Thursday, February 20, 2014

Stitch Therapy

Or is it?

As you all know, I am not a machine quilter. Most of my machine quilted projects involve organic, wavy lines or stippling. That too is so stressful to me, Most of the time I choose to hand quilt my quilts.

Lately, I am working on a quilt that has to be completed by certain time so I decided to machine quilt which reminded me of this old quilt I made in 2005.

In 2005, I had just finished a couple of pink and green quilts and few scraps were calling to be made into a quilt.

When I first pieced it, I was going to hand quilt the quilt. But one day, I decided to give machine quilting a try and since there were no other tops lying around, I decided this one was IT!


It was so stressful! It was the fear of  "what if it did not look good" that was making me uneasy. After working on couple of blocks, I knew my fear had become a reality. I liked this top which was now completely ruined. I thought of ripping the stitches out but that was even more painful. So I left it alone and practiced some more.




and, then some!

It got better with time. I am still not very comfortable but at least, trying new patterns.


 It is still stressful. I would rather be hand quilting.

 

26 comments:

  1. I've never enjoyed machine quilting either and always prefer to see hand quilting. but that makes it hard to finish a lot of quilts. I think this quilt is gorgeous and the machine quilting is just fine. wonderful quilt no matter what and no one else will see the frustration in it (unless you tell them).

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  2. I have found that the further back from a quilt like that I stand the better it looks. I have also found that 6 months distance from a project can also be a grea help.

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  3. I so agree! Machine quilting is very stressful to me too. They say it takes practice, but I don't have anything I want to practice on!

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  4. I prefer to hand quilt too - but sometimes you just have to get one done, or its for heavy use and machine quilting is the answer. Your stitching looks great! love the texture it added to~
    great job!!

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  5. Oh I can so relate but happily practice helped. I love your quilt, a busy scrappy one hides all those bits that are less than what we'd like. I'm rather fond of my beginner quilts, they are part of the journey too.

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  6. Machine quilting is not for me or maybe it's just my machine. With the relaxation that hand quilting gives me, I just can't see the point of sacrificing peace for speed. Your quilt is beautiful though! Take care, Byrd

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  7. I think the quilting on it looks fun and fanciful! And once it's washed, you will never see any of the places you think have 'ruined' it. Finish it up, and enjoy this beautiful quilt!

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  8. I'm the same as you, I much prefer hand quilting. To speed things up I'll do some machine quilting to stabilise the quilt and then finish it off with hand stitching. I think your quilting looks great on that quilt, its great to see your adventurous leaf patterns.

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  9. I share your sentiments exactly! The thought of machine quilting stresses me out! I find myself returning to hand quilting more and more. When i machine quilt, I am so glad when it's done. By contrast, I just finished hand quilting a very large quilt and was sad when it was over.

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  10. I do not enjoy machine quilting. Hand quilting;it takes many hours to make one small piece, but it is more precious thing.
    Have a lovely weekend.

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  11. I agree. I'd rather quilt them all by hand, but I doubt I'll live enough years for that! I also have several fmq practice quilts that I think look awful. It's just what has to happen in order to get to the place where fmq is enjoyable. I look at those quilts kind of like I look at my son's elementary school art projects. I do enjoy it more now, as long as I take it slow, use thin thread and match the colors to the fabrics. That helps to hide my bloopers. Your quilt looks great to me!

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  12. Your stitching is beautiful! Sometimes machine quilting stresses me out too :-)

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  13. I have never tried machine quilting maybe I should some day. For the moment - for many years - I have hand quilted all my quilts and feel quite happy about it. A relaxing work in the evening. Love your colorful quilts !

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    Replies
    1. Isa, As much as I love hand quilting, I know there is no way I can complete all of them by hand. In the beginning I hand quilted all my quilts. That was also because I didn't know how to machine quilt, nor did I have a machine that supported the [possibility. I do like to use what I make and sometimes, machine quilting is the only way I can get there. I could be happy with less quilts but it's that designing bug, the meditation quality of the process that keeps me going. If I am comfortable with machine quilting, it will make things lot easier in future.
      I hope you give that a try someday.
      So nice to hear from you!
      Hugs

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  14. I pinned it to my Inspiration page because it's so pretty and I want to make something like this.

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  15. I admire your courage in trying something new and persevering until you figured out how to do it.

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  16. The leaves look great. With more practice, you'll feel less stressed.

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  17. Yes! I prefer hand-quilting, too. No more wrestling with a big quilt and my machine, nor any "quilting by checkbook." So I won't make as many quilts as those machine quilters. but so what? It helps me temper my decisions--if it's good enough to make, it's good enough to hand-quilt.

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  18. machine quilting is very stressful for me - I do only small pieces (placemats, small runners, pillows, journal covers) for that reason. I so respect and admire the work machine quilters do (domestic, mid arm, and long arm - especially those who do hand guided stitching). You didn't ruin your quilt - the colors are lovely - and now it has another story layer to share . . . one of your growth.

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  19. Oh My Goodness….this is just too funny!!! My thoughts exactly!!!! I went through all of this and more with my recent 5 day start to finish quilt for hubby!! The machine quilting ( i did meandering ) turned out ok but it was so stressful and it physically wore me out!!!
    I had never done any machine quilting besides straight lines, but I had a deadline too and opted for the meandering style. I do feel more confident now that I jumped in and did it but I still like my hand quilting…..MUCH more relaxing. I guess this is why there are about 25 quilt tops hanging in my closet waiting to be quilted………sigh…..

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  20. Your quilt looks good! But I cannot machine quilt. It breaks my back and my neck and my shoulders and defeats the purpose my making quilts (for me, that is)
    Slowly slowly stitching my time into a quilt.

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  21. I'm really with you Sujata. Luckily I found Donna Ward in New Zealand to machine quilt for me. I still hand quilt my special quilts. I love this scrapy quilt. Your machine quilting is good, keep practicing - Hugs Nat

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  22. If it's any comfort, I think your quilt looks just fine, but I totally understand what you're saying. Just as I wish there was enough time to read all the books in the world, I also wish I could hand quilt all the quilts I make. Maybe it's not about getting things finished, but just enjoying the process? PS I find stippling to be nerve wracking, for some reason, so I've given up on it. PS Jr. Love this quilt top, you always use colors that make me happy.

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  23. You are doing a great job Sujata. I do feel your pain, I have all the same issues, and keep hoping to get better with practice. Your hand quilting is so perfect, I can see how frustrating this machine quilting can be for you. hang in there - xo

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  24. Your quilt is beautiful and vibrant and FINISHED. Well done.

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  25. I know this is an old post but...
    I think your quilt looks marvelous! I do not like to hand quilt and that is exactly why I quit quilting twenty-some years ago. This year, I decided I wanted to take up quilting again so HA! I purchased a quilting machine. Hubby will be setting it up this weekend and I can't wait to be able to finish my quilts easily without hand quilting them. Digging thru my stash I found about 5 WIP that I can practice quilting on.

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