As I mentioned in my first post, I have a habit of giving away the stuff I make. Crochet rugs… given to my MIL, and all the babies born in our congregation. Quilts… well I even gave away my first and best effort. It’s not a bad thing, some of us show our love by making things after all. But then you start a blog and realise your quilt gallery is empty, because you gave everything away, un-photographed.
So, I have promised myself I will keep this quilt!
There was a QAL for the Gypsy Wife Quilt in the recent past, but I joined the trend a little late to join in. I did make the most of the hints posted by participants though, especially the note to sew very scant quarter inch seams. There have been some beautiful versions of this quilt made, including one by Catherine Mosley from New South Wales, Australia, which was exhibited earlier this year at Quilt Con.
To make sure I keep this quilt, I have deliberately stitched the hand-quilting with a no returns policy. No unpicking, no do-overs. I reasoned that this way I would be too ashamed of any mistakes to give it away. No matter how worthy the cause.
So far I have quilted about two thirds of the ribbons that run up the quilt, and few of the blocks. This is mainly because quilting the blocks requires me to rotate the quilt 360 degrees. So, I am procrastinating about that for now. Quite successfully too.
The one issue I am having is with pulling the knots through from the back of the quilt. It looks like some of the threads on the quilt back are being broken by the knot passing through. The Perle 8 cotton I am using is fairly coarse, and I wonder whether I need to change thread to something a bit finer. Any suggestions?
Now that the evenings are cooler, and the fire is lit, quilting is no longer a potential cause of heatstroke, so I average a couple of ribbons along the quilt length per evening. At the present rate it should be done before the end of winter. It’s a very summery quilt, and will be lovely on my bed, come a return to fine weather.
Must not give away!
Linking up to WIP Wednesdays and Lets Bee Social
quilts across the aisle 
I hope you really do keep this quilt. It is gorgeous. I love the hand quilting.
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Thanks, I am sorting of enjoying the process of hand quilting. Not too sure I would want to hand quilt all my future projects though.
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Oh, Tarnia! This is a gorgeous quilt. And your hand quilting makes it that much more special. I don’t blame you one bit for planning to keep this one! Thanks so much for joining in the Let’s Bee Social.
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What a lovely quilt! The hand quilting sets off the lively colors and fun piecing so perfectly! You absolutely should keep this! You deserve your own quilts, too!
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Yes, I will definitely keep this one. I am considering keeping all Jen Kingwell quilts I make, and only giving others away. They take a lot of work.
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Your Gypsy Wife is lovely Tarnia… I especially love it because you are big stitch hand quilting it! Love the fussy cutting you did too.
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Thanks, the fussy cutting was fun….though I had to remember to fussy cut the blocks in the right orientation, which didn’t always happen.
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This is one of the best Gypsy Wife quilts I have seen! 🙂
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Why thank you so much. Have you joined the trend yet?
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Beautiful quilt and I wouldn’t give it away either! Love that you are enforcing the ‘no return’ policy!
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Yes, it certainly goes against the grain, but its the only way to “allow” me to keep the quilt. Thanks for visiting.
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So beautiful! I love the hand quilting. I’m glad that you’ll keep it.
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I like Auriful 12 weight for hand quilting – it’s a tiny bit thinner than perle 8 but makes a lovely stitch and is definitely easier to pull through fabric. Great job by the way, the quilt is amazing!
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Thanks for the suggestion. I may have to place an internet order for some, as I’m not sure it is available in NZ. Time for some shopping I think, what a shame!
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Such a beautiful finish! I love your ‘summer’ colour scheme, and your hand quilting will only make it that much more special – so keep it you must!
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Oh, I love it!! This is on my quilty bucket list. I have been hoarding Tula Pink especially for it LOL! Great job.
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I think someone else had the same (brilliant) idea, so do a search if you want to get an idea of how it could look. I am doing another version of this quilt in mixed Tula, Kaffe and AMH fabrics. Gloriously colourful.
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This is a beautiful quilt, and I love your rule of not unpicking or going back! If we did that, we’d just be great unpickers!! When I’ve quilted with Perle 8, I’ve brought the knot through a seam and buried it in the batting, rather than making a hole in the actual fabric. Enjoy!
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This quilt is gorgeous! Love your fabric selection. And it is made even better with your lovely handquilting. I couldn’t see any wonkiness on it. Definitely a keeper. Make sure you label it.
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thanks for your kind comment. I was thinking of joining a local trend within our guild, and using an old doily on the back as a label. It will add to the retro charm of the quilt.
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