Welcome to the Slow Sunday Stitching party! We invite you to take some time today to power down your brain and enjoy the benefits of relaxation with your favourite hand work.
This is an unusual hand stitching project that I worked on this week. This is a ball gown (for dress up purposes) with a broken zipper. A friend asked me to find a way to do it up in the back without using the zipper (due to "covid body expansion"). I found these cute little fasteners and hand stitched them to both sides of the zipper giving an inch of "expansion space". Hopefully that will work, and if it is still too tight, I found a red bias tape that could be threaded through the fasteners (like threading up a corset) starting at the bottom and tying up at the top. Where there's a will, there's a way!
I also became motivated to hand quilt a scrap project that I started in October. I wanted to try out a wool batt so I could develop an opinion on using it for hand quilting. I pin basted using my favourite "Kwik Klip" tool, which has been so well used that the product name has worn right off the handle!
This is a small project at about 27" square so I don't need a hoop. I wasn't sure how this combination (cotton top, wool batt, flannel backing) was going to be like to hand quilt and it's like "a hot knife through butter" as they say.
I plan to use this project as a teaching sample for the hand quilting class I am teaching on International Quilting Day on March 20th. My class is called "Stillness and Stitches in Solitude". My quilt guild is planning a big online event that you can join for only $20. We know how to have a party, so I know for sure it will be fun!
So what are you hand stitching this week? Share your slow stitching progress with us and we will cheer you on!
That's a very clever solution for the broken zip, enjoy your hand quilting and have a peaceful Sunday.
ReplyDeleteI didn't know that any one still had ball gowns, I guess we've always referred to them as formals. Enjoy your slow stitching today.
ReplyDeleteAah....Covid and the ever expanding waistline. Those fasteners are a good solution and if they are not quite right, ribbon threaded through them would be both practical and pretty. Your scrappy quilt is pretty in those lovely pastel shades. Enjoy your stitching.
ReplyDeleteWhat could be better than a day spent quilting a small quilt full of Spring colours?
ReplyDeleteI love the title of your class! I hope it goes well!
ReplyDeleteThose fasteners on the red dress are beautiful! Happy you are enjoying the wool batting; I’ve never used wool.
ReplyDeleteClever solution!
ReplyDeleteHappy slow stitching, Kathy!
Very clever solution and what a beautiful dress. Hope it fits and that she has a great time wearing her special dress.
ReplyDeleteLove your ball gown "fix". So glad you are enjoying your quilting. Thank you for hosting.
ReplyDeleteGreat solution you came up with for the ball gown fix! Thanks so much for hosting us every week!
ReplyDeleteI know all about covid body expansion! Hopefully your clever extension loops will fit!
ReplyDeleteHi,
ReplyDeleteLove the quilt your quilting on. The colors
are very pretty. Have a great day!
Wool batting is all I use for hand-quilting now! Once you use wool, it's hard to go back to anything else. I registered for your guild's event...sounds like lots of fun :)
ReplyDeleteI'll be interested to know what you think about the wool batting for hand quilting. I haven't tried it yet, but I know other hand quilters who love it. Enjoy your Sunday stitching, Kathy!
ReplyDeleteI've used wool batting in machine quilting and love the look it gives. I'll be interested to see your hand quilted project. Have a wonderful week!
ReplyDeleteThe hooks you put on the dress are so pretty! And so is the piece you are hand-quilting.
ReplyDeleteMichelle
https://mybijoulifeonline.com,
Cute fix for a pretty dress--
ReplyDeleteand I have a question-when you use those pins for basting--don't you find that your quilting thread gets tangled around the pins???? I think I found that out years ago and so that is when I went to thread basting--but pinning looks like it would so much quicker!!
luv, di
It was a super smart and decorative solution for fixing the dress The tool Kwik Klip was completely new to me, and I searched on Youtube to see how it should be used. Smart tool!
ReplyDeleteThat's a very clever solution
ReplyDeleteI truly admire all you hand quilters. I tried it again a few days ago on a small project and just cannot get the hang of it, so off to the machine we went. I guess part of it is that I do not use a thimble for anything, again just never got the hang of it.
ReplyDeleteGood advise on the batting, thank you.
ReplyDelete