Gwen Talks about Hand Quilting 4

In Gwen Talks About Hand Quilting 3 I showed you some of my wonderful traditional quilts made by East Indian nomadic herders and talked about how I have been inspired by their close, straight line quilting. In this session, I want to show you an example of how I use their idea in my own work and also discuss other unmarked quilting options for what I think of as my “tribal look.”

The quilt in the frame is a wool quilt with a cotton batting and cotton fabric backing. The wool is dress weight wool, and the cotton batting is the thin “Request” weight made by Quilters Dream.


I’m making my decisions about what the quilt where, when I get there, which reminds me of what a quilter told me at my retreat last year when I asked her how she was doing with her quilt which was up on the design wall. She replied very positively, “I don’t know where I’m going, but I’m getting there.” Like her, I make my decisions as I come to them with the confidence that I will get there eventually if I just keep working.


I’m doing a lot of straight line quilting on this piece and here are a few points about that. Quilting on the straight of the goods is very different than quilting on the diagonal. The Mennonite ladies who taught me to hand quilt told me all about it and they were right. They told me it’s easier to quilt on the bias and the stitches look better than on the straight. Quilting diagonal lines means you are quilting on the bias so the fabric gives a little bit as you work making it easier to quilt and resulting in smaller stitches. When quilting on the straight of the goods, the fabric doesn’t give a bit, and so it’s a little harder to quilt and the stitches are bigger Also, when quilting on the straight the stitches actually show up more than when you are quilting on the bias. That’s because stitches worked on the straight of the goods tend to lay right on top of the fabric, whereas stitches made on the bias sort of get embraced or absorbed by the fabric.


So, if it’s harder to quilt and the stitches don’t look as good on the straight of grain, why am I doing it, you might ask. It’s because straight lines close together give a great look. Remember our discussion in the previous entry and the pictures of the fabulous quilts from India? That is where I got the idea. I’m using the idea of straight line quilting on a number of contemporary quilts in solids and I think it look fabulous on them. Another thing is that the quilts I’m using it on aren’t big (they are about 36” sq) so it is possible for me to do it and it seems worth it to me.


Let’s talk a little bit about quilting in a large full size floor frame, like they used at old timey quilting parties. The first picture shows the backing attached to the fabric strips on the frame with the batting and the quilt top smoothed out on the backing. The second picture shows pinning the top to the backing and batting. You start at one place and continue pinning all the way around, checking to make sure the quilt is straight and square as you work.


In a big fame you can’t reach all the way across the quilt. You start on the outside, work your way around all four sides and then unclamp the C clamps on one side at a time, roll the quilted area under, pull the stretcher boards tight again and re-clamp them. If this sounds like Greek to you, that isn’t surprising. It is just so much easier to watch someone actually do it. Hopefully, I will get back to talking about quilting in the full size frame, but this is just meant as an introduction to the idea.


I show pictures (3-5) of quilting unmarked wavy lines on the border, beginning with one wavy line, and then going back and filling in the spaces on either side of the first line in some interesting way. You just kinda do it, adding additional lines that seem to make sense. I include some pictures of straight line quilting which is characterized by a certain amount of irregularity (see pictures 6-8) The next three picture show the quilt after it has been rolled. In these pictures the quilt is now narrow enough that I can reach the middle and quilt the straight lines towards me, leaving long enough tails on the threads so that I can move to the other side and quilt them in, rather than starting with a knot.


In a full size frame, you quilt what you can easily reach, about ten inches or some, and then you, unclamp the frame, roll the finished section under, pull the boards tight and re-clamp them again. Eventually you can reach the center of the quilt so sometimes I manage to complete the quilting line from one side to the other with one thread (see pictures 9-10). I begin in the center with a thread long enough to quilt the entire line, I don’t knot the thread, but just begin quilting, leaving a tail long enough to finish the line from the opposite side of the frame. These kinds of instructions are hard to understand, but I think the pictures will solve that problem.


The last two pictures show the quilt taken out of the frame. In the close up (11) you can see how wonderful wool looks when quilted and how the definition made by the quilting line is strong and dramatic. You get a lot for your money when hand quilting on wool. The last picture shows the quilt waiting patiently for the binding.


There is a lot of know about hand quilting. For awhile it seemed to be a fading art, but now I see young quilters who are very interested in it. And so, dear reader, if you are one of them, these tutorials are being offered just for you.

Gwen Talks About Hand Quilting 3

In my previous entry about hand quilting I ended with saying that our next discussion would explore some of the influences that have inspired the kind of quilting I've been showing you. I've always been interested in to folk art, so when I became a quilter it wasn't long before I began to wonder what my sisters around the world were stitching with their needles. In my travels over the years, I have kept my eyes open for folk art textiles and now I have a collection consisting of 164 pieces from 32 countries. Folk art textiles the world over have similar characteristics. They often display a sense of playfulness, are full of surprise, and are unpredictable and consistently worked with some degree of irregularity. They tend to be bold, energetic and appear to be spontaneous, as though they had just spring into being.

In our last discussion I mentioned how I'd been influenced by the traditional quilts I've collected from the Rajasthan area of India, made by women belonging to nomadic groups of herders. Before I talk about how these quilts are quilted, I'd like to note that the piecing and appliqué designs are amazingly intricate and all worked by hand in fabulous color. I have some photographs of these women working on their quilts as they sit on the ground in front of their tents. If that doesn't impress you, you aren't thinking about what that means.

Once these stunning quilts are pieced and appliquéd, they are quilted with straight lines across the entire surface of the quilt 1/8" -1/4" apart. It's a great look. And by the way, just over the Indian border of Rajasthan, the women in Pakistan also have a tradition of making quilts. They are called Rallis and while the surface designs are different they quilt them in the same way with close straight lines.

In this session we are going to talk about a few of my Indian quilts. In my next entry I'll show you how I've adjusted these ideas and used them in my own work. I don't have a set-up that is adequate for photographing large quilts in my studio, so I will do the best I can, and show you close-ups which will help tell the story of these quilts. These quilts are between 70 and 80 years old and they are representative of traditional Indian made quilts from Rajasthan.

The first two quilts are quilted in close straight lines. Both are pieced and appliquéd. Both are reminiscent of American pieced quilt designs. I guess we weren't the only ones who figured out how to arrange squares to make patterns such as the four patch and the nine patch. The appliqué designs are made from folded fabric, just like the Pennsylvania Dutch worked out and then shared with the Hawaiians who took it to a whole new level.

Notice the details in both piecing and appliqué along the borders of the first quilt, the one with the orange, black and red. The spirited piecing in that border is about as "liberated" as you could get. It was quilts like this that reinforced my ideas about liberated piecing. And the maker of this quilt far exceeded anything I've done and I'm sure she never read Liberated Quilting or Liberated Quilting II. The dog tooth appliqué on red fabric next to the pieced border measures a tiny bit less that ½". Anybody up for that? Especially while sitting in the dirt out in front of your tent?

Looking at the Nine Patch with paper cut alternate blocks, you will see the same dog tooth treatment on the borders. These measure 1/2", some slightly larger. The nature of the dog tooth border is that the sides curve slightly because they are on the bias. That is why it can gives the appearance of scallops instead of triangles, depending on how you view it.

The last two quilts are a different type of quilt. They are appliquéd on a sturdy background almost like canvas. They are not quilted and I don't think they were intended to be as the weight of the background fabric would make quilting essentially impossible. Even though this conversation is about hand quilting, I wanted to share these with you because they are such good pieces.

You can see how it's been helpful for me to find out what our sisters around the world are busy making. I've always felt privileged to have a connection with American quilters, present and past, and making this connection with others around the world has greatly expanded that experience. It's all a good thing.

In my next entry, we are going to continue this conversation about straight line quilting by looking at the ways I've found to use it in some of my abstract quilts. To hold you over, take a look at the quilt pictures that follow my At Home with Gwen entry.

And here is a book for you: Ralli Quilts: Traditional Textiles from Pakistan and India, by Patricia Stoddard, Schiffer Publishing, 2003.

Gwen Talks About Hand Quilting 2

 

   In my first entry I talked about how I learned to hand quilt and began a discussion about quilting unmarked designs, in other words quilting them by eye. I showed you the triple arches as I quilted them along the outer border, and now we are going to look at what followed those designs: uneven zig zags, leaf shapes and uneven straight lines. And then I'll show you the completed quilt.

            The reasons I'm using unmarked, freeform, obviously less precise quilting designs on this quilt (and quite a few others made in a similar style), is because I think the look of unmarked designs is compatible with the quilts I make that are pieced in a freeform, imprecise and, dare I say, "liberated" way.

            In my first entry I talked about learning to hand quilt from the Mennonites and how I still use the quilt legs to support the frame that I got from them years ago. Here is a picture off the quilt I'm working on and what it looks like in the frame. You can see the red backing peeking out along the sides where it is pinned onto the strip of fabric that is attached to the boards. These are called the stretcher boards. Look at the boards on the opposite two sides (the ones facing the yellow chair) which are called the rollers. That is because once the quilting along those sides is done as far as is comfortable to reach, the c-clamps are released, the boards are rolled under to an unquilted area, and the c-clamps again placed to hold the quilt taut. This is how quilting proceeds in a full size stretcher frame in which the whole top is stretched out full to begin with. The full-size frame is not the same as the rectangular frame, which is probably a more common frame due to the fact that it takes less space. The c-clamps hold the quilt taut, completely avoiding any fullness or wrinkles.

            We are going to talk about the remaining three designs I used on this quilt and my easy method for quilting them without pre-marking them which is bound to create a more casual, organic look. And then I'll show you the finished quilt.

 

Uneven zigzags: The next two pictures show two sections quilted with uneven zigzags, a design I use repeatedly. I'm familiar with the traditional form of this design as a useful design for filling narrow borders and it provides that same service in its less traditional, uneven form. The first picture shows it used on two inner borders. The second picture shows the center of the quilt filled with repeated zig zags separated by 3 straight lines.

            To get an interesting variation I scratch the zigzag with either my fingernail or the quilting needle. I know there are now tools to "scratch" a line on fabric, but it makes more sense to me to use my needle sense it's already right there in my hand. I realize the tool works, but using it means putting down the needle, picking up the tool and marking the design, putting down the tool, picking up the needle. Hmmm.

 

Abstract leaf shapes: The leaves are marked in a similar way as the arches, which I described in my previous entry. First, I figure out how many will fit in the space by running a simple test. With my index finger, I just pretend draw the shape of the outer arches which gives me a pretty good idea of the number of units that will fit. Then, I draw the outer shape with my finger nail, complete the design and I'm ready to quilt it. I scratched the center line on the leaves once the outer shapes were quilted. There isn't any risk to this method because, if you don't get it right the first time, you can erase the scratch line by rubbing your hand over it and try it again. Or you can just let it be a little wobbly like mine is. You can see the last unit is slightly smaller than the first two and slightly misshapen.

 

Straight lines: I've long been a fan of the many traditional straight line quilting designs; diagonals, double diagonals, triple diagonals, cross hatching, double cross hatching, and diamond cross hatching, hanging diamonds, and broken plaid among the classics. A couple of years ago I began to play around with closely quilted, uneven lines which aren't quite straight and are unevenly spaced, caught my attention. As I continue to explore how to use uneven straight lines (I know this sounds like an oxymoron), I'm more and more impressed with how much potential they offer. This is a really good look that adds interest to the quilt without interrupting the surface design. It's a way to add texture as I think you can see in the next two images. The first picture shows groups of closely quilted straight lines, or should I say "fairly" straight lines. The lines are about ¼" apart. These are quilted by eye and allowed to wander. The next image shows close line quilting, zig zag, and arches. And the last picture shows my finished quilt, measuring 34 ½" X 35 ½".

            We are going to talk more about close straight line quilting in my next entry. And also, in my next entry, I'm going to talk about my influences for this style of quilting and influences for the "liberated" style of quilt construction.

 

Photograph captions:

 

1.Quilting in progress in my full size frame.

2.Uneven zig zag design

3.Center of quilt with zig zag separated by 3 straight lines

4. Leaf shapes that clearly shows the signs of unmarked designs

5. Close straight lines in groups

6. close lines, zig zag and arches

7. My finished quilt. 34 ½" X 35 ½".

Gwen Talks About Hand Quilting 1

   Hand quilting has been a big part of my quiltmaking efforts since the beginning of my interest in quilts which began in the early 70's with the acquisition of some antique quilts and tops I started seeing in antique stores. My first hand quilting project involved quilting an old top from the 30's and I figured out how to hand quilt it all by myself. First I bought a Mountain Mist cotton batt, then I bought a skein of white thread for tatting and a large needle to accommodate the thread. The quilt was made with 12" blocks set on point in vertical rows. In my lap, I quilted lines between all of the vertical rows which, because the blocks were on point, measured about 16 " apart. I bound the quilt, and proudly put it on my sons bed. It looked great. About 6 months later I decided it was time to wash it. When I took it out of the washing machine I had quite a shock. All of the batting had shot directly down chutes I'd quilted and were all bunched up at one end of the quilt. Opps. Obviously I had done something wrong.

            It wasn't until a few years later that I did learn the in's and out's of hand quilting, thanks to the generosity of a group of Mennonite women in Hubbard, Oregon. I was in Oregon for a year with my family. My husband was on a sabbatical from the University where he taught and my children were in school. As a struggling quilter, I saw an announcement in the paper about a quilt show at the Mennonite church in Hubbard and out I went to see what was up. I found the church, parked my car, and went down the basement where the show was set up. They had long tables with 3 or 4 chairs setting on top over which the quilts were artfully draped. During that time period that was a common way to set up a quilt show. I also remember going to a couple of quilt shows at churches where the quilts were draped over every other pew for your viewing pleasure.

            Once I entered the big hall where the quilts were displayed, I actually had (what they call in the south) a sinking spell. I felt hot and faint and slightly ill, a response to being overwhelmed by what appeared to be a mother-load of quilts. I spoke with one of the women and asked her if I could please come again as I wasn't feeling well. She told me that the ladies quilted every Thursday at the church and that I was more than welcome. I showed up the next Thursday and asked them if they would quilt a top I'd made. They told me they had a three year waiting list and asked me why I didn't just quilt it myself. When I answered I didn't know how, they said they would teach me and that began by weekly visits which lasted the whole year I was in Oregon.

            They taught me to hand quilt in a full size frame, loaned me all of their cardboard templates to copy, showed me how to mark quilts, make cables turn the corners, loaned me copies of Quilters Newsletter Magazine, and sent me home with a set of quilting legs made by one of their husbands (shown in photo) Their methods, which had been refined over the generations, were so practical and so expedient that I still use them today. I quilt in a full size frame which rests on the same quilting legs I brought home with me, use a #9 Between quilting needle, and a standard thimble to form the running stitches.

            At the time the Mennonites took me on, and to this very day, I have felt gave me a gift for life. I have been happily noticing a renewed interest in hand quilting by younger quilters who I would love to encourage. And, of course the Europeans have remained dedicated to hand work even as interest in the States has declined. So now, it seems to be a good time for me to pass it forward by sharing some ideas about quilting on my web-page. Rather than drawn illustrations, I am planning to show you pictures of my progress as I am actually doing the work. So let's get started.

            Quilting by eye has been around for a long time. You see it on antique quilts fairly frequently in straight line designs such as diagonals, crosshatching etc, and fan quilting. Irregularity in line and shape are clear signs that the quilting was worked by eye. I'm going to start with some ideas for unmarked quilting since that is my current projective you want a more informal effect unmarked quilting can provide that. I also like doing it because you don't have to figure out what you are going to quilt on the whole quilt; you just have to figure out what you are doing in each section when you get to it. And because hand quilting takes time, you have a lot of time to think about it.

            I put my quilt in the frame and sat down to go to work. I decided to quilt a row of interlocking, triple arches along the bottom edge of my quilt; beginning with dividing the length I wanted to fill into fairly even sections. Next I scratched a single line of arches by eye with my fingernail and quilted in the arches (On solid fabrics, a scratched line shows up very well). Then I found the center of the arches and scratched a row of single interlocking arches and quilted them. I made triple arches ¼" apart by quilting in two more lines on each arch by eye. It's amazingly easy to add these extra lines because you can follow the first set of lines and you aren't going very fast. Take a look at my pictures and you can see the work in progress.

            And by the way, it's a misnomer that you have to be able to quilt in every direction to quilt in a full size frame. You can always quilt toward yourself instead of away from yourself. The easiest way to quilt the arches in a full size frame is to thread the needle with enough thread to complete the arch, begin quilting at the top of the arch leaving half the thread loose and un-knotted, and quilt one half of the arch. Then thread the needle with the remaining thread and quilt down the other side. Done.

            ...stay tuned for future discussions about quilting by eye. I'll show you the rest of my designs as I get there!