The following is written by one of our guild members, who shares the interesting story of years ago when she would join with a group of quilting friends and they would hand quilt together:
I would like to think that by reading my account, it may help some of today’s quilters better appreciate the progress that has been made since the late 1980’s in the arena of quilting. Just think about how our predecessors did things long before they had our advantages of formal classes, much less You tube!
Ten years ago, a friend showed me to how to make a quilt in sections which could then be joined together. I use that method now. What I love using is today’s basting spray, oh how marvelous a product that stuff is. Long before basting spray was invented (thirty years plus ago) a whole bunch of us met in the basement social room of a local church and pushed together several long tables until the table top space was large enough to handle a quilt project. One of the quilters guided us on how to tape the lining right side down so that it was taut on the table, then lay out the batting, and finally add the pieced quilt top. After the three layers were well positioned, we surrounded all sides, and armed with a threaded needle in our hands, we proceeded to lean over and we systematically hand basted rows to hold it all together. What a back breaker that was! We took turns bringing our quilts and we all worked well together while sharing our stories and laughing a lot.
Now long arms are available for home use. I still like hand quilting. I use plastic templates making a light pencil mark or sometimes I create my own designs. It’s fun.
MB
