Wednesday, July 29, 2009

Another Mary Mannakee block

This is the third block completed so far. I'm so loving working with these lovely fabrics. Here's the three that I've done so far. They're not trimmed to size yet. The blocks finish at 16 inches.
When I haven't had the applique on the go, I've picked up my hand quilting. How long does it take for you to hand quilt a whole quilt? It takes me a long long time and I wish I worked on it more regularly but I do it in spurts and mainly in the evening. No wonder it takes awhile.
For some reason I feel guilty picking it up during the day, as if I have no business sitting down to quilt when I could be doing something more productive or active. I need to get over that don't I?
I've done the main body of the quilt and have the corner blocks to go before the borders. If I don't quilt inside the flowers, the whole shape pops up and the petals have no definition. Trouble is the layers I have to go through. As a result, the stitches don't always go through to the back and they are a bit bigger. Do I care, heck no!
It's not going to be in a competition and If someone wants to check, they can go right ahead. I personally think we can get too tied up with trying to achieve a higher standard that we can lose the enjoyment and forget the purpose.

39 comments:

Cathy @ CabbageQuilts said...

Janet your blocks are amazing, i'm loving seeing these come together, how quick are you? Your hand quilting is incredible, I enlarged your pic and it is wonderful, the detail. Great handwork xo

Deb said...

Another beautiful block Janet. It certainly doesn't take you long to do them.

Kaaren said...

Your MM quilt is destined to become another masterpiece, Janet. The colors just make my heart sing.

I used to obscess about perfection but no more. Life's too short and I'm trying to enjoy the journey as best I can.

Unknown said...

I just love your blocks and boy are you fast!! They are so beautiful and your hand quilting is gorgeous. I agree, we should be totally enjoying the process.

Karen - Quilts...etc. said...

I love your blocks. As to hand quilting - I do not obsess with perfection either. My stitches are close to the same size but that has come with many years of practice, on the back side they are not always all the way through but I don't notice it until I'm done and I'm not going back to fix it then. Once I get a quilt on the frame depending on the mood I am in it can take anywhere from a couple months to quilt it to almost a year (and how many projects I am working on besides that one)
Karen
http://karensquilting.com/blog/

Ruth said...

Your blocks are wonderful and I love your quilt! I like your attitude about the quilting - although yours looks perfect to me. My hand/machine quilting is not the greatest and it makes me hesitate to put a quilt in a show. I am doing it because I love it, not necessarily to be perfect. Hopefully, I'll improve with more practice!

antique quilter said...

beautiful blocks
ok, I am hoping you start doing more hand quilting during the days so I can catch up with the blocks!
LOL
your hand quilting looks great and YES I agree the quilting is for me not to be judged!
I want to enjoy the process not get stressed about it!
Kathie

Lori said...

Wow! The blocks are amazing and I love the colors too. It is going to be a real stunner!
Unless you want to try and get your quilt into a big show I see no reason for perfection. Once the whole quilt is done nobody will be looking at the stitches in one particular area of the quilt.

ranette said...

Wow...you get more done than anyone in blogland Janet. I think your handquilting is wonderful and it took me 15 years to handquilt one large baby quilt....lol
I love your MM blocks, just love them!

Abby and Stephanie said...

Blogger is not playing nice this morning! Anywho...I hope we create for the joy and satisfaction it gives us. If someone wants to critique my work...the that's their problem. What attracts me to a quilt is first the colors, then the pattern, and last of all the stitching!

Anonymous said...

This quilt is going to be awesome...I'm partial to the third block so far.

Betsy said...

Janet you are so right about the hand stitching. I too feel guilty if I sit and stitch it during the day. I love the three blocks you have made. You made them so fast.

MJinMichigan said...

Wow You are fast at applique and the blocks are stunning! I too enlarged the picture of your quilting and it looks really good. I like quilts that aren't too perfect. I think they have more character just like the old Baltimore album quilts did.

Crispy said...

Your blocks are just lovely Janet. I've gotten the link to purchase the book and am thinking of ordering the Mary Simon book too. A girl can't have too many books LOL.

As for hand quilting, well anywhere from a month to 3 months if I keep at it. It is tough getting through all those layers on the flowers and if you are happy we are happy, that's how it should be :0)

Crispy

Darlene said...

Lovely, stunning, beautiful, gorgeous, pretty, amazing, oh, my I've run out of adjectives to describes these but I think you get what I'm trying to say - LOL! Janet I love them!

Thank you so much for 'chatting' about enjoying our quilting and such. You made my heart smile!

Carrie P. said...

Your blocks are stunning.
Don't worry about it be perfect on the back if your are not entering it in a competition. I still can't get my quilting even on the back even though I don't have a lot of layers. I guess I just need more practice. It takes me a long to get a quilt done too. I only quilt in the winter. Too hot in the summer with it on my lap.

Carolyn said...

Janet, your blocks are beautiful. And you work so quickly! I feel the same way about quilting during the day, it's almost a forbidden pleasure. I don't have time to do much handquilting, so the back of mine is often scary looking...but I don't need it to be show worthy. Just enjoy the process!

Terrie Sandelin said...

Absolutely gorgeous. And the blocks look so wonderful together. This is going to be an amazing quilt! I agree with you about getting hung up on perfection -- but then, your blocks look pretty darn perfect to me!

Dolores said...

Well said on the hand quilting. I used to actually take out stitches if they weren't all small. Like who on earth was going to notice? Oh well, I guess we all learn after years of doing.

Judy said...

Wow I love seeing your fabrics and Kathie's..most I've never seen before! That yellow with the dots is a new one to me! Again a super job!

Question...did you get it basted professionally or do it yourself? I'm wondering if my larger stitch is good to baste and thinking maybe it is. I use t now for adding strips to embroidery blocks to fit in the hoop and it works great. Just wondered.

YankeeQuilter said...

It is so exciting to see your MM's progress! I don't stress too much about my hand quilting anymore...I use the arm length rule - if I don't notice it held out at an arm length then I don't worry about it!

Sherri said...

These blocks are truly gorgeous!

Janet said...

Block #3 is wonderful! I love the flower shapes in it. The 3 look great together. The handquilting on you quilt looks beautiful. I never get tired of the little peeks of it you show from time to time.

Mary said...

I so agree with you - I quilt for me and not a grade! It usually takes me two to three months to hand quilt a large quilt if I work on it in the evenings.

Another really nice block - did you put the red flowers on top of or under the green? It's hard to tell in the picture.

Nedra said...

Love the new header. And I here by give you permission to sit down during the day and applique if you feel like it. The quilt police have been informed they are not allowed near your house.

Unknown said...

We Deserve time to quilt during the day...why Not.!
I Agree with the Theory...If I'm Happy with the End result well that's Good Enough....it's the Pleasure in the process.
Enjoy some Time Out...
cheers

Unknown said...

Your Blocks are Beautiful.!!

Deb said...

Janet I love your blog and your MM blocks are so beautiful. How long does it take you to sew a block? I'm curious since I would still be deliberating over fabric - not so good at getting things done!

Holly said...

Wow, wow, wow... beautiful! Your blocks give me great incentive to step up my applique skills a bit more. Ty for sharing them ;)
Also, I agree 100% with your last paragraph!

Kim Brackett said...

The blocks are all so beautiful. The last one looks super difficult! Your applique' work is absolutely wonderful.

Karen said...

I love all three blocks, but block three is my favourite so far.

Liz said...

Here here Janet, we do get hung up sometimes, but in the end it should be enjoyment. I can't sit down to handquilt during the day either, funny isn't it. Those blocks are fabulous and the colours just sing,
Lizzie
XX

Frou said...

These are really beautiful, so much so, that I'm ordering some of this fabric! I have the Carrie Hall Sampler book and think it might be nice to do the blocks in red/green/cheddar on white!

Rose Marie said...

Love those blocks and this quilt is going to be amazing! Your DWR is coming along nicely and since I started hand quilting, my stitches vary and it doesn't bother me at all to have different lengths in one quilt. It really is difficult to quilt through those many layers, but you have to otherwise the quilt will just not lay right. Enjoy your vacation!

Janet said...

I'm finally ready to start my Mary Mannabee (see my post). Your blocks are a real inspiration. You're right, it isn't a competition, hand quilting takes time and the process should be enjoyable.

Karen said...

You are progressing so quickly on the applique blocks. You must stitch fast but oh so well! I keep looking at the quilt pattern but still have not ordered it. I am afraid it would just sit in the stack of waiting to do quilts.

Unknown said...

I just love your blog....
Your fabrics are always Stunning..


--
Michell
Home Security Systems no CREDIT CHECK everyone is approved

{Bellamere Cottage} said...

Oh my goodness........I LOVE this quilt. I've been having such a good time checking out your lovely blog.....your new little granson is ADORABLE....

Blessings,
Spencer

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