"First Quilt" Pictures

I should have had these ready with the previous post, but here they are now:

Here is the quilt with the hoop. It's 14 inches, not 12 inches. I thought that didn't look right, so I measured the diameter - it's 14. I'm quilting in a checkerboard fashion - a sideways grid on one square and a flower sort of pattern on the other.

 

See the thin loft? It makes it easier to get smaller stitches in the quilt while getting the hang of quilting by hand. Look at the backing. It's red toille! Quilt backing isn't just white anymore. The other day while I was in our fabric store, I saw several prints for quilt backing. There were two that caught my eye. I have been thinking to get two pieces that go together and have a machine-quilter put just the fabrics together for a bed covering that looks like it came from a high priced home catalog.

Here I am quilting. See the paper in the back ground? That's my pattern for the flower design. I also have it transferred to a plastic template, but it wasn't within reach when I started this one. Maybe you can see in the grid how I marked it with a tracing pencil. The green checked square above my hand was the first one I quilted. I didn't mark that square, and I didn't get the lines true. I suggest marking, and with a ruler.

Here is that thumb thimble. I'm quilting away from myself, so the thumb one is a necessity. As I said in the previous post, I only put this one on when I'm ready to push it through. It's difficult for me to hold the needle with the thimble on my thumb. I don't have a picture of the other thimble in use. Maybe another day.

This is Nurse Sharon speaking - take the needlework cure.