Tuesday, August 6, 2013

T is for Tuesday; Q is for Quilt



I've been working on a quilt since last summer...



A gift for the newlyweds, which they'll be lucky to receive
by their first anniversary!



When I'm working on the quilt, I am careful to keep my
coffee cup (or any beverage) far away from the quilt!



The pattern is called Merry-Go-Round,
which I've completely hand-pieced, and
am also hand-quilting.



It has bright happy colors, and includes many fabrics 
from the bride's past:  vintage fabrics from the bride's
great-grandmothers' stashes, fabrics from clothes 
that I sewed for her when she was little, and many
fabrics from the numerous baby quilts I've made.



I set the quilting frame up in my parents' home, as 
they have a bit more room, and it gives me an excuse
to go visit them and quilt! It's been in the frame for
about a month now, and I think I should be able to
get it done by the October anniversary...I hope.



My quilting stitches aren't exactly perfect,
or even tiny, but I tell myself that it's
 part of the 'charm of hand-made.'
I do attempt to keep them uniform in size.
In the block above, the red gingham was a dress that
I made for my daughter when she was in grade school.
A couple of the fabrics are from my maternal grandmother's
scraps, and one is even from a guitar case that I 
made in high school.  Yes, a quilted fabric guitar case.
Weird, I know. But I liked it much better than the
black 'cardboard' ones that you buy.  (I used
pre-quilted fabric on part of that guitar case, wasn't up to
hand-quilting in high school! and no, I don't
 really play guitar any more)



The cable quilting designs are marked in pencil and
then stitched.  The triangle and rectangle shapes are
just 'eyeballed.'  So they aren't always perfect...



It's challenging to get your shoulders, arms and hands
to 'turn' in the right direction to follow the quilting design.
I find I have to pace myself so as not to get sore muscles.
Many quilters have their quilt tops machine-quilted these
days, but I really enjoy hand quilting.  I don't exactly know
how many hours I have in this quilt. At least 500 hours, 
at a guess.  If I kept an accurate track of how long it takes,
I might never make another!

Here's how I have my morning 'mocha' coffee...
to your coffee cup add 1 heaping teaspoon of cocoa powder,
a pinch of salt, a teaspoon of vanilla, sweetener to taste,
(I use any Stevia sweetener)
and a splash of fat-free milk.  Yum!

Visit Bluebeard and Elizabeth at
to see what others are doing on Tuesday!
Perhaps they are having Tea on Tuesday,
instead of coffee, like me...


18 comments:

  1. You brought back SO many memories when you described your quilt. It is divine, and hand made is the ONLY way my grandmother would have gone. She had a big hoop, bigger than her lap, that she used to quilt her quilts. She always sat in the evening after the dishes were dried and put away and quilted. It didn't matter what time of year it was. It was practically a religion with her.

    Speaking of various fabrics you used, my grandmother made me a Sunbonnet Sue quilt when I was quite young. She used all the fabric from dresses she sewed me when I was in kindergarten. The head, shoes, and hands were always a solid color. They were probably used as accents on my dresses. The bonnet and dress were matching fabric that had some type of pattern. Although we were probably quite "poor," my clothes never reflected it, and I had more outfits than most of my "rich" friends.

    Thanks for joining T today, and for bringing back memories that were so important to me. BTW, good luck with the October deadline (grin).

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  2. OMG! This is the most stunning quilt I have ever seen. I LOVE quilts and am slowly doing away with "blankets" and going to just quilts. So much more comfy to sleep under. How long has this taken you?
    Happy T Day

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  3. Wait a minute... you QUILT, TOO?!?

    That's amazing.

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  4. What a labor of love! It is gorgeous! Love that you are using pieces of the past in the quilt as well. Such a treasure.
    Happy Tuesday!

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  5. OMGoodness me, what a fabulous quilt that is... and you not only have sewn all tose pieces but are quilting it by hand! Paint me impressed! I don't think I would care how long you took making it, you have sewn memories that will be passed on for generations.

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  6. O my gosh! as a massage therapist, I can tell you YOU DESERVE A MASSAGE after all of that work!! wow, lucky lucky couple. I hope they treasure that quilt and take good care of it.
    Happy T to you!
    Peace~
    Dawn

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  7. Your quilt is beautiful and I applaud your hand work. Hand quilting should be an Olympic sport as it uses every muscle in your body. twisting and turning and contorting to set the stitches just right. I know...I tried....but I failed. I may try again someday....maybe.
    I am going to go snoop around your blog now.
    Happy Tuesday!
    Marianne #20

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  8. love all the beautiful fabrics and that quilt makes my heart sing. Awesome work! Thanks for sharing. Vickie

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  9. Hello, this quilt is beautiful!! How special this is to be made from all kinds of old memories. My grandma made baby quilts for all the grandchildren, so I'm a lucky owner of 4 sweet baby quilts for my kids. I've kept them all and will hand down to my grandchildren. I love seeing homemade treasures like this. What a lot of work you put into it. Good luck finishing it and what yummy treat your drinking.
    Happy Tuesday!

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  10. Oh my word...that is a stunning quilt!! And you go girl to be hand piecing and quilting it! I found hand quilting to be very relaxing. Unable to quilt now as my hands won't hold the needle. So I'll just enjoy yours! Thanks for sharing. Hugs

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  11. I don't know how to quilt and am so impressed. That is a gorgeous pattern and what a lot of work. They will treasure it forever!
    Thanks for visiting my blog and happy Tuesday. I'd keep my cup away from that quilt, too. Oh, and I am a coffee drinker also. ;)

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  12. Just a flying visit for T for Tuesday - late but happy to see everyone this week... Cheers Mxx #23

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  13. Your quilt is so beautiful I almost forgot to look for your tea cup/mug. You are a talented quilter.

    Darla

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  14. The quilt is just gorgeous--I am sure it is going to be treasured! I made my daughter one when she was small (she's 20 now), and I always get a tear in my eye when I walk in her room and she has herself wrapped up in it! Happy T Tuesday!

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  15. ooo however long it takes that beautiful quilt is worth waiting for...what a precious and heartfelt gift incorporating special fabrics too!

    You are a lady with many talents Dianne!

    Happy T day to you ;)
    oxo

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  16. Love your quilt and yes it is wise to keep the cup away from the quilt

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  17. Love the quilt! Can you tell me what type of frame you use?

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