Sunday, July 13, 2014

Starting with the feathers

I started hand quilting my pumpkin seed quilt a couple of weeks ago.  It has a lot of negative space for some wonderful handquilting.  I thought some feathers would be great to accent the simple scrappy pumpkin seeds.  I have named this quilt Simple But Not.  I think it is fitting since the design is simple but the quilting will make it marvelous.


For Christmas last year, Santa brought me a wonderful new quilt hoop on a stand.  I opted for the 18 inch hoop since the hoop I had been using was a fourteen and sometimes I felt it was a bit small.  Well, when I started quilting the feathers I felt the 18 inch was too big, so my wonderful hubby added some magnets to my old hoop so now I can use it with my new stand  It will be great to use the bigger hoop when I am stitching background lines, but it is so wonderful to have the smaller hoop when I need to turn and reach across the hoops for smaller motifs.

I  feel so much better this week about using the spoon instead of the aunt becky.  It took a while to make the adjustment but I no longer have the urge to go back to using the aunt becky. 

I also finished up block 21 of Baltimore Garden. I thought I would share a pic of some the embroidery that I added to this block.  It was so much fun to add a few accents here and there. I think I need to take a crazy quilt class soon.


  I am linking up with Kathy blog today to see what others are slow stitching.  Slow stitching is such a wonderful relaxing way to spend a few hours each day!

21 comments:

  1. did you get the spoon that Jinny Beyer uses? I have always wondered how it worked. I have a square hoop put away that I never use - I just don't have a good place in the house to use it - maybe one day - I am hanging on to it until that time comes - I have 2 sizes of frames that go with it I think they are 14 and 18 but not sure

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    1. Yes, it is the same spoon Jinny uses. I was having problem with the aunt becky wearing out and causing a callous on my finger. I started quilting on a frame and ended up enjoying stitching at a hoop much better. Isn't it great we can enjoy the same craft and there are so many methods to accomplish the same thing.

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  2. How wonderful that your hubby was able to configure your old hoop to fit the stand! I can't wait to see more of your feathers.

    I'm really going to miss some hand stitching today ... although I will be taking my Martha Washington's Flower Garden hexies with me to retreat ... maybe we'll have some free time tonight where I can get in some hand stitching.

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    1. How exciting to be able to enjoy a quilting retreat! I am sure you will find a few minutes to add a few hexies. Looking forward to your posts about the retreat.

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  3. Such pretty feathers ( that link that you sent to me a week or so ago was much appreciated...I did a little better. Not like yours better, but I'll get there ! :)

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  4. Lovely embroidery! I am off to do some hand quilting too?

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  5. Very pretty feather quilting. I love the embroidery you added. I am looking forward to seeing the finished projects.

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  6. Wonderful quilting start! I am really looking forward to following your progress on this one. Always good to hear how you are finding the tools you try :)

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  7. Love your work.
    Can we see pictures of your hoop and how your husband fixed it to work with the smaller one.
    thank You

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    1. Rose Mary I will do a post tomorrow on my stand and how it works. Thanks for stopping by.

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  8. Beautiful quilting! Enjoy!
    Would also love to see photos of your old and new hoops!

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    1. Thanks Kathy! I accomplished quite a bit this afternoon. Then I worked on my next applique block. Looking forward to a few more hand quilting stitches tonight! All in all a very productive day slow stitching

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  9. Looking forward to seeing the stand and your quilt in it tomorrow! I really need to pick up my hand quilting again...but it is so darn hot down here right now.

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    1. I usually don't hand quilt in the summer because of the heat. But I have found the stand does help. My husband and dog like the ceiling fan going pretty fast so it is nice to get under the quilt. LOL I love the heat much more than my husband and the dog

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  10. Your feather quilting is really pretty. You got me curious and I had to go back to find out what an "aunt becky" was!

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  11. Slow stitching is lovely. I wish I had the time to hand stitch

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    1. I just got a walking foot for my machine, so I hope to try some machine quiting. But, I find hand work so much easier. I guess with me it has become a habit something I enjoy of everyday.

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