeous, Gretchen! Excellent stencil choices too -- I love how those radiating straight lines contrast with the curvy botanical shapes in your appliqué.
ReplyDeleteWow - what a beautiful start to the quilting. I had no idea the wool batting would give that extra loft and texture.
ReplyDeleteThe extra puffy from the wool batting is a great texture. <3 Thanks for sharing in Sew & Tell.
ReplyDeleteBeautiful applique' and your quilting looks great. I do not hand quilt but it is on my list of things I want to learn.
ReplyDeleteI just love that quilt. When that book first came out, one of the quilt shops here in Indy did a block of the month with Elegant Garden. Yes. I collected the kits, but I'm not sure if I still have them. Your quilt is gorgeous.
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