Sunday, December 13, 2015

Smitten Quilt - My English Paper Piecing Adventure - The final chapter!

I can't believe I have stitched the final hand quilted stitches into my Smitten Quilt.  This quilting adventure has take me most of the year but I have never more enjoyed hand stitching and hand quilting.  






When I first started this quilt - fussy cutting was not on my agenda.  I had only bought Fat 16ths of my fabrics so this mostly wasn't possible with that size of material.  However as the year went on and I got my hands on some larger pieces of fabric just perfect for fussy cutting I could not resit adding in a few here and there.





I have always loved Hand quilting and as I went along English Paper Piecing the top I knew that I wanted to hand quilt this as wee.  I tried to make the hand quilting quite random, some hexagons are quilted around all sides and some not at all.  

For Hand quilting I used Aurifil 12 wt threads in a variety of colours.  Mostly matching fabrics and coloured threads as I went.  These have a beautiful sheen to them and the perfect thickness for hand quilting.  I also used Tulip Embroidery Needles - Sharps.  These have the perfect flex and size to the needle for such a big task.


I came across this "April Showers" fabric by Lewis and Irene earlier this year and purchased enough for the backing.  As soon as I saw it I knew it was perfect for this Smitten.  I then placed a few fussy cuts of this sweet girl into the front to tie them both together.




I am definitely Smitten with this quilt and I hope you have loved reading about my adventure along the way.

Happy Sewing 
Jemima x 

6 comments:

  1. Jemima this quilt is a gem! Your choice of fabrics, backing and hand quilting all tie it together beautifully. I like that you have enjoyed the process too, I believe this is so important, especially on a project which takes a long time to complete.

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  2. It's beautiful. Thank you for sharing your experience making this quilt. I want to make one next year and your thoughts are very helpful. I'll only be doing a little bit of fussy cutting so it's nice to see what you've done. Great binding to tie it all together too.

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  3. It is wonderful! Love all your fabric choices and overall look of the quilt. Really fantastic.

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  4. I just love your Smitten quilt! What a gem! I first saw your progress on the Jen Kingwell FB page. I love the April Showers fabric. I wish I could find a store in the USA that sold it. Your quilt has inspired me. I had the privilege of taking a class from Jen Kingewll and seeing the original Smitten quilt. What a treat! We are so blessed to get to connect with so many wonderful quilters and see their quilts. I am thankful for the internet to keep us connected across the globe. Happy Quilting, Lona

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