Taking the First Hand Quilting Stitch Can be Frightening.

Q: Good Morning, I am at a "mental" road block and can't seem to take that first stitch - for fear of failure!

I have hand pieced my very first quilt - a queen sized double wedding ring. I have 1.5 blocks left to stitch together and then I'll be ready to layer it with the backing and batting.

But I'm dragging my feet, because of this fear of failure (I started the quilt the fall of 1996 when my one and only son left home for college over 2000 miles from home. I was planning ahead on wanting to make a wedding present - well come the 14th of February he is proposing - so I have my work cut out for me now!! No more procrastination!!)

I have studied books, pamphlets, etc on the actual quilting process. What if my back looks like "crap"? I don't see how my left hand - which is virtually a useless appendage on my body, other than it can handle a cup of coffee quite easily - can direct the needle back up at even spaces.

I've sent in the little postcard quilts and that's fine because I can turn over my project and see the back and how straight and neat it is, but on a queen sized quilt - I won't be able to see it.

My son, unknowingly about this gift, gave me a round quilt frame to help me with this process plus one of Alex Anderson's books on the how to's of quilting.

Am I spazzing on something that is becoming a mountain out of a mole hill? Or do I need a quiltpsych couch to pull me out of this quandary?

Thanks for your thoughts, help, ideas, and moral support!

A: Greetings- Wow! I am so sorry for the delay in responding to you. I understand your "block."It's an important quilt, and you want it to look beautiful, especially since you've already put so much time, effort and love into it.

One suggestion for hand quilting is to use a spoon on the underside of the quilt. I haven't tried it personally, but i understand that the inside of the spoon guides the needle back up into the quilt.

You might also try using the bottom of the spoon. It could be that you could position it so that it points up into the quilt. Try the frame. If that doesn't work, then try a hoop that you can put into your lap.

My personal favorite is a kind of square hoop, so I can get into the corners of a block.

The other, less risky, thing to do is try out your quilting on a smaller project.

When I decided that I wanted to improve my hand quilting, I took a class at the local quilt shop.

The teacher had us take two dark pieces of fabric about 18" square, and layer them just as a quilt would be - sandwiching batting between two pieces of fabric, and then using white thread to hand quilt.

It was just the size of a breadcover, which worked for me since I was also making my own bread at the time.

The quilting design was quite detailed, as you can see in the picture on the right.

It gave us an opportunity to try turning corners and doing a feather stitch (the quilting pattern in the large circle around the center) which is a very popular quilting design.

This seems like a great way to practice since your project is small, and you haven't spent a bunch of time making the quilt itself. Iif it turns out bad, you can use it for a cat blanket, doll blanket, or ratty old breadcover.

If it's great, finish the edges with binding and hang it on the wall!

No quiltpsych couch necessary! Just go for it.

For every disability you are facing, there are quilters facing theirs as well. It's inspiring to hear about the blind quilters, and see the quilts they make.

Happy Quilting!

Penny is a quilter of more than 24 years who seeks to interest new quilters and provide them with the resources necessary to create beautiful quilts.

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