Quilt in a Day Forums

Hello everyone. I can not tell you how much I have enjoyed reading all your posts in the past few days. I am so glad I found this forum earlier this week.

Now I have a question for you. I have been quilting right at 2 years now. I only hand quilt, but still can not figure out how to do the rocking method. I thought about getting the Aunt Becky, but can't afford the hoop and everything I would need to do it this way. So, does anyone know of a link that shows a video of rocking. I am getting pretty good at piecing, but my quilting still has a long way to go. I use a round hoop in my lap and also a stationary quilting frame that my husband made for me. I am using a #8 John James quilting needle. I basically take one or two stitches at a time. I would love to learn a technique that is faster and makes smaller more uniform stitches. Thank you in advance.

Thought I would add, I also have a walking foot for my Kenmore machine. I am trying to build up my nerve to try stitch in the ditch on the quilt and 3 table runners that I have all sandwiched and ready to go. I am thinking about stitching around the blocks, then doing some hand quilting in the large open areas of the block. What do you think? Anything wrong with doing both machine and hand quilting on the same project?

Winona

HI winona and welcome. I have tried Aunt Becky and It works but takes practice. You actually can use it on any stationary frame. Hand quilting is just practice The more you do the better you get. I found that if you dont tighten the quilt too tight in the frame it is easier to quilt. As far as quilting there is one rule its your quilt you make it your way. machine or hand i guess if your entering it it should be one or the other.............Judi

Never tried Aunt Becky, but I agree with Judi about not making your quilt too tight in the frame and the more you practice the faster and better you get. I don't do much hand quilting anymore because of arthritis but I have never used both methods in one quilt. I am sure the "quilt police" would frown on it, (LOL), but I don't think there is a rule that says you can't, unless you are entering it in a show.

Ann

I am still trying to learn the rocking motion myself for hand quilting and it really just takes practice. We just have to keep working at it a little each day. It really is fun though so just keep on going at it.

Brenda

Thanks ladies,

I guess I just need to keep at it. I think I have had the quilt too tight in the hoop or frame. I thought it was supposed to be really tight, so have always kept it that way. I will try loosening the quilt some and see how I do.

Nah, I'm not interested in entering any quilts to be judged. These are just for my pleasure and for my family to enjoy. I have 4 grandkids. I am making each of them a quilt for Christmas. I have 3 of them pieced, one of those is sandwiched, and one that I am ready to sew the block strips together.

I guess I just need to relax and have fun. I am sure I will get better as I practice. You all have a good day.

Winona

http://www.taunton.com/threads/pages/t0 ... 00024.asp?

Scroll down to the:

The hybrid rocking-stitch

It is a different take on the rocking stitch. It may give you some ideas.

Hi Winona, I had a question about the Aunt Becky method on the 'notions' list here at QIAD. I am only interested in hand quilting too but don't have a lot of time. There again it's only for my pleasure but would like to try and speed things up a bit. My hands are getting arthritis and don't want to make things worse. I called the number for "Jeans Impressions" and actually got to talk to Jean Brown (who demonstates this method). She was very nice and explained a lot to me about her method how she basted it and how she quilted it in her hoop. I only ordered the Aunt Becky and the thimble she uses and told her I just don't have the money right now for the hoop. She was very nice and not out to sell me anything. I am going to try it without the hoop and see how it goes. Maybe we need an Aunt Becky support group here. I'll let you know how I make out....Jan in Punxsy

Welcome MoCrafter, I can't give any info on hand quilting nor for that matter on machine quilting! I don't hand quilt and I'm going to give a try this year (before the years end) to learn to machine quilt. There are so many others who can give you advice, but I just wanted to say welcome to this wonderful forum. Hope you'll join in some swaps when you feel comfortable, they are a lot of fun and help you get to know others here. If you've read some of the discussions, you'll see this group laughs, cries, hugs, shares ideas, give suggestions, solutions, asks/answers questions, posts pictures to share their work, and so much more. HUGS, carol/kittyquilt

Winona ... I just did a search on You Tube ... type in "hand quilting" and you will see several videos of quilters quilting by hand. Actually, there are lots of good quilting-related videos on You Tube! Good luck!

Nancy

I had no idea who Aunt Becky was. I happened to go to QuiltersTV and decided to watch a video of hand quilting. Lo and behold, there was Aunt Becky being demonstrated by Jean Brown. I found it very interesting and if I ever do any more hand quilting I think I will get the Aunt Becky and a thimble like Jean was using and a rubber finger thingy. She made it look so easy.