little log cabin in the big woods

Finished!

I posted this doll quilt top a few weeks back. I knew it wouldn't be up here soon after as a finished project since I planned to take another stab at hand quilting.

For the past few months I've been making the rounds at quilting - each week I'd pick a different woman to sit beside. Some days I tried to be casual and just looked over while she worked. Other days I was blatant and asked a barrage of questions. They all had individual favorite techniques, but all were alike in telling me that I shouldn't learn from them because they broke the rules. That's when it hit me that I could simply pick the rules that worked for me and do what felt right. It's amazing what a little direction from experienced quilters will teach you. Not only did this go round work better and faster, but I actually enjoyed it.

I chose to quilt close to the ditch to hide what were likely to be less than perfect stitches. The back shows the pattern I quilted a little better. I also noticed that hand quilting wrinkles up a lot more in the wash than machine quilting. I love that wrinkly look, but I love my machine too.

I'll still use my machine for anything larger than a crib quilt (at least at this point in my life), but I think there might be a few more hand quilted, doll quilts down the line.