Sansarya

Picture of the star quilt I made for my daughter's 8th grade graduation (it took me a few months to finish quilting it )



The design is Lone Star, but it's a complicated tradition of the Lakota to make and give away star quilts for lots of different occasions (death, birth, graduations, weddings, etc.) More info here: Lone Star Quilts - A Quilt with History and Meaning

I used to make these kinds of quilts to subsidize my income, back when my kids were little, but when our house burned down all my quilting supplies and fabric stash were lost (about 15 years' worth). So, I am slowly building a stash up again and re-discovering the joy of quilting. I only quilt by hand because a) I don't have a machine that can handle machine quilting; b) I generally don't like the feel of machine quilted quilts. They seem stiffer and less comforting than a hand quilted quilt; c) I don't know how to machine quilt that well, though I've experimented with it for smaller things like pillows and bags; and d) I enjoy the long time it takes to hand quilt something (sometimes months, though I've made a hand quilted quilt in as little as 24 hours before).

__________________

ElphieBroome

Its gorgeous! Nicely done
I made an "around the world" quilt and a "log cabin" quilt a few years back. They were machine quilts, but it was a lot of fun, actually. The star ones always intimidated me a bit, though, heh....and I think that anyone that has the talent and patience to hand quilt and have it come out SO beautiful is quite admirable. Its lovely, really

__________________


.::Elphen~Made: Jewelry by Elphie::.

The Elphen~Made blog

eku Zhong

thats GORGEOUS
i always wished i had the patience for quilting.. and totally admire (and envy) ppl who do.

__________________

Miriel Enfield

Yay, quilt!

My mom made me a quilt when I was around your daughter's age. Still have it.

MissKillian Barbosa

That is just gorgeous.. and you did it all by HAND? My goodness!

__________________
Silly Ol' Killy Dilly

Khamon

That's some lovely work that is.

__________________
But of bliss and glad life there is little to be said, before it ends; as works fair and wonderful, while still they endure for eyes to see, are their own record, and only when they are in peril or broken for ever do they pass into song. - Quenta Silmarillion

Please Visit Our Gardens and Our Website

Serene S.

That's absolutely beautiful, Sansarya, and I'm sure your daughter will treasure it forever. I love quilts and wish I had the ability and patience to do it. Around here they're so expensive to buy because most are Amish made and usually intended more for tourists, so priced higher than they should be for just that reason. Someone made me a quilt when my daughter was a baby, and she still has it and I'm sure she will always.

Brig McD

That's beautiful Sans! I *LOVE* handstitched quilts. What a wonderful heirloom for your daughter.

My grandmother and great grandmother (and I'm sure all the grands before them) were quilters. I still have the one my grandmother gave me for my graduation. She used the same fabrics that she used for the clothes she made for herself, so I picture my grandma in every square of fabric, and remember what she looked like in each outfit.

My most prized posessions are quilt tops that I have of hers. She had pieced them together, but didn't have a chance to quilt them to the backing before she passed away. One of these days I'd love to have them finished.

Ayu Sura

Ohh... that's awesome.

How do you play WoW and still have time to quilt? The quilt I started for my hubby in 2004 is um... languishing in the closet...

__________________
"You broke the rules! Now I pull out all your pubic hair!" - Tenacious D

Leilany LaFollette

That's beautiful! Thanks for sharing I wish I knew somebody around here that would teach me how to quilt.

__________________
My chronic nastiness and obdurate refusal to look on the bright side of things goes far beyond garden variety misanthropy.- Joe Queenan

Sansarya

I have to share my computer with the other gamer/WoW addicts in the house, so there's plenty of time to work on a quilt while waiting for the computer watching a movie or something

Ayu Sura

Beginning quilting is fairly straightforward... LOTS of information online

As a first time quilter, when I looked into it, it was basically broken down into these components:

1. What do you want the top to look like? The basic principle of the thing appeared to be: split your top design into manageable blocks, and when you figure out how to cut and piece together one block, you're half way there. I started with just one big material in the middle and a border on all four sides.

2. What do you want the bottom to look like? Same thing as above - it's usually a lot more basic - most people just have one big piece of the same material for the underside. Of course I opted for the not-so-simple - making my quilt reversible - big piece of material, border on four sides

3. Putting top, bottom and filling together - this part was basically logistics - match the center point of each piece, align everything, lay everything flat, pin the hell out of the whole thing - you can do it as a novice, but it really helps if you're not clumsy and you have lots of space and an extra hand...

4. quilting - you draw patterns on your quilt with a pencil, and you start in the middle and quilt outwards. The actual stitch is amazingly simple - needle up, needle down, needle up, needle down... Simplest pattern? lines - I crew diagonal lines across my quilt with a long ruler.

5. binding the edges - okay, this part I haven't done yet - I'll let you know when I get there

This is pretty much the basics, right, Sans?

PS: don't start with a huge quilt, like I did - or get ready to crawl all over the floor a lot...

Vertigo Paris

That is a gorgeous quilt, Sans!

Quilting is an awesome past time, I love doing it. I have made a few but always ended up giving them away. One of these days I will make one for just me.

__________________
SLU Clubhouse - Open 24/7
Vist at http://slurl.com/secondlife/Tan/138/25/25

Quote:

Originally Posted by Trout Recreant Helllllooooo Verti! At last! The chance to rate one of my favorite people! Absolutely beautiful pictures. You are a strong, opinionated woman who is not at all afraid to express herself both verbally and physically. You have a strong sense of fantasy and mystery surrounding a drop dead beauty. You maintain an aloof intelligent exterior that we long to break through, but which might intimidate some men. It shows a complexity of personality that few possess. Based on these pictures, I am giving you an 8.4 on the official Trout Recreant Scale of Slutiness. You are a slut, but only in the best possible way, and any man lucky enough to see that side of you should count his blessings.

Sarah Nerd

That's absolutely gorgeous. I think hand done quilts are far more meaningful, and I admire anyone who has the ability and patience to make them.

__________________

www.SarahNerd.com
http://www.your2ndplace.com/sarahnerd

Cristiano

Great job - it is beautiful.

__________________
"At least he died doing what he loved most - blogging on the Huffington Post" - 30 Rock

* slu stuff *

Lewis Luminos

You did all that by hand? That's gorgeous.

__________________
-- Just Add Ginger -- -- Plurk -- -- last.fm -- -- flickr --

Margo Z

beautiful =- I do all kinds of quilting and love it all - It helps keep me sane and I get to be creative at the same time - I decorate my elementary school classroom with them rather than posters. Losing your fabric stash must have been a huge blow - we all donated here to quilter in FL who lost their stashes in hurricanes. this is my quilt for this year's class - my dog's behind too

Be11a Lefevre Bunny Swan

You people are way too talented for me. (but then you probably already know that.. ha ha ha ha)
I pat myself on the back when I hem my pants.

Zanne Boucher

I agree, hand-quilted quilts have a lot nicer feel to them than machine-stitched. Besides, the quilts I do are wayyyyy too big to try and feed through my normal sized sewing machine, lol. Trust me, I've tried it. xD Right now I'm working on a pinks/whites quilt for my daughter's bed, but it's sitting in my room undone. Shame shame on me. I just have a little bit left to quilt and then the edging. That quilt is GORGEOUS Sans, really beautiful. Come finish mine for me, rofl.

__________________




"If you HAVE to say the wrong thing, say it loudly and with consequence!"