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carolyn friedlander

carolyn friedlander

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Hunt QAL #12 Check In.

May 28, 2020 by carolyn friedlander 9 Comments

Hunt QAL #12 Check In.

Month #12, we did it! It’s been a year of Hunt, and I appreciate you following along and joining in. At the start, I really just thought I’d make a quilt top by this point, but to my delight I have an almost half-quilted quilt! Yay!

hunt quilt along quilt . carolyn friedlander

Backing + Basting

To back up a bit, it’s been an eventful month–or it’s at least felt that way. Looking back on the calendar, I see that it hasn’t happened fast, but instead it’s been steady bits here and there that have added up. In my mind I know this to be true, but it’s easy to forget and so this is an encouraging reminder.

hunt quilt along . carolyn friedlander

Having finished the quilt top middle of last month, I pulled backing options before the start of May. They sat in my studio taunting me until the 17th when I could spend an afternoon sewing them all together.

hunt quilt along . carolyn friedlander
hunt quilt along . carolyn friedlander

After my backing was ready, I couldn’t wait to get it basted so I could start quilting it. The anticipation was killing me, and I used that energy to seize on some progress.

It’s worth noting that I had batting ready. Normally, I get to the basting step, and I’m like “oh, batting…” (hand to face emoji.) Glad there wasn’t anything slowing me down here.

hunt quilt along . carolyn friedlander

My quilting dream for this quilt was to big stitch hand quilt with contrasting sashiko threads. I’ve loved big stitch for years, and I’ve recently been exploring (and loving) using sashiko threads. It felt like the perfect thing for this project, and it’s been on my mind for months.

Supplies

hunt quilt along quilting supplies

Here’s a look at my current supply situation. Dark green thread (from here or here), my trusty Kai scissors, Olympus needles (although I have a heap of others to try, I’m just in such a groove with this one), a thimble situation I’m pleased with (more below), and light and dark marking tools. Yes, I’m marking.

hunt quilt along quilting supplies

On a completely superficial note, the thimble situation since my last tool discussion was driving me a little crazy. I LOVE the Clover flexible thimbles, but the pink/purple combo was driving me bonkers. It’s completely ridiculous, I know, but I couldn’t handle it. Looking for other options, I tried these, and love combining one for my index finger, with the Clover blue version on my thumb and then my usual thimble on my middle finger. Joy sparked.

Quilting

hunt quilt along . carolyn friedlander

The quilting is coming along–like everything else–in bits and pieces that are adding up. It’s the most relaxing way to unwind at night and stitch away on a few rows. I’m doing straight lines, 3″ apart in different directions. If I get tired of going one way, I change it up. This suits my mood, and I think it suits the quilt. I also like that it’s a totally different approach than my previous versions (here and here).

hunt quilt along . carolyn friedlander

Any time I add hand quilting to my projects, I do it before any machine quilting. This flow works better for me, but it also means that I often think about machine quilting while I’m doing the hand quilting. I’ve had it in mind this whole time as a possibility, and I’ll see how I’m feeling about adding it–or not–when I get there. Today, I’m happy leaving it all hand quilted. It’s just so soft and homey.

hunt quilt along . carolyn friedlander

Thinking ahead

I’ll continue chugging along, and hopefully I’ll get it quilted by the end of next month. I can’t even believe that I’m halfway through already. The binding is not a settled issue, but I’ll continue to ponder that while stitching away.

hunt quilt along . carolyn friedlander

Thank you!

Thank you, thank you, thank you for following along! How did you feel about this informal, year-long format? I hope that it felt like we were moving along together, and that the check ins provided some accountability without too much stress.

I know it helped me immensely. There’s no way I would have gotten this far or been able to keep myself on track otherwise. I eventually finish things, but it’s the extracurricular projects like this that so easily get pushed to the back burner without some means of accountability. All along I’ve been thinking about how nice it was to have monthly goals for this project, and I’m planning to continue to set a date each month to check in on my progress as this finishes up and with what I pick to work out next.

Pattern: Hunt quilt pattern

Fabrics: Mostly mine from many of my collections. Backing fabric is also mine plus Liberty of London, some sparkly linen and a Robert Kaufman gingham.

See all of the Hunt Quilt Along posts in the summary here!

Reader Interactions

Comments

  1. Serena says

    May 28, 2020 at 9:27 pm

    I really do love this quilt … I’m still plugging away at my Wildabon from many moons ago. But it’s on the list. I’m a big fan of the look of chunky hand quilting – I’m glad you’re enjoying the process 🙂

    Reply
    • carolyn friedlander says

      May 29, 2020 at 9:13 am

      Thanks, Serena! Wildabon is another good one to plug away on–have fun!

      Reply
  2. Anja @ Anja Quilts says

    May 29, 2020 at 9:03 am

    Congratulations! It looks great.

    Reply
    • carolyn friedlander says

      May 29, 2020 at 9:12 am

      Thank you, Anja!

      Reply
  3. rebeca nelson says

    May 29, 2020 at 7:33 pm

    Your quilt is beautiful-great work as always.

    Reply
    • carolyn friedlander says

      May 30, 2020 at 10:43 am

      Thanks!

      Reply
  4. Karen Kunx says

    June 7, 2020 at 5:03 pm

    Please advise how to use your Sew Fine thread gloss.
    I am use to beeswax that you pull your thread through, and not sure how to use yours that is in a container. Thank you

    Reply
    • carolyn friedlander says

      June 8, 2020 at 9:30 am

      Hi Karen. Great question! It’s actually basically the same as this is primarily a beeswax product as well. I usually apply 2-3 passes by holding my thumb (not too heavily) over the thread while pulling it across the wax. The coating shouldn’t be anything visually obvious, but instead it will make the thread feel just slightly tacky. It may seem subtle, but it does add strength.

      Reply

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