Actual Hand Quilting

I was lucky enough to get to take a class with Chawne Kimber with SBAMQG. It was called "Improvisational Hand Quilting". What a great teacher (she's a math professor so she knows how to teach!) she is, I'd say jump at the chance if you see her teaching near you.

Even though I've been quilting for a long time, I have never taken a hand quilting class. And I really don't like doing much handwork. But after learning what she taught us, I can see why people really enjoy hand quilting so much. I found it to be very soothing and still creative.

And it wasn't as hard on my hands as I'd expected because I wasn't all tense using a hoop. Something about the fabric being stretched on a hoop, that tautness that you want, especially for embroidery, always makes my hands cramp up. It's almost like they're trying to be *as tense* as the hooped fabric. But Chawne doesn't use a hoop in her hand quilting, and I found that I liked that very much. It made it a more accessible and relaxed process to me.

 Maybe it doesn't end up quite as perfect doing it this way, but it certainly has character and shows "the hand of the artist". In my opinion, that's kind of the point if you're doing alllll that handwork! I liked trying following some marked designs, like the circles, and then also free-handing the swoopy shape above.

I feel pretty good about how this is looking, even on the back.

Practice practice practice.