Alphabet Wall Hanging – Quilting

I’m back to working on my alphabet wall hanging…

In the above photo I’ve pin basted (not enough, but more of that later) the quilt and I’m using YLI ‘rinse away’ thread to put in some anchoring lines.

I found that starching the fabric (both the quilt top and the backing fabric) and using the anchoring lines made the quilting much easier. Although, I still have one pucker and a few lumpy bits.

I decided to use a double diagonal quilting pattern – why do I always make more work for myself?

Sorry for the image – I took the photo late at night and the light was poor. Here is a close up …

I do like the effect of the diagonal quilting and I will certainly try it again. I learnt, however, that I need to pin baste more. Harriet Hargrave in my quilting bible (Heirloom Machine Quilting ) writes ‘My general guide is no further apart than three knuckles…’ I certainly didn’t do that. Plus while I was sewing the anchoring lines, there was a bit of puckering which I just ignored. Why? What was I thinking? The puckering just got worse.

Now I just have to bind it and add a hanging sleeve. This is the first time I’ve added a hanging sleeve, so it could be interesting.

Oh and I just love that purple low tac masking tape! I used it to mark all of my lines (and one piece lasts for ages). Best marking tool I’ve ever had.