Lover's Knot Quilt

Wow!  Something actually sewing related has been completed!  This one has actually taken so very long that I should probably give it 10 posts all to itself!  I gave the unquilted quilt top to my (then) boyfriend (now husband) for Christmas in 2010.  I had pieced the quilt top with plenty of time to get to a quilter and have it done for Christmas but then he and I had been at a quilt show and he was gushing about how much better he liked the hand quilted items.  I knew right then and there that sending it off to be longarmed would not be the way to go.  It has taken me over 3 years of picking it up and putting it down to get it done.  One of my written down goals for this year - I've found that writing them down makes them much more apt to happen - was to finish this quilt.  I'm actually quite shocked I got it done so soon.

I used the Eleanor Burns Lover's Knot pattern and all my fabric is from the higher end line of quilting fabrics from Joann.  Unfortunately I don't have any of the selvage ends hanging around so I can't list the exact fabric names.  I used Warm & Natural batting which was wonderful to quilt through.  I used Americana Quilting Thread in natural for the hand quilting and the binding stitches.  I went through quite a few hand quilting needles and in the process found my favorite needles - Fons and Porter size 20.  I started out the hand quilting process using a huge wooden hoop but purchased a PVC frame when I started the medallions on the edges.  I can't recommend that PVC frame enough!  It made it so much easier to adjust the fabric as I went along.  I prefer to do my hand quilting on fabric that is a bit on the loose side.

This is the largest hand quilting project I've ever done and while I won't say never on doing another one, I do think it will be quite a while before I attempt another king size!  This quilt measures 91" x 102" finished.  Yikes!!

Things I would have done differently:  used a darker light so I didn't have that stark white staring at me in the design, used a print of some sort for the backing rather than white, and purchased the PVC frame much sooner than I did.