Last weekend I finished binding the Heartstrings Quilt. I really enjoyed this quilt - it was easy, used up lots of scraps, and it has great visual impact. I got the idea of putting the red half inch strips on either side of the brown strip in each block from Melva whose quilt blocks were photographed on Mary's Heartstrings blog.The hardest part of this quilt has been photographing it, as it keeps raining. Or it is dark when I get home from work. Here are some not such great shots outside:
Susan Caldwell picked a good thread color because it looks light on the dark fabrics and dark on the light fabrics:
Given that this is such a geometrical quilt, I wanted sort of a geometrical quilting pattern. I picked a baptist fan variation panto that provided a curved counterpoint to the straight line strip piecing:
Unfortunately, I don't remember what the pantograph is called. But the above photo is a shot of the back. I had originally planned to give this quilt away; I envisioned it as a man's quilt. But now that I have it done, I can't give it up. It is full of my former projects - there are scraps of dresses I made for me and my mother, scraps from skirts, and shirts, and quilts, usually given to others. Maybe it is because it is my first real scrap quilt, but I just can't let it go. So I'm keeping it, and I have named it "A Man's Heartstrings". It is a substantial weight quilt, due to the muslin foundation of the squares, and it has been keeping me warm every night since I got this done. After reading the Selfish Seamstress blog, I'm trying not to feel guilty about keeping it. : )
Parting Shot: Look what I knitted at my first lesson!
After the very first stitch, it all came back to me, and I just knitted away as if it hadn't been 38 years since I had picked up a knitting needle. How could this be, I wondered? "Muscle memory," said Laura, our fab instructor and knitter extraordinaire. Next week we get to learn to purl!
12 comments:
I would keep it too - it turned out great and it has too many memories! I LOVE the panto that Susan uses on it.
Gorgeous string quilt - well done!!!
Your quilt is lovely, as is the one you mnade for your sister. Very nice. I enjoyed your photos and stories about your hometown. I was raised in a tiny town in Missouri, and my grandparents had a cotton farm, and an old farmhouse that my grandfather built. Your stories and pics brought back memories.
Stunning! STUNNING! (Can you tell I like the quilt? :P) Stunning, I tell ya!
Re the knitting, I picked it up again after ages and found, to my surprise, that I was even BETTER at holding two needles at a time (I used to prop one in my lap). Awesome!
It turned out great -- they can be hard to give away can't they? The Baptist Fans look wonderful too -- they're one of my favorite designs to quilt on a HeartStrings quilt.
It's wonderful and that quilting is lovely.
Love the quilting. Did you quilt this or send it out? Are you able to come up with the name of the panto? It is just what I am looking for....
OMG the Selfish Seamstress is a scream!! Congrats on the knitting...will be fun to see you acquire a new hobby :)
Ok, it's totally gorgeous and of course, you HAVE to keep it. Well done.
Dear Kim,
This is my very favorite. I prefer the display on the wooded floor as it might look contrast on a bed, next to the floor. My personal favorite color combination is Brown and Blue but this combination, with this pattern is fantastic. More than pretty!
You've outdone yourself.The panto just matches the level of the color/pattern combo.
Please know that when you are gifting a work of art,like this, you are not 'giving it away'. A gift like this will be treasured forever. You would not choose someone to own it that did not feel that way.The pleasure you get in making it is only matched by the appreciation for years to come from the receiver.
Your Mom showed me the one you made for her, after sharing the personal story of the original one.She And your Dad will cherish it the rest of their days. You have to know you could not have gifted her with any thing more special.
Thanks, y'all, your comments are truly appeciated and treasured! I had a great time with this quilt - it just came together so quickly and easily. Morah, I'll find out the name of the panto from Susan Caldwell, and email you.
So glad you're keeping it! It's how I've felt sometimes when I see my scrappy quilts--but to have scraps of so many things that bring fond memories, you should keep it!
Love the quilting too.
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