I decided yesterday, it's time to finish a project I have started in recent months. I'd like nothing more than to share a finished project with you today, but I'm still not quite there yet.
One of the things that has stalled me from finishing my second (or is it my third?) Manx project was that when I sewed the squares together (a few weeks ago now), I realized (afterwards) that I should have trimmed them all down first. They finished differently sized, and while I got the fronts of the squares sewed together, they didn't match up all that well, and the extra fabric on the backs was just too much to deal with.
So, I took them apart, and went back to the cutting board.
With squares that now approximated each other in size, I set myself again to the task of sewing the fronts together. My pictures don't do justice to how complicated it was to put these together properly. I honestly don't know how people made these before modern sewing equipment, and things we take for granted like fine straight pins and electric irons.
I was thankful I had recently purchased some heat resistant straight pins, so I could pin and press to my heart's content, in order to manage the many layers.
After much contemplation (i.e. turning this thing in multiple directions, folding, refolding, head scratching and finally pressing and pinning again), I figured out how to finish off the back.
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Finally... that part was done. It's not perfect, but I'm satisfied. I will note that when trimming these down, I should have left the backs slightly larger than the fronts - like even an extra 1/4 inch - just to provide more fabric to fold over for seam sewing. As is, this will suffice as a decorative piece, but I don't think my hand-sewn seams on the back are substantial enough to hold up to the kind of use a full-sized quilt would see.
This is the last time I intend to share this project before it's finished. Here's a tease of the front:
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Lovely work, Becki!
ReplyDeleteThank you, Linda!
DeleteI agree with the quilting - I always tell people I never meet a 1/4 inch seam I wanted to sew. I am a garment sewer for sure - my sister on the other hand never wants to sew anything she might wear but quilts all the time. To each his own. I know just from the sneak peak it will be beautiful when complete.
ReplyDeleteRuth, I wonder where a 1/4 inch seam became the norm for piecing quilts? It feels a little reckless to me. lol
DeleteIt's soooo beautiful. What a treasure it will be when finished. You have way more patience than I have.
ReplyDeleteMaureen, I still haven't finished this one off, and I'm itching to make a couple smaller ones as hot pads for a friend. The shiny new thing is always trying to tempt me away from being responsible.
DeleteIt is really beautiful, Becki. I admire your diligence in finishing it.
ReplyDelete"Handmade" acquires a new meaning when I understand what went into the construction of something.
Thank you, TB. Imagining people making beautiful textiles with what we might consider crude tools fills me with awe and appreciation of their diligence.
DeleteYou are a better woman than me. I probably would have tossed it into the circular file by now. You have marvelous patience and grand fortitude! It is a gorgeous piece though. My grandmother made all 26 of her grand children quilts for their confirmation. All done by hand! Another amazing tenacious woman.
ReplyDeleteThanks, Marsha. Giving up was never a consideration, but maybe that's because I had seen videos where others had managed to finish off the seams of these squares, and it looked pretty easy. I didn't bother going back and watching said videos as I figured by that point, it was all fairly intuitive. That it took me more effort than I remember seeing others employ, I do wonder if I made it harder on myself than I needed to. It wouldn't be the first time...
DeleteWell, it looks beautiful in the sneak peek! You are straightforward about the difficulties and your lack of "perfection," but I think the (nearly) finished product holds no clues of that difficulty!
ReplyDeleteCheryl, you make me think... I imagine every "maker" has to tell him or herself that others will not notice the imperfections, or if they are obvious, they are part of the charm.
DeleteWell I really feel it’s been worth the effort. I must, when I’m on the Isle of Man later this month, find out if there’s a place there with the history of these quilts. I am sure many homes would have had a sold iron iron that would sit on the wee bit of the stove. My first house was a Victorian end-terrace old miners cottage and next door were 2 very elderly brothers who had been born there. They had a metal tub they kept in the backyard and bathed weekly (I’d hear the clatter of them taking it in on a Sunday night) and they heated their home and water from their big metal stove and they had an old metal iron sat on it. (They also had a stack of newspapers from important days and showed me one from the day the titanic sank!) Liz (Highlandheffalump)
ReplyDeleteLiz, I do imagine nearly every home had an iron of some sort, but as I popped up and down from stitching to ironing board to back to stitching on every single strip of fabric, the idea of someone having to retrieve a hot iron from a stovetop or its perch near a fire began to seem unlikely. I even began to question my own determination to press every fold. And as fastidious as I attempted to be, my squares were still not matching in size. I would love to see an old quilt hand made of these squares. They used their hands as their measuring tools. I really wonder how they turned out.
DeleteWell worth the effort, I think, and it will be beautiful when done. I have a whole pile of unfinished projects. They often give me a LOOK.
ReplyDeleteAmalia
xo
Ah yes... the look from the UFO pile. Maybe I should devote a series of posts to finishing random projects. =D Thanks, Amalia!
DeleteI'm loving the colours you've used for your Manx project (the name sent me off to enquire of the google about whether or not it shares the name with a cat and so it does).
ReplyDeleteInteresting Mary Anne! I didn't make the connection, but you are right! They both originate from the Isle of Man.
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