Hand quilting again

Since the shop down in Sherman I used to take quilts to to be quilted has closed, and since I haven't seen any further promotion of longarm quilting in my local shop, I'm going to have to figure out some way to get the quilts I have stacked up quilted. (Also, the quilting group at my mom's church disbanded: one of the founding members passed away, another had a serious injury that kept her from quilting, so the two remaining active members decided it was best to disband).

I'm contemplating buying a darning foot for my machine and once again trying free-motion machine quilting. The upside to it is that it is a bit faster (and also, if you're making gift-quilts for someone, like as a baby gift, people feel more inclined to use them). The downside is that I think you need a bigger chunk of time to work on it at a go - unlike with handquilting, where you can do 10 minutes or whatever of it, if you have a little time.

I also like being able to do the closely-stippled type of quilting seen on what are sometimes called "Modern" quilts. (Flickr group of "modern" quilt photos, in case you are unfamiliar with the term. They tend to be more geometrical, sometimes have asymmetry, and often use brighter colors or more novelty prints than what might be deemed "traditional" quilts. I will say I've previously expressed reservations about quilters fractioning themselves off into "modern" vs. "traditional" and so on. I consider myself a somewhat-traditional quilter who likes modern quilts, and who particularly likes geometric piecing. And I like bright colors and novelty fabrics - part of the fun of piecing for me is that I'm able to use fabrics and prints that I'd never wear in clothing.

I'm not a big fan of applique. I just don't care for doing it, and I really prefer the look of the geometrically-pieced quilts for my own use. I do, however, recognize and respect the immense amount of work and skill that goes into applique (especially the traditional, hand-done, "needle turned" kind) and understand that for some people that's the real pinnacle of the craft; that's what they challenge themselves with.

(And I admit it - I wonder if some of my needing to explain my likes and dislikes in such a long-winded way is partly a justification; I can hear "serious" quilters looking at my stuff - or it's maybe just my Inner Critic in the guise of a "serious" quilter - saying "She needs to challenge herself more. She's making four-patch quilts? EIGHT year olds make four-patch quilts."

I will say, for me, with my life the way it is? The biggest "challenge" I'm up to in quilting these days is actually finishing something.)

So anyway. I re-started handquilting on the quilt that's been in the frame since 2002. I really, really want to get this done so I can move on to something else. I have, I think, one big block left to complete, several of the setting blocks, and then the borders.

A big part of it is just overcoming the inertia of it...sitting down, picking up the thimble, arranging the quilt in the frame over my lap (quilting a full-bed sized quilt in a hoop - getting the quilt comfortably arranged is the biggest challenge).

I quilted for maybe a half-hour last night. The forefinger I had under the quilt to guide the needle started to hurt after a while (my 'quilter's callus' has gone away) so I stopped. But what I need to do is make myself do a little each day (or very nearly each day) until it's done.