Saturday, August 8, 2009

what I've been doing

Hi everyone. I don't have any stamping to show you today. I have something completely different. I've been working on a quilt. I love quilting even more than stamping. However, because quilting usually involves much larger projects than stamping, you don't get the instant gratification that stamping supplies. The first picture is the quilt with the borders on and most of the quilting done. You can see the batting hanging out on the edges. The second picture is the completed quilt.

I did not make the whole thing -- I just did the borders and finishing, but even that was still a lot of work. The blocks on this quilt were all pieced and quilted by hand. The mother of a friend took a class at her church in the early 1980's and made all the blocks and had them all sewn together. But she never finished the quilt and ended up giving it to her daughter. Since the daughter (my friend) doesn't quilt, after her mom passed away, she decided that she really wanted to find someone who could finish the quilt for her. That's where I came in. She asked me if I would be willing to do this for her. I told her yes before I realized how big a project I was getting myself into. I kept track of the time I spend quilting and that was over 60 hours. That was in addition to sewing on the border strips. I estimate that I spent more than 75 hours to complete the quilt -- just the borders, binding and a label. So you can just guess how many hours it took to make all the blocks.


What is really interesting is that I made a quilt just like this one, oh different colors, but the blocks were the same size and patterns. My sister and I took a 12-week class at a local quilt shot and each week we worked on a new block. These are 15" blocks with a 2" lattice strip around each block, so you can see that it was a big project. My friend and I were trying to determine when her mom would have made this quilt, but we weren't really sure.

I asked my sister if she might remember the mom, since we had both attended that church at one time. She said she didn't, but...

Here's where the story gets better. My sister said, "I taught that class at the church and you helped me!" What she remembered is that we took the class on Monday night, and then on Thursday night, we went over to the church and taught what we'd learned earlier in the week -- well, she taught and I just helped her remember all the details. I don't remember doing that, but then at that time I was newly married and working full time, so my brain was probably on overload, and now, my memory is just seriously lacking.

I do remember that for both of us, the border was the hardest part -- and I volunteered to do the border on my friend's quilt - YIKES! I think the border may have seemed more difficult, because by the time we got to that, the class was over and we were now floundering on our own.

This last picture is the quilt that I made. I've made a lot of quilts since that day, but I piece most of them on the machine. Some are hand-quilted and some are tied with yarn. And I know that even now I have several that are partially done. Hopefully, now that I'm done with the quilt for my friend, I'll be able to get some more of my own finished.

Thanks so much for stopping by. Have a wonderfilled day.

5 comments:

Starla said...

Wow. I am just amazed at all the time quilting takes. You will be able to work on your own quilts without guilt now!!

Anonymous said...

I too am a quilter and know how much time and effort goes into making a quilt. You did a fantastic job both on your friends quilt and on yours. I also know what you mean about UFO's(unfinished objects)Lol. I have a ton of them, but like to wait for the cooler weather to work on them. I would much rather start something new than finish a quilt.Lol. Someday, I'll have to show you some of mine. I used to enter them into the Wisconsin State Fair, this is the first year that I don't have an entry. Cards and quilting just seem to go hand in hand, don't they?

Have a happy stamping/quilting day!

Trish in Wisconsin

Diane said...

Such beautiful work Melodie!!!
You are so talented,they are both gorgeous!!!

Connie said...

First of all, what a good friend you are to finish your friend's quilt. Second, I also love to sew and stamp. It is really hard to find the time to do both. Of course I work full time too, so that makes a difference. I am challenging myself to do more sewing, wish me luck!

Anonymous said...

Wow, what beautiful work. It is something I have always wanted to do but never have. Thanks so much for sharing. Hugs n' Stuff, Lynne