Monday, November 24, 2008

Swap and Polka Dot Girls Done

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It arrived!!! Mary from Quilt Hollow and I talked few months ago about having a "Little Quilt" swap. We gave plenty of time to get a small quilt finished and mailed in Nov. Mary received the little quilt I sent her last week and I got mine from her today, we both kept it a complete surprise what we would make. I'm so delighted with the little 9-patch quilt and I had no idea she was also going to send this gorgeous framed log cabin quilt as well, it's like a early Christmas. Mary Thank you so much for this wonderful gift, you have spoiled me...I love them both. Bloggers really know how to spoil each other well and have fun doing it along the way.
It's been a long 10 months of stitching each block one by one. Here it is finally Polka Dot Girls quit is all pieced. I can see why I like doing small stitching projects, this was a big commitment and I was determined to get this one done....woohoo. Don't forget to check the link in my side bar for other bloggers making PDG's quilt.
A close up of the quilt. Now to decide how this will get quilted. Any advise on quilting with stitchery blocks? Do you quilt right over them or just go around the stitching?

41 comments:

Sherry said...

Love your swap goodies from Mary. Your Polka Dot Girls quilt top turned out wonderful! You should be proud...WooHoo! Good for you, love it.

Kate said...

Your PDG quilt looks fantastic! I've never done any stitcheries, but I assume you wouldnt quilt across your beautiful stitching work...

Lurline said...

Lucky girl - lovely dolly quilt and also framed log-cabin - how lucky are you? Makes me feel very guilty though, mine has been finished for ages and I haven't posted!
You Polka Dot quilt is so beautiful - I wouln't quilt over your beautiful stitches, so hope you get sime helpful advice!
Hugs - Lurline!

antique quilter said...

lucky you!
I love that framed log cabin block.
great swap gifts...

Unknown said...

I love your PDG! It is fantastic and worth the wait. As far as the quilting is concerned, it depends on what you do. You can stitch over them if you do a cross hatch with a thread that matches your background. Or you can just stitch in the ditch around the blocks. Either way, I think you will be happy with your quilt. It is lovely.

Abby and Stephanie said...

What beautiful gifts you received from your swap partner. I can see why you're thrilled. Your polka dot girls quilt is just darling.

Karen said...

Oh Wendy your swap package is wonderful. I love both the quilt and that framed pieces is so sweet. I bet you enjoyed your mail yesterday. Now lets talk about that PDG's quilt. WOWZERS sister that was lots and lots of work. It's beautiful and a real treasure and I'm so proud of you for sticking with it and getting it done. I certainly wouldn't quilt through your stitcheries - there's to much work on them. But I don't know what to tell ya. I'm full of opinions, just not solutions, LOL.

Hugs - karen

Within A Quarter Inch said...

My goodness - it is worth every second of every stitch - simply delightful.

Needled Mom said...

What a lovely exchange you guys had.

The polka dot gal quilt really turned out cute. I think that I would just do an outline quilting around the stitching. You certainly want all that work to show off.

Carole said...

OMG! Wendy you PDG quilt is gorgeous! I just love the fabrics you choose. Congrad on finally completing it. As for the quilting, it would be something I would have to think about. I'm not one to quickly come up with a design. I certainly would not go over the embroidery blocks. Tell you what, why don't you send it my way and I'll admire it while I wait for some machine quilting inspiration! ;o) Lovely goodies from Mary. She's a sweetheart alright! Hugs!

Patti said...

Oh my - what an accomplishment! And it is just stunning. You should be very proud of your efforts.

In my experience most people want NO quilting in stitchery blocks. What they don't realize is that the blocks will then be puffy and saggy, really detracting from the beauty of the quilt. I've seen some where the quilting went right over the stitchery. Amazingly enough you still don't notice the quilting - it doesn't distract from the stitchery at all, and the entire quilt looks great because it's evenly quilted all over.

Quilter Going Bananas said...

The PDG is fantastic! I too vote for not quilting over the stitchery.
Nice parcel you got in the mail too.

Stina Blomgren said...

So much loveliness in your blogentry... first that gorgeous ninepatch quilt and the framed block...wow...Lucky you!! And after that ...sigh and wow at the same time...it is lovely...!!
Amazing!

Terry said...

Your PDGs look fabulous Wendy! I sometimes wonder if my PDGs will ever get that far! I keep telling myself to be patient! :0) As for the quilting, I think I'm just going to quilt around the stitchery, maybe just in so far from the edge of the block or something like that. No way am I stitching through all that hard work!

Shakerwood said...

The quilt looks wonderful!I certainly wouldn't want to quilt over all that great stitching. Maybe after quilting all the other blocks you could tack down the stitched blocks with some embellishments like buttons or charms. Will you be hanging it or using it on a bed? That may make a difference how you finish it.

Unknown said...

Your swap package is truly gorgeous, lucky you. Now for your Polka Dot Girls, what an amazing quilt. Love the colours and fabrics you have used. As you know I completed a BH's quilt early last year, or was it the year before? Anyway, after spending hours and hours doing all the embroidery I certainly wasn't going to ruin it by stitching through it all. I did a cross hatch quilting and stopped right next to the embroidery thread. Picked up on the other side of it to continue the line of quilting. Doing it this way you don't have much blank area on the back, and it doesn't sag or droop. Hope that helps you some.

Knot Garden said...

Wonderful swap goodies!
The polka dot girls quilt is beautiful. I could look at that picture for ages, there's so much to see in it. You must be so pleased with it. I don't think I would want to actually stitch over the embroidery if it was mine.

Mam said...

Congrats on completing the quilt, you should be very proud.

Fabricmom said...

What a beautiful quilt. Job well done.

Candace said...

What a great swap, Wendy! And your PDG quilt is amazing! I guess I wouldn't want the stitcheries to sag, but no way would I quilt over them - how about some echo-quilting around the areas that will take it? Make sure you show us the completed quilt! Chee4rs!

Darlene said...

Fabulous swap package from Mary - the framed log cabin quilt was a terrific surprise!

Oh, Wendy, your PDG's is beautiful. Sigh - my completed stitchery blocks are off on the side waiting for me. LOL Someday soon! In my experience I prefer to stitch through the stitchery - it's not obvious and gives some texture.

Quilts And Pieces said...

Oh man, I drooled over Mary's framed log cabins on her blog! And you got one! And I LOVE your PDGs!

Within A Quarter Inch said...

Wow, great work!

Carol said...

Wendy what a wonderful swap package you got...the quilt is beautiful and the framed log cabin...oh my!
Your PDG is just beautiful! What an accomplishment.

Judy said...

Hooray, you got it all done and did a spectacular job at it too! Great accomplishment and I love the colors!

Now I've done both types of quilting...around and over the stitching. IF you quilt over it you have to move extremely slow and make sure not to push the stitches and thread and distort them. With a regular darning foot it can push the threads and make it look horrid, I know, I did it and had to remove stitches. It has to do with how tightly the foot rests against your fabric. I've also seen them done with machine quilting and then hand quilting in the stitchery parts and that looked nice too. If you leave them un-quilted they can be done nicely so that you don't get that puffy look. it just takes more care and keeping the fabric taut.
Whatever you decide will look lovely!

Colleen formerly of South Africa said...

Lovely swap things and that quilt of yours is wonderful. Love it.

Teresa said...

OH my goodness - your polka dot girls are just beautiful.

Lynn said...

The polka dot girls quilt is spectacular. My 2cents worth: I saw 2 beautiful redwork quilts at one of my lqs's. One was quilted over the stitching and I thought it detracted from the redwork. I was suprised at the effect. The other was a similar pattern and it was outlined quilt and I like it much better. You did all that beautiful handwork - wouldn't want anything taking away from that. Regardless your work is always beautiful - looking forward to see how you finish it.

Judy S. said...

That's a beautiful piece of work, Wendy! I, too, would be reluctant to stitch over the embroidery. Maybe just stitch "in the ditch" for those blocks and quilt the ones that aren't embroidered. Excellent job! It'll be fun to see after you've bound and quilted it.

Linda - Behind My Red Door said...

I love what you received from Mary and I did check her blog and love what you sent her as well. What a great swap you both had!!

Linda - Behind My Red Door said...

Forget to say that the PDG quilt bowls me over with the details in the stitching and piecing. WOW - it is fabulous!!

Calamity Jane's Cottage, Bonnie said...

Hi Wendy, Your swap goodies are great, Mary did a wonderful job.
Your stitching on your angel quilt is beautiful.
Bonnie

Lynn said...

Wow. This quilt is truly beautiful. I love the stitched blocks and I love the fabric. What a great quilt.

Anonymous said...

WOW your Polka Dot Girl quilt is gorgeous! You did such a nice job. :o)

Peg - Happy In Quilting said...

Polka Dot girls look fantastic nice swap prezzies...

Ginger Patches said...

Polka Dot Girls is gorgeous!!! How wonderful to have it all done!

Cathy said...

Wow, that quilt looks amazing!! I cant wait to start mine...only 3 more projects to finish and then Im there!!! CAthy

QuiltNut Creations said...

wow that is gorgeous! what an amazing amount of work you did on that

and i LOVE the log cabin picture. i must make one of those for me lol

alda said...

aaarh!! you have finished your wonderful project!!! Oh, I love it!!!! it's so beautiful!!!!
I'm quilting my stitchery quilts in the ditch or across the sqares.
hugs
alda

Wendy said...

I was facing the same decision with my Winter Wonderland stitchery quilt in Red and White. I have seen them done both ways, and prefer the look of an all over quilting. It really did not detract from the stitchery if the right color thread is chosen. Match your background stitchery fabric. It is lovely!

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