I Ching Modern Quilt-along: Step 16 ~ Quilting
http://youtu.be/wBLHMWCAVnc
Introduction
It's taken me awhile to get back to my I Ching Modern Quilt, for a few reasons. All of a sudden I had a bunch of decisions to make!
I decided to remove a row from the quilt, because the rectangular shaped made from five rows instead of the square made from six seemed more balanced.
I bought a green linen back for the quilt but decided I didn't like the coloring so I went returned to the store and bought a purple/blue linen for the back.
I basted all my layers together: quilt top / two layers of batting, one cotton and one poly low-loft / backing, but decided I needed to pre-wash the fabric so I removed all of the basting!
I quilted a pattern on half the quilt and decided I didn't like, so I removed all of the stitching.
I quilted the wrong color thread and decided I didn't like it, so I removed all the stitching again!
Okay - watch the video above for proof that I'm finally quilting away!
Information
Quilting: Hand quilting takes time but I love it because it's meditative --more so when you don't have a back-beat going on, and I aesthetically like seeing the mark of the hand. When hand-quilting I'm in the posture of prayer. My heart is bowed between head and hands. My fingers form the mudra for understanding.
Batting: I used two layers of batting, one low-loft poly on top, the other a very thin needle-punched cotton on the bottom. The poly gives it fluff and the cotton adds weight.
Basting: I baste from top to bottom, side to side, then a large X from corner to corner, and finally around all four edges.
Marking: I mark the quilting pattern free-hand with chalk. Sometimes I mark only the first two or three lines and then I echo out from there without marking.
This time I tried something new. I made color photo copies of my quilt top and used a sharpie to mark in different quilt patterns. HOWEVER, it didn't work for me very well since I ended up removing all of the stitches when I tried quilting in the pattern you see on top of the pile. AND the pattern I finally decided on wasn't one of the ones I drew out. BUT maybe this will work for you. It will at least get your ideas flowing.
Needles & Thread: I like to quilt with size 006 embroidery needles, and #8 pearl cotton. I am lucky to be a 20 minute drive from one of the best needlework shops in the country Lacise, in Berkeley.
Assignment
Choose your backing wisely.
Baste your layers together: backing / batting / top.
Mark free hand with chalk.
Quilt by hand for the meditative and aesthetic benefits or...
Machine quilt if you prefer!
Previously, long, long ago, I talked about REVIEWING my quilt and the lessons I learned from the process. In the next and final installment check out my finished I Ching Modern Quilt!
It's never too late to join an online quilt-along! I'll be posting new segments of the quilt-along on Mondays. Access the archive and subscribe to the RSS feed here: I Ching Modern Quilt-along. I've set up an I Ching Modern Flickr Group if you want to share images of your sketches, process, and final results.