This past week I’ve been digging deep into my project pile to finally finish a couple UFO’s (That’s “Unfinished Object” in quiltin’ speak. Most quilters have about 5 or so half finished projects laying around).
This is my “Geese in the Forest” Quilt. It was a BOM (Block of the month) by Twiddletails.
I used vintage bed sheets and Kona white. Now I’ve begun to hand-quilt this beast (It’s 61″ x 61″, so that’s big for me).
I’m not super happy with the one whole line I’ve sewn so far, so I think I’m going to switch over to Perle Thread for a slightly chunkier look. I am experienced at hand finishing clothing, but I can’t seem to get the hang of hand-quilting. I always feel like my stitches are too big and the stitches on the back are super teeny. If anyone has any tips, it would be greatly appreciated!
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My second WIP is a bee quilt. I had the ladies from Vintage Sheet Quilting Bee make me a block from the first issue of Fat Quarterly. The tutorial was by Aneela Hoey.
I’m now working on sewing double borders to each block and sashing. I’m really excited about the striped borders floating in Robert Kaufman Linen.
I’m linking this up with WIP Wednesday at Freshly Pieced. Thanks for stopping by!
I am taking a hand-quilting class Saturday, so let’s sit down together afterwards and do some practice.
It’s a date!
I love, love, love that quilt! I have never hand quilted before, yours looks great!!! 🙂
I’m impressed that you’re hand quilting that gorgeous quilt. That’s something I haven’t tried yet, but it’s on my list.
Both quilts are gorgeous!
i love love love the flying geese. the bee blocks are great with the stiped borders. i love the way it looks with the linen. nice job!
I also love old sheets, especially with the white background! Very fresh and summery! When hand quilting through sheets, it is definitely more difficult to get a rhythm and to get smaller stitches because the fabric is more tightly woven than the Kona cotton you are using. When you use a hoop or quilt frame, allow a little slack – you shouldn’t have it so tight that you can bounce a coin off it. The idea is to be able to rock your hand back and forth as you needle. Practice and more practice is the key and work on making those stitches even – eventually you will notice they are getting smaller!
Thank you so much for the tips! Yes, I think I just need to practice. Probably by the end of the quilt, I’ll want to redo the first stitches!
Love your use of vintage sheets! The geese are fantastic. I’m planning some hand quilting while the Olympics are on!
Sweet geese quilt——– my it is stunning!! You should def try some Finca #8 great stuff!!
Thanks! I just looked it up and I’m going to try it out on a project!
The quilt is amazing. I like the look of the hand stitching. It’s on my to try list so I’m not much help with advise.
I love that you used vintage sheets in your quilt. It’s going to be beautiful when it’s finished.
You might already be using these, but one thing that really helped me was to switch to using quilting needles called betweens. The needles are more flexible so that makes weaving them in and out of the layers easier.
thanks! I LOVE betweens.
Great use of the sheets! Love the colors too, of both projects, and the floating striped border.
Beautiful fabrics in your quilt! 🙂
I REALLY love this version of flying geese, and that you used vintage sheets makes it twice as cool. Really great.
Hi, These look fabulous!! Just got your email via tgiff site. do you know you are a no reply blogger? Can you please email me so I have your email address – I’ve popped you in for 1/0ct. 😉
cheers
Laura
STOP IT! I have wanted to make geese in a forest forever and yours is GORGEOUS! Congrats!