I Remain Impressed
I have seen many changes in the world of sewing and quilting.
My gosh from the time I can remember, small children played under the expanse of a quilt frame that would be put up in the living room of homes waiting for the expert hand quilters to sit around that frame. Those expert quilters were Mom and my aunts. It was not unusual for hand stitches to number from eight to ten per inch. The needles were sharp and they were amazingly short. It was the up and down motion of the wrist of the right hand to bury that needle through the layers of the quilt while the left hand was underneath guiding it right back to the surface.
I did work with Mom on quilts but I was not a fast quilter. Keeping a thimble on the fingers to assist with the jabs and pokes in itself is an art. I would end up with band-aids in multiple layers to protect my fingers until I got the thimble thing down pat.
When we lived in Madelia, Orlin put a quilt frame up in the dining room. I had pieced a quilt top called Jacob’s Ladder. I was determined to hand quilt it. It was a good thing we had an adequate table in the kitchen or we would have been hard pressed to eat our meals. Orlin, Carrie and Kevin walked around that frame for many weeks. Mom did come one day towards the end to help me finish it. That quilt got good use and as of today, I have it safely stored in the closet. Sweet!
When hand stitching became more than I could handle, using yarn or floss to tie quits worked as well.
Fast forward. I have now relinquished any thought of working with large quilts right through the finished product. I have people! Putting together quilt tops is so enjoyable for me. It takes me quite awhile. The nine point pinwheel was started in the summer of 2019. This Tuesday it has come back to me totally quilted. I am so impressed with the long-arming quilters. When I see how many stitch designs Sharon worked into this quilt, it is just plain wonderful and very much appreciated. The quilt is 89″ x 89″ and it made a dent in my stash. After I complete the wall hanging project that I had won from Creative Stitches in Bird Island, I will work on the binding.
It wouldn’t surprise me one bit if there may be another scrappy jewel coming out of the sewing studio. Time will tell. I am impressed with the work Sharon did and I am just as impressed by myself for continuing a family tradition of playing with fuzz and thread.