I forgot about hand quilting even though I enjoy it from time to time. I have one quilt set up for hand quilting just waiting for my attention.
I use a friend and the leader of our church group, "Kingdom Quilters" She is very good and also reasonable. Have used my LQS at AST, they have an enormous selection of pantograms and do great work.
I'm hoping to begin doing FMQ this year. I have some lap quilts I want to try my handon. Still trying to finish my hand quilting on the Turning Twenty Quilt I've been working on for about 2 years.
Have so many plans and fabric for quilts, the goo Lord willing I may get some completed this year.
After 7 years I have completed 29 quilts, approx double size each. Two of these quilts were sent out for "custom" long arm machine quilting to a local multiple award winner. Although expensive, they turned out beautifully and the custom quilting greatly enhanced the quilt. If I had unlimited money, which I don't, every quilt would go to this award winning quilter for custom quilting. One quilt was sent out to a less expensive long arm quilter for an edge to edge pantograph. Although beautifully done I was disappointed as the edge to edge pantograph not only did not add to the beauty of the quilt, in my opinion it actually distracted from the quilt design. I guess I was comparing it to the more expensive "custom" quilting which really isn't fair. The other 26 quilts I have done myself on my domestic sewing machine, mainly because I can not afford to send them out for "custom" quilting.
Personally I am baffled by people who say if they didn't do the quilting the quilt wasn't completely done by you. Did you plant and harvest the cotton, spin the fiber and thread, design the fabric, die the fabric, and design the pattern?
I currently have a large stack of UFO. One turned out really well and I am saving up to send it out for custom quilting, some are just waiting in line for me to get to them ( I piece between 5-8 quilts a year, but only quilt 3-4), and some just didn't turn out so well.
Hoping that someday I have free or low cost access to a long arm quilting machine, or unlimited money to sent them out for custom quilting.
Denise Smart
I would like to try hand quilting on a small project like a table runner sometime. I think I may look at sending my next quilt out to be done because I can tell doing it myself is taking its toll on my wrists (both of them have issues and I had surgery on the left one 2 years ago). I have so many other UFO from other crafts that I don't want to end up doing the same thing with quilting. I plan to machine stitch the binding on both sides for my first quilt. I have watched a couple tutorial videos and it LOOKS fairly easy...we will see. :)
Denise Smart: Personally I am baffled by people who say if they didn't do the quilting the quilt wasn't completely done by you. Did you plant and harvest the cotton, spin the fiber and thread, design the fabric, die the fabric, and design the pattern?
Great perspective! :)