Angela at soscrappy announced over the weekend that our Rainbow Scrap Challenge color for April will be light/bright blue. I decided to go through my quilt tops to find something featuring light blue that I could get quilted up and finished next month. There were several options, but this is the one I chose to work on first.
Around the Twist, 24" x 32.5"
pattern by Trudie Hughes
from her book Template-Free Quiltmaking, 1986
As you can see, this little quilt has already been quilted, and it is very badly done. I made the quilt top in my first year as a quilter, 1995, and attempted to machine quilt it in 1996 (25 years ago!) I used polyester batting which, along with a poor choice of quilting design, made the whole thing puff out in between the lines of stitching. I got this far, hated how it was turning out, and put it away in the closet. I think it's time to resurrect this sad little quilt.
I've started removing some of the the machine quilting. It was done with invisible thread, both top and bobbin, which makes it very hard to see. My plan is to take out all the quilting, press the top and back to get rid of the creases from the quilting (which will probably require wetting them heavily,) then layer it with new cotton batting. I haven't figured out a new plan for the quilting design yet, but I will come up with something.
Finishing this little quilt is going to be my One Monthly Goal for the month of April. It may not be my finest work, but it is a special reminder of my early days as a quilter, and it deserves to be finished for that reason.
Linking up with:
Design Wall Monday at Small Quilts and Doll Quilts
Monday Making at Love Laugh Quilt
One Monthly Goal at Elm Street Quilts
Julie in GA
I only have a few things from my first time asa quilter, and thankfully they were mostly hand quilted. Surprisingly, the one machine quilted item I have didn't turn out too bad. But not for lack of inexperience on my part! LOL. Good luck with your goal, I do not envy the ripping.
ReplyDeleteThis is a pretty quilt top. You'll be happy you went through all the work of removing the older quilting, happy stitching!
ReplyDeleteI have always admired that pattern. Definitely worth resurrecting.
ReplyDeleteWhat an interesting story behind this one, Julie! I am looking forward to seeing how you apply your 25 years' worth of acquired skills to finishing this early UFO. Instead of heavily wetting with water, I'll bet a spritz of Mary Ellen's Best Press will help those creases press out nicely for you. Good luck!
ReplyDeleteWhat a pretty quilt . Have fun bringing new life to this beauty. Happy quilting.
ReplyDeleteI jumped over from your Tuesday post because of the title Around the Twist. I have that book and have made that quilt. It was quite a modern concept at the time. And, yea -- ugh on the puffy poly batt. On the other hand I think your quilting was pretty well done. You might consider using the same design as it was really the poly batt that makes it look questionable. What ever you choose you're going to have a pretty quilt when done.
ReplyDeleteI believe that I would have just finished the quilt, as is. The lazy way out? Maybe! It would be an example of your growth as a quilter. Years ago, I even left in the novice stitches of an 8 year old niece on one of my quilts! It's part of the quilt's history and I love trying to find those stitches in that quilt.
ReplyDeleteHey! This is the time of year for resurrections, so your choice to fix up and finish this quilt is perfect! Good luck with your goal. It sure is a sweet little thing!
ReplyDeleteHi Julie,
ReplyDeleteI am looking forward to this being a finished project. It will look great once you get the old batting and quilting out, and use your skills to complete it and enjoy it. I love stories like this. I have some of my own in my UFOs too. Thanks for linking with Design Wall Mondays, Judy
For your first effort at machine quilting, I think it looks pretty good. I'm sure your repair will make it a true stunner.
ReplyDelete