Hand Quilting

My hand quilting class started last Thursday at Purl Soho. Firstly I want to say that if you're in New York, and you love fabric and yarn this is definitely a destination. It's actually two little stores, one knitting, and one quilting, and they are both gems. It's definitely a 'designers' store with white shelving, floor to ceiling, stacked with gorgeous yarn, and fabulous fabric. Gazing over it all, your head starts spinning with possibility and plans.

Ah, but the best laid plans...I wanted to have my Spoonflower fabric printed before the hand quilting class started. I had big plans. The test print came back with color issues, and it takes awhile to get the fabric back from Spoonflower, so the plans have been modified. It's probably for the best, since this will be my fist attempt at quilting.

So last Thursday, at my first class, my first impression was 'Wow, hand quilting is very precise work'. It's a lot more technical than knitting. In the first class we learned how to draft a template, cut template pieces, cut pieces out of fabric, and we stitched one block together. Our teacher, Cassandra, said we should decide on a project for the class. I knew I wanted to make something for Chickpea, but I wasn't sure what. I spent hours at Barnes & Nobel pouring over their quilting books, and my head was spinning. Not being a quilter, I was unaware of all of the possibilities. I decided to go with what I was attracted to, which is the more modern quilts, a la Denyse Schmidt. These quilts are bold and graphic, and use lots of solids.

So I have drafted a template, bought fabric, and have started sewing. The plan is to make a quilted playmat. It's very bright, and will be personalized with an initial. So far it's going well. I'll post the progress as soon as it starts looking like something.