To Hand Quilt or Not to Hand Quilt, That is the Question.

 

First the plan was to hand quilt the hexie quilt. Then the plan was to machine quilt it myself. Then the plan was to send it to a long arm quilter. Because I have no time right now. Being that, oh, I'm selling a house (and moving), designing fabric lines and sewing patterns that are due soon, I'm throwing Thanksgiving for 30 and my daughter's bat mitzvah is two days later.

Despite all that... I've chosen to do hardest of the three which will take the longest... you know... because I have time for that  that's what this quilt was screaming for. So, my sister will have to wait until 324 hexagons are hand quilted to receive her 40th birthday present... probably right around the time of her 50th birthday.

Now, I've done a little bit of hand quilting before and tons of embroidery so in my pea brain I thought this was going to be a piece of cake. 

Ahem...

As you can see from the back of my work, It is not a piece of cake. Until you get your groove. And then, suddenly, you get it. The light bulb goes on, your stitches get more even and you realize that the center of the quilt where you started is going to suck while toward the outside, the quilt will be perfection. You consider tearing out the first stitches until you realize you don't have the stomach for that. And you decide it's not so sucky after-all...

Here's what I've learned so far:

1. Don't stab stitch. Do a rocking stitch. Your stitch length will thank you.

2. Do use a thimble of some sort. I like the ones that stick on your finger (even though I'm allergic to the adhesive... if I leave it on too long I get a blister). 

3. Stitch toward yourself.

4. Mark your lines if you expect them to be straight... I did that here with a Frixion pen.

4. Don't expect perfection.

 

You will get it... This is the latest hexie I'm on. The stitches are getting pretty dang even. By hexie 324 I'm sure I can be renamed Bari J., queen of French Knots AND hand quilting.

That will be in 2022. I'll let you know then.