Today I'm sharing some of the new supplies I recently purchased to get going on my
Catherine Quilt.
I'm constantly in awe at the plethora of information you can find on the Internet if you just take the time to search...and search...and search. A recent favorite tip I learned is that all cotton thread is good to use if you're using all natural fabrics like cotton and linen. All of the fibers should shrink fairly the same when laundered. Who knew?
As I go through this quilt project, I'm excited to learn more tips and tricks. I can sew fairly well but I'm in awe when I listened to seasoned quilters. There's always...always....something new you can learn. I'm excited to start putting together the pieces.
My sister told me about this ruler grip. I finally picked one up at JoAnn's. I think it will be great for squaring up 1/2 yards of fabric and hopefully my ruler won't scoot around. I also suggest getting the biggest cutting mat your work area will allow. I found a really large one at Walmart and I love it. It's probably like 30 x 36, big!
I'm really excited to try my hand at hand quilting for my Catherine Quilt. Never done it before but I'm excited at the thought of just sitting in my big comfy chair or out on the front porch, just stitching away....and probably pricking my finger and saying, "Dammit, I did it again."
That's where you come in....do you use a thimble, metal or leather, what fingers do they go on? See, total newbie here.
I picked up these all cotton, size 5 bundles of thread at JoAnn's. I'm loving the thicker yarns on some quilts I've pinned lately. I'm thinking long stitches, rather simple and straight in nature. Nothing intricate for me. You can see some samples on my
Catherine Quilt Inspiration Board and my
Quilts Board.
I told the helper lady at JoAnn's what type of hand quilting I wanted to do and she suggested these Crewel needles because they have a larger eye and are a bit thicker in size. That is great because my failing eyesight needs bigger everything.
Note to self: get some reading glasses before I start hand quilting.
So here's my plan for my Catherine Quilt. I'm thinking of just taking over the long farm table in my dining room. Awesome natural lighting and I'm not stuck in the basement. My mother is scheduled for a knew replacement surgery in May and I'm thinking I might just set up shop on her dining table too. That way I can stay and help her for long periods of time but also have something to keep my hands busy. Totally excited. I think I need to visit my local quilting ladies and neighbor lady who have a lot more quilting under their belts for some more advice. Either way, I'm cutting in to my fabrics this week. I'll be back to share another project update of the fun quilting method I'm going to try out.
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2 comments:
I am so excited to follow your quilting project...it is going to be beautiful! I use a leather thimble and wear it on my middle finger of my right hand (I'm right handed). I've tried a metal thimble but I just can't get the hang of it. The leather just seems to work better for me. I do think it is a matter of personal preference. If you have quilting friends, I would suggest maybe trying to borrow a thimble or two to test drive your options. Good luck!
Ooooh - all sounds exciting :) Can't wait to see it come together. I LOOOOVE hand quilting too - it's SUCH a different experience than trying to muscle a big quilt through a machine. Definitely a labor of love. I put a leather thimble on my right middle finger to push the needle through. Need the right hand free of thimbles so that you can feel where the needle is coming out. It's been years since I worked on my quilt - but reading glasses would definitely be necessary for me as well. Although - the reading glasses are for close up and I like my quilt on my lap... I guess that's why Nana always had a floor light with a magnifying lens on it.
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