Monday, January 17, 2011

Quakertown

I finished the binding on this quilt this weekend while watching lots of football.It is now on our bed, and was put to use for the first time last night. While I like the looks of it, it's kinda crunchy sleeping under a freshly machine-quilted quilt! The others that we've used on our bed were hand quilted, and are quite snuggly. I wonder if it will soften with use, or not until it's washed? Here is a detail of the quilting, which I love! It was quilted by Anne Spiotta of Blue House Quilting in Illinois. Vicki and I took tops to her recently, and Anne spent all the time that we needed selecting designs.
Here is the Fons & Porter pattern that I used for this quilt. Can you see the date at the bottom of the magazine page? Yes, I made this top that long ago (1996), and it took this long to have it quilted! The tops waiting for hand quilting just pile up too fast, so if I expect to see quilts instead of tops, it's off to the machine quilters they go!




29 comments:

Lynn Dykstra said...

Jan, I made this quilt back in 1996 too--one of my all time favorites. Yours is beautiful

Dolly said...

Oh, it's even lovelier than the inspiration quilt !

Yep, you need to throw it into the washer, and dryer,........maybe a couple of times, if it has cotton batting.

And I know what you mean about the tops piling up. But in my head, I have certain tops that just MUST be hand-quilted (unless I'm dead and know nothing about it !) So here I am making new small ones that I can machine-quilt, and letting my other tops grow old. How long do I have to wait for them to be antiques? Hmmmmmm.......I might be gone at that point after all ~!~

Lovely quilt, though......love the pink !

YankeeQuilter said...

I have that pattern in my "to-do" file...love how yours came out.

I agree with the previous comment...usually takes at least one wash and dry to make them soft.

Connie said...

Very pretty, wish i had that pattern, the quilting is also so pretty. It sure would be nice if we could hand quilt as fast as a machine does. Happt sewing!

regan said...

Your quilt is lovely! I love the colors you chose! And yeah, my quilt tops are piling up, too! But that just means we have more ambition than time! lol

Carol said...

What a wonderful quilt! The quilting is beautiful...once it's washed it will be nice and squishy...Love it!

Maureen said...

I love that pattern and what you've done with it! Lovely shade of pink. Machine quilted quilts do have a different feel, but I expect it will soften after washing.

Sharon said...

Just beautiful! This turned out so nice, and the quilting is lovely. I agree, machine quilted quilts are not as soft and cuddly as hand quilted.

Barb said...

What an amazing quilt, looks wonderful on your bed.

Lori said...

What a gorgeous quilt with lovely quilting! It should soften up considerably after washing.

Gypsy Quilter said...

Love the colors you chose for this pattern. I may have to borrow this idea. It would work up so fast for a QOV top. Thanks for sharing.

Jacky and Steph said...

A lovely quilt - beautiful colours -

quiltingnana said...

aren't you glad you finally had the top quilted...it looks great

Donna said...

Beautiful quilt! I haven't seen this pattern before. It's now added to my "bucket list" ... now to figure out how much background fabric I'll need ...

antique quilter said...

oh it is just beautiful
yes the machine quilted ones soften up after use and almost feel as good as hand quilted ones.
we can't hand quilt them all !

Nancy said...

This turned out beautifully! Like you, I wish I could hand quilt everything. But it's just not possible *sigh*

Sharon said...

A beautiful quilt! And the quilting designs are wonderful, they really suit the quilt.

I've had to give up hand-quilting (arthritis) so all of mine are done by machine. It does have a different feel, but they get nice and cuddly-soft after a wash or two. I always wash mine as soon as the binding is done, because I love the crinkly look!

Barb said...

so pretty and lovely quilting!
It will soften with time and if you want to speed it up - machine wash and machine dry -
looks great on that pretty bed.

Quiltgal said...

It will soften up after some use. It is beautiful.

Vicki said...

Wow! Looks wonderful on your bed!

Lisa said...

Wow! Love it! The pink fabric is spectacular. What line is it from? I don't recognize it.

*karendianne. said...

Oh MY Gosh!!! I love this quilt. I love it. I totally love it. What charm. Amazing.

Impera Magna said...

What a beautiful quilt and what a great pattern.... love how the quilt turned out and I'm sure you do too!

Karen said...

Love the pink!!! This is beautiful.

stephanie @ Luckystarquilts said...

Hi Jan,
I really like your quilt too! Since I'm sure the pattern is no longer available I decided to draft it out. I used 2 1/2" strips for a block that finishes at 14". It's a little chunky looking but I still like it, especially for a guy quilt. Am I on the right track? Or would you suggest a narrower strip? Thanks for the inspiration!

FatQuarterQuiltFarm said...

Wait a minute!! Am I at the wrong blog?? You didnt hand quilt your own?? hahahahahaha yeah...1996?...I'd say Done is Good!!!

Heirlooms by Ashton House said...

Hi Jan,
I love the colors you picked for your quilt. What a beauty! It looks lovely on your bed. And that quilting is beautiful. Love those feathers!

Quilts And Pieces said...

Oh it is wonderful! I love it!

KeyQuilter said...

I know what you mean! The last quilt I quilted by hand took 2 yearas (king size) and of course then I gave it away for Christmas. Don't we all? Right after that I got my Gammill- gosh, that was 1995! Seems like yesterday.