my first quilt update

I'm excited about this one!! This is my very first quilt I ever made, before I knew that modern quilting even existed. Before my Grandma Burton even bought me the sewing machine I have. I think this quilt is something like 11 years old and most of the fabric used to make it was even older (like 20-30 years) as it was from my Grandma's stash with some new fillers.

hand stitched quilt

I used this quilt through college on my bed, my extra long twin bed. A good third to half of this is hand stitched since I didn't have a machine. For that reason, a lot of the seams have split and I've had to repair them over the years. It was also basted with a polyester batting. I hate to see this creation in the closet as it holds a lot of memories. Luckily, Kevin agreed to have this as our cabin quilt for the bed at the new cabin!! The bed in the room will be queen size so I had to add on. You can tell where I added to one side as the squares are much larger than the original ones. I didn't have the patience to make small squares and the fabric is all scraps from my stash. Quilt now measures 96 x 96".

close up of hand stitching

It was originally tied together but after much thought, in order to preserve the hand stitches I really need to stipple the entire thing for fear of it falling apart. So, I took the whole thing apart, bought new batting and a sheet for the back (cheating, I know). It will be a lot to stipple but I've done a queen size before. I'll have to be gentle, but I think this will look great when finished.

Truly a labor of love!