Inch by Inch, Row by Row

I started piecing this quilt months ago.  The design is the Hootenanny quilt by Boo Davis from her book, Dare to be Square.  It's going to be lovely when finished - I made it larger by adding a border of printed fabric (so it will fit a grown-up bed).

I had planned to finish it by machine quilting, as I have in the past, but I decided to try hand-quilting.  I was inspired by Mary, one of the lovely employees of Sew to Speak - her blog, Molly Flanders, shows some of her beautifully hand-quilted creations.  I'm teaching myself to hand-quilt using a Molly Flanders tutorial and an Anna Maria Horner tutorial.  Both ladies do a great job of explaining the hand-quilting technique.

So now I have several square feet of quilt to practice with.  Slowly (very slowly), I'm getting used to the process involved in stitching rows using Perle cotton.  It's liberating to sit on the floor to quilt, rather than having to sit in front of the sewing machine.  It's still a big process, but it feels less complex.  This, I think, is peaceful and calming - the way quilting should be.

I'm pleased with the results thus far.  I think hand-quilting gives a project a more unique, handmade feel.  It's not quite perfect, but that's what makes it special. As Mary said - "You can buy perfect at Macy's."  And who wants that?

There will be pictures of my beautifully imperfect quilt when it is finished.