Handwork at QuiltCon

If you have been reading this blog for any length of time, you know that I am NOT known for my handwork!!! So, when I walked into the handwork area, I wasn’t expecting much!!

But, as usual, I was surprised!!

First of all, I had to change my definition of what a “handwork” quilt was!! You see, I think of something completely pieced and quilted by hand. But, the QuiltCon definition was this….

The first quilt that caught my eye was this one…..

It took me a while to figure out what the handwork was, but I finally got close enough to see the seed stitches…..

….that made up the shadows.

The really interesting thing about this was the fact that it was quilted in 1/8-inch lines BEFORE the seed stitches were added. But, the stitches didn’t show thru to the back!!

That meant that she had to run the stitches thru the batting rather than “stab-stitching” them thru the entire quilt sandwich. That would have been SO hard to do!!! Well done Diana!!

Next was this piece……

This is a great exercise in how threads can change fabrics. Have a closer look…..

That is a LOT of cross-stitches!!

It was interesting to take a peek at the back of the quilt…..

…..where you can see that tulle was also used. this gives a great view of ALL of the machine stitching that went into the quilt!!

This next one was simple, but SO effective……

In 2021, I attempted something like this but fused the fabrics and wasn’t happy with the fraying that occurred along the edges. You can read more about the attempt HERE.

It looks as if these are pieced together which would solve that problem and I REALLY like the idea of adding movement with the stitching. Maybe THIS will be my new “slow stitching” project???

Finally, I was drawn to this quilt…..

lt reminded me greatly of a photo that I took when we were in Mozambique……

If you want to read more about our lunchtime with Zak’s family, check out this post…..

Portrait of a Mozambique bush family

But I have digressed……

Back to the quilt….. I loved the machine work on this quilt but couldn’t figure out why it was in the handwork category. Then I noticed the headscarf on this one woman…..

It is a magnificent beaded piece and DEFINITELY belongs in the handwork arena!!

Once again, these quilts were great examples of a new way to think about handwork.

Maybe I can try some soon!!!

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