Monday, July 25, 2011

Beauty is in the eye of the beholder.

There were three sisters whose Mother embroidered 6 quilt blocks for them. All 18 blocks were done in the same blue threads. None of the sisters sew or quilt. The oldest sister asked if I would make hers into a quilt. I said yes, but I won't quilt it. I will set it together for you. You get it quilted and then I will bind it.

This is what sister R's looked like. She had it machine quilted and it turned out beautiful. The quilter took the time to enhance the pattern, going around small pieces. The blocks and the pattern really stood out.


Sister M found out that I made R's into a quilt and asked me if I would piece one for her. Again I gave the same spiel. She too took it to the same quilter and it turned out beautiful. There was nice detailing going around all the points.

Sister M then saw the other two and asked me to set hers together too. What a challenge it was in our small town, with only 3 fabric stores to choose from, to find different blues all in the same shade. But I persevered and it all worked out good. I spent a little more time on this one, piecing the borders, which meant a lot more cutting of the fabrics. These blues had a little metallic threads in them and the fabric was just beautiful. The same quilter did this one.

Now I have nothing against machine quilting. I even used the same quilter several times and I know machine quilting can be just as beautiful as hand, maybe even more so.



And then it came back to me for binding and this is what I saw.



Glad I am not the beholder.

12 comments:

Down On The Farm said...

You are SOOOOOOO talented. Those quilts are GORGEOUS!!!!

GerryART said...

What the H*** happened with #3???

Some one quilted OVER the hand embroidery ! ! ! ! ! ! ! !

Barb said...

What an adorable quilt...you did a fantastic job!

Diana LaMarre said...

Your work is beautiful, Patti.

I first noticed on #3 that the embroidered blocks looked off kilter.

I can't say much about the back puckers because I get them much worse when I try to machine quilt! If I did that, I would be happy; if I paid to have it done, maybe not as happy.

Anonymous said...

Those are beautiful quilts and if I hadnt read everyone else comments about what you saw I wouldnt have known anything was wrong I dont reckon :o)

Deanna said...

You did a great job piecing those quilt tops. You are right about how difficult it is to find a variety of shades of blue that will work together. I had to enlarge that last picture to see the puffiness and puckers. I would be very unhappy with the result, especially after all of the gorgeous work that went into the quilt. And the fact that she quilted through the hand work. Oh my...

Flat Creek Farm said...

Your work is beautiful! As for the last quilt, I see what you're saying.. ;) -T

Stray Stitches (Linda G) said...

Your work was gorgeous on all three quilts. Maybe the quilter got tired of working on the same shades of blue - that's the only excuse I can come up. I hope sister #3 wasn't disappointed.

Marge said...

Oh dear. You never, never, never machine quilt over hand embroidered blocks! Was #3 sister disappointed? And I love your settings for the blocks. The blues are beautiful.

StitchinByTheLake said...

A couple of years ago I hand embroidered a big Christmas quilt that had pieced blocks all around the embroidered part. I took it to a machine quilter who had done work for me before. When she finished quilting she trimmed the quilt - something she doesn't ordinarily do. When trimming she cut off some of the points of the pieced blocks. I was so disappointed...I know she never even noticed it and I'm glad because she would have been horrified at her mistake. When I look at it now (it stays on my bed during the winter) I have to smile because I know that it could have been me that made the mistake. I've made so many of my own that I couldn't fault her! When I see it I am reminded that God loves her just as much as He loves me...not sure that makes any sense but it's like this...we all make mistakes and we all deserve forgiveness and thankfully we all get it. I do know too that she cares for her mother who has mild dementia. Perhaps that was a particularly bad day for them...perhaps not. Now if that happened more than once I have to say I wouldn't be sending any more quilts her way. :) blessings, marlene

Pix at Under the Oaks said...

I don't know much about quilting Patti but I do know you do some very beautiful work and that it comes from the happiness in your heart and a great deal of talent!

Karen thisoldhouse2.com said...

Your work is beautiful! I'd have no patience for this sort of precise work, but I love the finished products.