Maple Leaves quilting question
03-20-2011, 09:27 AM
#1
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Location: Ohio, just east of Toledo
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I posted awhile ago about the quilt blocks I got 30 years ago, because my husband's grandma died. She had a bunch of Maple Leaf blocks hand stitched together, a chart of how she planned to lay them out on graph paper, and a few of them with the sashing stitched together. After everyone's comments, I agreed, this quilt deserved hand stitching. I'm not much of a handwork sewer, and came across the 'big stitch' method, and decided that's the way I was going to finish it, after machine stitching the remaining sashing on.
So I plan, and have probably half of them done, 'big stitching' around each leaf with #8 perle cotton, the same color as the lead in that block. I also have planned big stitching yellow in the sashing, again a little bit done.
My question is, does anyone think if I big stitched in an off white, in the leaf part of each block, it would look ok? The perle cotton I have to match the color of each leaf, does not match it exactly, and being that the OCD tendencies are near the surface, it would bother me to us it ON the leaf itself, so that is not the best option (I'm having enough trouble with the OCD stuff in accepting the unevenness of the big stitching as it is)
There is a lesson to be learned here: Do not die leaving unfinished WIP, because you never know #1 if it will be finished #2 if it is, when, it may be 30 years before it's even looked at #3 if the person finishing it will even do it in a way close to what you originally planned
So I plan, and have probably half of them done, 'big stitching' around each leaf with #8 perle cotton, the same color as the lead in that block. I also have planned big stitching yellow in the sashing, again a little bit done.
My question is, does anyone think if I big stitched in an off white, in the leaf part of each block, it would look ok? The perle cotton I have to match the color of each leaf, does not match it exactly, and being that the OCD tendencies are near the surface, it would bother me to us it ON the leaf itself, so that is not the best option (I'm having enough trouble with the OCD stuff in accepting the unevenness of the big stitching as it is)
There is a lesson to be learned here: Do not die leaving unfinished WIP, because you never know #1 if it will be finished #2 if it is, when, it may be 30 years before it's even looked at #3 if the person finishing it will even do it in a way close to what you originally planned
blocks stitched together with sashing
[ATTACH=CONFIG]172389[/ATTACH]
my stitching added
[ATTACH=CONFIG]172390[/ATTACH]
What there was originally
[ATTACH=CONFIG]172391[/ATTACH]
03-20-2011, 09:33 AM
#5
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I think keeping the stitching inside the leaves consistent would look nice. So yes, offwhite would look nice imho. I like the big stitch too. It looks happy and I'm sure someone's watching you from above with a smile on her face.
03-20-2011, 09:35 AM
#6
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Location: NY
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First of all I think you are doing a lovely job finishing this leaf quilt and your big stitch quilting looks wonderful. I think the contrast of the off white on the leaf will also look terrific. It will offset the colored thread on the white part. That said, I am often bitten by what I think will look great and the actual results once put out there for me to see. :lol: The nice thing about big stitch quilting is that it is very easy to pick out so after doing one block if you think it looks horrible you can pick it out and rethink your options. But I really think it will look good with the colored thread on the cream fabric and the cream thread on the colored fabric.
03-20-2011, 09:49 AM
#7
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Location: Ohio, just east of Toledo
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Thank you for responding. The 2 men in this house had an opposite opinion, but what do they know, they're non quilters, and one even thinks blue is blue, that's it, blue
The comment about her smiling from above is causing me to share a little more of the story:
My husband's dad was her only son, and when he was a teen, somehow he caused the auto accident that killed her husband, so she took over running the coal company her husband had. She was a more 'refined' woman, and when her son was involved with a girl form the mountains of WVa, to the point of her becoming pregnant, and he married her, she always accepted her but, beings they were so different, she gave subtle signs she did not accept her or what she considered her stupidity, or her son for that matter. But she adored the 4 grandsons that came along, my husband being the first. So much so,in her will she left 1/2 to her son, and the other half divided by her 4 grandsons.
We had many common interests, I know we would have been great friends. To me, this type of stitching looks more 'country' and using it is sort of demonstrating a blend of her 'city' to her DIL, and my son, 'country.' Hopefully, she is smiling. (I have a couple of her finished quilts, that demonstrate her fine quilting stitches)
The comment about her smiling from above is causing me to share a little more of the story:
My husband's dad was her only son, and when he was a teen, somehow he caused the auto accident that killed her husband, so she took over running the coal company her husband had. She was a more 'refined' woman, and when her son was involved with a girl form the mountains of WVa, to the point of her becoming pregnant, and he married her, she always accepted her but, beings they were so different, she gave subtle signs she did not accept her or what she considered her stupidity, or her son for that matter. But she adored the 4 grandsons that came along, my husband being the first. So much so,in her will she left 1/2 to her son, and the other half divided by her 4 grandsons.
We had many common interests, I know we would have been great friends. To me, this type of stitching looks more 'country' and using it is sort of demonstrating a blend of her 'city' to her DIL, and my son, 'country.' Hopefully, she is smiling. (I have a couple of her finished quilts, that demonstrate her fine quilting stitches)
03-20-2011, 02:09 PM
#9
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Join Date: Mar 2010
Location: Ohio, just east of Toledo
Posts: 1,369
I can't believe I forgot the end of the story, the best part:
Last week I was sitting on the rocking chair, quilting with the big stitches. My husband walks in and showed me what he just got from the maibox. It was a small package from his grandma's favorite niece. I recognized the name, the last time I saw her was the baby shower for my oldest son. She was Mabel's favorite niece. So he opens the package and inside was a small handwritten note that she had been cleaning and found some things she thought my husband would like.
There was a wedding invitation that she received when his mom and dad got married, an invitation to his high school graduation, and photos! Most of them were of his dad, aged 6 -15, some of Mabel in her early marriage, and a photo of the front of the coal company, that had our last name in it's name.
OMG, how wonderful she thought of him, and such a perfect time, while I was quilting Mabel's quilt!
(my oldest son looks a lot like his grandpa, now I have proof and we knew he was in the Navy. Now we have photos of him in his uniform. These will be packed away for my sailor son)
Last week I was sitting on the rocking chair, quilting with the big stitches. My husband walks in and showed me what he just got from the maibox. It was a small package from his grandma's favorite niece. I recognized the name, the last time I saw her was the baby shower for my oldest son. She was Mabel's favorite niece. So he opens the package and inside was a small handwritten note that she had been cleaning and found some things she thought my husband would like.
There was a wedding invitation that she received when his mom and dad got married, an invitation to his high school graduation, and photos! Most of them were of his dad, aged 6 -15, some of Mabel in her early marriage, and a photo of the front of the coal company, that had our last name in it's name.
OMG, how wonderful she thought of him, and such a perfect time, while I was quilting Mabel's quilt!
(my oldest son looks a lot like his grandpa, now I have proof and we knew he was in the Navy. Now we have photos of him in his uniform. These will be packed away for my sailor son)
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