Some say...

What could possibly go wrong?  Famous last words often heard on BBC's smash hit Top Gear, and while hand stitching this fun quilt. 

can't...leave...quilting...top...gear...

 First off, the top is a duvet cover made of one thread count.  The bottom, a length of cotton, is of another thread count.  I know the rules about using sheets for backing or in this case tops of quilts, but that has never stopped me in the past, and it will not stop me in this case either. 

While obtaining the batting and backing from the fabric store we were giving stink eye was given when it was revealed that this quilt was half sheet and half cotton quilting fabric with a cotton batting.  The lady with the scissors was very helpful in reminding us that sheets were not meant for quilitng.  Uh hunh and just tell Jezza, James and Richard that they can't use whatever they damn well please to make a car or a quilt or even a caravan.   The Stig would not have been amused. Nor was I.

Rules, like traffic signs are only suggestions unless there's a cop around.  <wink wink>

I am familiar enough with the properties of cotton broadcloth as well as the quirkiness of sheet fabric.  I understand the different shrinking rates of fabrics and take that into consideration.  As it is I am a rebel and do not prewash or pretreat (short of ironing) my fabric as that handmade dorky look is what I am trying to achieve with my stitching magic.



Binding detail

When quilting a panel, which this quilt essentially is, it tends to take a special bit of planning particularly in terms of batting, stitch length, detail and open spaces.  I like to really get intricate with the detail on panels as there isn't a lot of filler I am willing to do by hand.  If I was machine quilting, I could fill in the open areas with squiggles and other stuff also called "stippling." 

I prefer instead to stitch around the highlighted areas - namely the printed bits and leave the rest open.  Warm and Natural allows for stitches to be up to a massive 10" apart.  I'm not sure I believe this claim, but rather than quilt, er court disaster I am making sure there are less than 10" spaces of clear and unstitched areas between the quilted bits. 

    

Stig Approved.




 Vital Stats:

Approximately 43 x 70 inches finished.

Stitch Per Inch: 8 spi body of quilt and 4spi on binding.

 Batting Type: Cotton - Warm and Natural brand

Binding: pre-purchased

Fabric: Front-Top Gear duvet, Back-cotton broadcloth





There Be Dragons!

This Atlas quilt was started in 2010 or so for my nephew, Geoffrey (aka "F").  The second of its kind, I started and completed this quilt in about three and a half months.  This monster is pretty good size at approximately 72 x 44".  Detailed and fairly accurate, I had a grand time studying geography while perfecting my quilting stitches.

The World at his fingertips.

Red Hot Magma.

These panels are no longer available through my source, but I have a small stash for future quilts.  The magma and magma/dragon fabric is my choice of backing.  Love this stuff.

Blanket stitch detail on the edging.

Peach Out, Apricots.
Morg

Angel for a little Girl

All you need is love, love.

When my friend, Aerial Ariel said she was going to have another baby I was so happy for her.  She and her husband are blessed with a bundle of curly blonde joy and had tried for years to have a second baby.  When all looked like it wasn't to be and they had resigned themselves to a family of three, the miracle of life once again blessed their family.  Baby on the way, better get a quilt started!  ;)

I asked Ariel if she knew the gender.  She said they weren't going to find out, but then she told me and I got started.  I knew I was going to do either a Winken, Blinken and Nod - if it was going to be a boy child, or an Angel if is was to be a girl.  As you can see it was a girl.  This is the same artist who did the Cow and Winken panels.

For Baby Girl Pederson

I knew I would have to search high and low to find the perfect backing material.  I wanted something that would be loud, and hide the fact that I was going to be stitching mainly in black, but I didn't want black for the back.  On a visit to my parent's I went to one of my favest Quilt/Needlecraft/Bead stores and there it was!

The perfect backing material!

Lo and behold!  There it was!  You know the right fabric when it comes along, it just sort of jumps out at you and says, "Tah DAH!"  This great teal with white and black polka dots did just that.  Like Tom Cruise in Risky Business, this fabric was a party waiting for an opportunity.  An opportunity I could not pass up and who better to give this gift to but a new baby.

Party on...Excellent!
Morg

Simple as ABC

all

10-12 stitches per inch

This wall hanging type quilt was the first time I was able to achieve the 10-12 stitches per inch I wanted to prove I could do.  Heirloom level quilting is what most hand quilters are looking to aspire to.  I have not been quilting as long as most but I am able to do to a pretty damn good job.  I have had people ask me how I get my sewing machine to do that stitch.  Thank you, I'll take that as a compliment.  ;)  Lately I am working on getting even stitches on both front and back and therefore they are larger, but I like the look the larger stitch gives.  Even stitches are more important to me than the actual stitch per inch count, but with each technique comes time and practice.  I am happy to say this quilt was a huge achievement for me and I am proud to show it off.

Full quilt

I bound it in black as it was the only real logical solution given the backing fabric. As you can see below:

Back and my feet.

Detail of backing fabric.  A loosely woven riot of colour.

I love the way this one came together.  I have two or three more left to do, but it will be a while before I do another.  It is quilted with close to a half dozen different coloured threads...it was fun.  About 200hrs went into this one.

Peach Out Apricots,
Morg

America The Beautiful



My State and detail of the Capitol.  (pronounced: Peer)

Appropriate that I am posting this one today, 4 July 2011.  Anyway, the quilt was completed around the later part of the Summer in 2010.  It was a gift for my dear nephew, Joshua.  I have done this particular panel several times and each time it makes me happy to gift it to a child. 

This panel was at one time available at WalMart, but is no longer in print and is hard to find.  The backing fabric was a State Bird/Flower print I think I got at Hancock or maybe Joann's or perhaps it was at the World (aka WalMart) as well.  My memory does not serve me as well as it should and with the sheer volume of fabric in my ever growing stash it is hard to keep track...and I suck with keeping good records of this stuff.  I admit it.
Hand stitched, this one probably takes me closer to 200 hrs to complete as the detailing is quite exquisite and all those inlets in Alaska are a killer!  Giggle.  This and the Atlas quilts are the few I will repeat but I love doing them for all my bitching.  And I bitch a LOT while I am quilting them, ask my friends and co workers.  But every stitch and hand cramp is worth it to see the look on a child's face or to hear how the map quilt has hooked a young person on cartography.  For The Win folks, FOR THE WIN!

Our Great Nation in a Quilt

Each state capitol is marked with a knotted stringer so it stands out and our Nation's Capitol is marked with Red, White and Blue embroidery thread knotted to show its importance among the rest. 

Detail of our Nation's Capitol and our colours

The backing fabric I usually use is "water" or "dirt" sometimes "grass" but this time I went with something educational.  State Birds/Flowers.  I've also done State Flags.  That was on a different USA Map quilt belonging to my dear nephew, F.  I will have to get pictures of that one as it is a different design.

Backing fabric

TIM-MAY!

Happy Fourth of July and Hooray Team for The United States of America!

Peach Out Apricots,
Morg

Winken, Blinken and Nod

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Winken

This was another panel quilt I did in like April or so of 2010, maybe.  Again, my lousy record-keeping has succeeded in making me look like an ass.  Point taken and will be again and again.  Winken, Blinken and Nod is apparently a fairy tale, no clue, but I love this panel.  It is by the same artist as the Cow Jumping Over the Moon and the Angel (later post).  Inweave will be prominently mentioned in another blog entry, but this is the Fabric Mecca from where these panels came.

The whole quilt

Detail of the Sailing Crew

I hand stitched this delightful number in about a month.  4-8 hrs a day 5 days a week for a month.  That's about the time frame I have to work on most of my quilts as I work at a call center and sew while I am on the phone.  I realise that sounds kind of bad, but it's very calming and I am able to keep a level head when I am concentrating on my stitches.  It's a zen thing I think.

Peach Out, Apricots.

Morg

Ed Asner and Noah's Ark



Looks like Ed Asner, no, ah?

This quilt was a flannel panel I obtained somewhere, I cannot recall when or where, but I had had it pinned for some time before I ever started quilting it.  I used about five different coloured threads for each of the different lines in the sections.   It was stitched in 3-2010. 

Noah's Ark in flannel


 I joking called this one Ed Asner and the Ark while working on it.  ;)  This quilt was given to a co-worker for her daughter.  Things came to light later that made me regret giving this quilt away, but at least I managed to get pictures of it.  It was a fun quilt to stitch.

Back of quilt, green flannel



Cow Jumping Over the Moon




 

Close up of the back fabric.

 The Cow Jumping Over the Moon is an all-time favourite of mine I've done probably a half dozen of these panels.  I recall purchasing these at my favourite fabric den in the world, InWeave in Hawarden, IA.  Watch for a future blog entry about this Fabric Mecca. 

The same artist has several other panels out including an Angel and Winken, Blinken and Nod both of which I have done as well.  The free flowing design and wonderful use of colour make this and the other panels a delight to quilt and give.

Normally when I back a Cow Jumping Over the Moon quilt I use a great dalmatian/holstein print I obtain at The World (WalMart) but this time I dug through my stash and found this delightful cow print.  I might have gotten it at this one little pretentious quilt store in Sioux City, Iowa.  Can't remember where I obtained the back fabric, but it's been a fave with all the little cows.  ;)  In fact, I am pretty sure that's where I got it, now that I think about it.  Funny how you remember these things.

Cow Jumping Over the Moon Panel

Back of the Cow/Moon quilt.

This quilt is a panel I hand-stitched and sold in March of 2010 or so.