There are so many parts to making a quilt. Deciding on a pattern. Picking material. Cutting the pieces. Stitching them together. Then comes the layering, quilting and binding. Today one popular method is to machine quilt either on a regular machine or on a special "longarm" machine. There are many stitch patterns available that add to the beauty of a quilt top, and it can be very effective. But the time-honored, old-fashioned way is to quilt by hand. It takes a long time, but the results are worth it.
I've noticed one interesting thing about quilting by hand is, you have a lot of time to think and pray, which can be a good thing.
When a quilt is put in a frame, it can either be quilted by one person, or several can work on it. If several work together, it can be a nice time of visiting. This could either be a special quilting "bee," or perhaps a regularly-scheduled time for quilters to get together, such as a church group.
One thing about a quilt in a frame is, it takes up a LOT of space. Dad told how his mother, Grandma C., would have the quilt frame set up in the living room. He and his brothers would come in from school and have to duck under the frame to go on through the house. And invariably, as they ducked, they'd *bump* the frame and make Grandma stick her finger with the needle. Ouch!
Here are Grandma C.'s quilting sticks, which I still have, and have used a fair bit in the past. I don't have the room now, but they have been sturdy and useful for a long time.
A closeup view of the construction of the sticks with the wooden boards, heavy cotton cloth and nails. For a long time, I've been wanting to make my own new set with new boards, striped ticking and carpet tacks.
The Christian Church I grew up in had a ladies' quilting group for a long, long time. They took in peoples' quilts, quilted them for a fee, then donated the fee to missions. Again, that frame took up a lot of room. They used a classroom, and set it down to quilt, then leaned it against the wall when done so it would be out of the way for class on Sundays. This was a nice group of ladies (including an aunt), and I have sweet memories of the visiting and happy fellowship while we quilted.
The following two pictures are from the Christian Church 1989 Church Directory. It looks like they're working on a Double Wedding Ring. The first one shows Elsie L., a lady I'm not sure who it is, and Juanita M. (the lady in charge of the quilting).
The second photo shows my Aunt Frances B. and Tressie A.
This photo from the 1993 Christian Church Directory shows Viola P., Jack W. (our pastor at the time) and Elsie L.
Here in Oklahoma at the Mennonite Church I go to, there used to be just the main church building. When we quilted in that building, we did like the ladies above in the classroom - the quilt was set down for us to quilt at on quilting day, then it was propped on the wall out of the way for Sundays. This back area of the church was used for not only quilting, but church dinners. And it was a tight fit to put up tables for everyone!
But a couple or three years ago, we built a fellowship hall right next door to the church building. It has a big dining area, a nice kitchen, bathrooms, a youth room upstairs, and ... a completely seperate quilting room! So it's really nice to be able to put a quilt in the frame and just leave it.
The ladies here usuaslly quilt a "whole cloth" quilt that has a patchwork design printed on it, then it goes to the MCC Sale in Enid in the fall. Here is a "Dresden Plate" print quilt top in frame.
Closeup of work going on with the Dresden Plate print quilt.
Another whole-cloth printed quilt top fefatured a red-and-green pattern, and it was a little tricky, but looked nice quilted.
A closeup of the red-and-green printed top.
Both in the apartment we lived in when we moved here, and even in this house now, I don't have room to put up a big quilt frame. So I've taken to doing my quilting in a large hoop. I like it very much, as it's very portable, and I can turn it any way I want to stitch comfortably. I quilted a little red-white-and-blue quilt in it, then currently I have two going at once in seperate hoops - a Log Cabin and a Jacob's Ladder.
Quilting on the Log Cabin in the hoop awhile back.
The Log Cabin quilt recently on straw bales out by our garden - at this point it was maybe a little over half quilted. I've really been working on it the last week or so, and I think I only have a couple of the squares and the outside edges left to do. If I can get it done in time for the local fair in August .... well .... we'll see! Because that'll have to include binding, and my machine's broken. But, perhaps I can make something work, or find an inexpensive machine at Wal-mart. :)
