Hand Quilting - a few things I found out along the way

To get a quilt hand quilted in a time frame, I need to be consistent.  I have given myself 3 months to get the sampler quilt done.  If I do 2 hours every day it will be done.  When I use to go to work (prior to Sept '10) I only did my hand work at night after dinner.  So I would thread up my Clover Needle holder with the 10 needles and threads before I went to bed each night.  The next night after 7pm, I would be ready to go.  I would do the 10 threads, and put it down.  If I got a bit bored with the quilting, I would do some piecing or applique to break it up.

I did get a very sore hand and elbow at one time, and since then have resorted to help.  Just under my elbow I wear the same strap as the tennis players to help the tendon.  You can buy them at the Chemist.  On my hand I wear a Handeze glove.  I saw these gloves being demonstrated at the Sydney quilt show one year, and I just had to try them myself.  After using them for a year, I decided I would sell them myself. Anyone with hand pain fine they are wonderful. 

I also use longer needles for hand quilting, so I can get more stitches on the needle at a time.  I prefer Clover Patchwork Needles in a size 9.  I use them for all sorts of work, not just the quilting.  They are strong, and last a long time.

Looking back over this post, it looks like an advertisement!  I can tell you that when I started up my website I maintained that I would not sell anything that I had not used myself, and thought to be good quality.  I have stuck to that idea.

I hope to baste the quilt this weekend, and get cracking.  BTW, I only ever use one colour of quilting thread.  That is YLI Ecru.  I played around with different colours, on different backgrounds, but found that you could hardly ever see the colour anyway, so stuck with the Ecru.  Try out a few different colours and see what you think.

Will keep you posted on the quilting.  Have not even thought about the design yet - guess I will just wing it, as usual!