The entire bottom border of my Jane has been quilted. This is 92″ x 5 1/2″ of solid feathers. You can see I have a cover cloth on top of the quilt to keep her clean and protect from the sunshine. I only uncover the part of the quilt I am working on.
Since this picture has been taken, I have rolled to the bottom of the triangles but I’m not starting them yet. I like to quilt the side borders before starting on the center section. Most quilters don’t quilt this way, but I just got started doing this years ago and I’ve kept it up.
The whole quilt is not in the frame, the top portion is hanging over the other side. There is room to set up the whole quilt but it makes a tight squeeze when we walk into the living room.
I’ll quilt from the bottom up to and including the 6th row, then I’ll move the rest of the quilt into the frame.
This is the bottom right corner as I quilt my way on the right side of the quilt.
I didn’t realize the thread was in the photo until now. That is not a wad of thread, that is actually the thread I am using in quilting. I finished off a spool of thread so it is extra curly. Surprisingly, I can gently pull a thread out of the ball at a time and it doesn’t knot up.
I am keeping track of the yards of thread I use in this quilt. I got started doing this when I did custom hand quilting years ago. That is how I was paid, by the number of yards of thread in the quilt.
I am using white YLI thread for the quilting. I used to use Coats and Clark quilting thread, but their quilting thread is not the quality it used to be. I asked other hand quilters what they were using and YLI was the answer. I purchased it at Yoder Department Store in Shipshewana. I have quilted several quilts with this thread (including Red Radiance) and have been pleased with the results.
The siggie swap blocks have been sewn and now I need to get them signed. I’ll work at signing them a few at a time till I’ve got 67 of them autographed. They also need to be trimmed to size but I’m not going to do that, the recipients finish can them. Not everyone’s quarter-inch is the same. I’ve oversized them and they are 6″ now, need to be trimmed to 5 1/2″ so they can finish at 5″.
I’ll be linking up with Esther’s Wednesday Wow, A Quilting Reader’s Garden on Friday and Kathy’s Slow Stitching Sunday.
Gretchen's Little Corner 
Wow! The quilting is beautiful and so informative. Thank you
Maybe in 3 years I will have mine finished! LOL. I am curious. When you quilt from the outside in, have you ever encountered an issue with the middle? I am going to assume that you pay close attention to the same amount of quilting in the borders as you will in the middle. I know that when I quilted my first show quilt by hand I messed up. I started from the middle, very close stitches and then (being a novice) I was tired and in a hurry to complete the quilt and did not quilt the border as close as the rest of the quilt…. Lesson learned – FLARING on the borders. Darn. The other lesson learned – do not hand quilt batiks! Duh
You really will have an heirloom quilt and it is soooooooooo beautiful!
I looked closer at your quilting – it is absolutely beautiful and your stitches are perfect! What a talen you have for all that you touch!
I measure when I put the backing on the frame to make sure the middle section is the same width as the outside border. When I roll, I make sure I always roll straight. It annoys me when I see a quilt that has been rolled crooked, I think it pulls the quilt out of its squareness. I keep the quilt pulled tight when quilting but not overly firm as I think that makes it too hard to stitch. I have never had a problem with the inside of the quilt.
The sticks have fabric nailed onto them and I pin the backing onto them. C-clamps are used to hold the sticks together. My father made my quilting stands years ago before the birth of our first son in 1978.
This is the way I have always quilted and the way I was taught to quilt. I don’t say this is the only way to quilt though. People need to use whatever method works them. This is what works for me.
looking good!
at this rate you will have it complete by the time I get there
No, I won’t have it finished by the middle of November but I do hope to have it rolled enough that I can fit the rest of the quilt into the frame.
What beautiful quilting! Your Jane will indeed be a thing of great beauty.
Wow, amazing!!! Soooo beautiful. Compliments.
Your hand quilting is simply gorgeous. I’m way out of practice and couldn’t do that nicely at all now.
Such lovely quilting!
Your stitches are so even, it’s perfect. Wish I were that good. It makes such a lovely quilt. What kind of frame do you have? How do you attach the quilt to it?
Lovely feathers and hand quilting! 🙂
Such beautiful work, I admire your stitching very much!
Your quilting is beautiful. Well done.
Such pretty quilting.
Such beautiful stitches. I love hearing how everyone prepares and quilts their quilts. So different but such beautiful results.