Although I've been on a bit of blogging break I have been doing a little hand quilting on my
Miscellany "There's a Square in There" quilt. After quilting the
original, I swore I would never quilt this pattern again. It was a pain trying to lay down the masking tape for the hand-quilted squares around the quilting pins.
BUT after much deliberation I couldn't think of a better pattern, so I'm doing it again, but this time a few changes have made it much easier. I spray basted for the first time so there's no pins, and I machine quilted in the ditch around the patterned fabric squares first, which holds it in place nicely. So I'm actually enjoying quilting it this time, and I really like the white thread against the black.
Have you tried hand quilting with nice chunky Perle Cotton yet? If you're new to it you might like to check out my
tutorial. I don't use a hoop so you don't need much to get started. I like to combine hand and machine quilting in many of my
quilts, as you can see:
So now for the giveaway. To make it a little easier for you to give this type of chunky hand quilting a go,
I'm giving away a packet of my favourite needles -
Scarlet Today Chenille size 24. It's actually a packet of various size needles including size 24, so you can see what size you prefer. I can't get these needles in Australia so I have to order from the UK, but I'd love to know if someone in Australia stocks them.
I'm also giving away a ball of white Perle Cotton no. 8, some of this adorable fabric, and one of my pdf quilt patterns of your choice.
To enter just leave a comment telling me something that rejuvinates your soul. It's open internationally and I'll pick a winner randomly on Dec 7th.
I often think about Anne Frank when I sit in my red rocking chair at my bay window. She found that just looking out her window at a tree, watching it change with the seasons, rejuvinated her spirit like nothing else could. I tend to agree with her.
Although I'm not sure if it beats a warm sunset over the beach with my beautiful family.
