Pretty Little Stitches

I admit to being a quilting snob in my past. I would not have dreamed of machine quilting my finished piecework had I even known how. My neat, tiny stitches completed every quilt project I made. But being a hand-quilter meant constant holes in my fingers from tiny needles driven time and again through the layers of backing, batting and quilt top.

During the years I worked in an emergency department, intact skin held a high level of importance for me. I don't like to remember all the body fluids I dealt with. Yes, I wore gloves. But my own intact skin helped protect me as well. And I still work as an RN, but that is only part of the reason I'll not likely ever return to hand-finishing my work.

Less than a year ago, I made the most amazing discovery: machine quilting has come a long way, and can be every bit as beautiful, creative as with tiny needle, thread and thimble at the quilting frame. The time saved makes the more modern way far more practical.  I'm head over heels loving what machine stitching adds to a beautiful pieced quilt top.

Everything you see on this blog now and for the next month or so will be done on a home sewing machine. 

I really love the designs and texture, the way the stitches can draw attention to the piecework or call attention to themselves.

Tom and I will soon be quilting on a long-arm machine. Give us a few weeks of further learning and practice. Please come back to check the blog as we begin to post new photos of our quilt-work in the near future.