Early in 2009 I was toying with the idea of making a ‘Dear Jane’ Quilt. Quite a number of people that I know are making their own version of this heritage quilt and not wanting to be 'left out' I thought why not. But as I thought about it more, something wasn’t quite right with the idea. Surely there must be an Australian heritage quilt that I could replicate ……a piece of our own history instead of America’s. Then I ordered and received this book in May 2009.
Wow. It’s a fantastic book with the most fabulous photographs of quilts, their makers and the stories behind the quilts. After reading and re-reading and reading it again, I decided on which heritage quilt I was going to reproduce, I even knew which fabric range I would make it out of. One day I would make this quilt ……
….out of the ‘Wiscasset’ range by Minick and Simpson.
In January 2010, I received my Vic Quilter magazine and there on page 21 was a Quilt Challenge for the Victorian Quilters Inc Quilt Showcase Exhibition in July 2011. The challenge is to make a quilt that is inspired by, recreated from, or adapted from any quilt as published in the book. Why not I thought…….so on the 11th April 2010 I started with this……
In three weeks and 737 hexagons later I had this to show for more than 70 hours work.
With the original quilt measuring 72", Russell estimated that there would be approximately 22,000 hexagons required.....a calculation as time went on determined the figure was closer to 27,000.
As you can see I have fussy cut some of the fabrics to create a different look....
On the 13th June 2010, the quilt looked like this (2,269 hexagons).
On the 1st August 2010 it had grown to : 4446 hexagons and measured 39 inches from one point to the opposite point.
On the 22nd September 2010, I had been working for 23 weeks on my Hexagon Quilt.........averaging 4 hours a day for every day since the start date of 11th April. With 7,350 hexagons the quilt measured 128cm across (from point to point).
Here is a closer view of the border.
By the 15th November 2010 I had finished adding a wide 'striped' border.
which bought the hexagon tally to 10,980. (The striped border added 3,630 hexagons)
On the 26th January 2011, the tally had reached 15,337 hexagons. 41 weeks of stitching everyday.
Well here it is....week 50 and the 1st April 2011.....and I can't believe that it has been almost 12 months since I cut out and stitched my first hexagon in this massive project. Here is the last hexagon......number 17,977
and it's little gap in the quilt
(Check out all of those fussy cut little flowers......Are you insane!!!!!.....yes it does help at times but it was worth it!)
and the last stitch.......
well at least until the finishing off process starts.....that stage starts tonight!
Now if you remember I wasn't allowed to show you any more photos of the quilt top .............but no-one (ie Russell) said anything about the back of the quilt! So here is a close up shot
and then the 'stand on the couch with the camera up in the air' shot........
The quilt looks just as nice on the 'wrong' side as the 'right' side......in some ways it will be a shame to cover this up with wadding and backing.......maybe that's why Prudence left her quilt unfinished.
Here is the final blog post that I did about the making of my quilt.
Week 54.5 – 28th April 2011
I have spent the last couple of weeks putting the finishing touches on my 'Dear Prudence' Hexagon Quilt. It spent just over a fortnight stretched on the frame while I 'quilted' the layers together. I had to mark my spots with pins so that I could keep track of which parts I had done
It looked strange.....all these pins stuck into the quilt.....but it worked a treat.
I then trimmed off the border. I had made it wider than I needed on purpose.....it's a lot easier to cut it back than to wish it was wider. After laying different fabrics down along the edge, it was a unanimous decision (me and Russell) that I use the cream for the binding. So on the morning of Tuesday 26th April 2011 the end was reached. Russell captured the moment.....the last stitch
..... I just wish I was dressed a little better other than in my work clothes!
So after 54.5 weeks........1,300 hours........17,977 hexagons...........approximately 500,000 stitches..........my journey draws to an end.......THE quilt is now finished. I'd like to thank everyone who has supported and encouraged me along the way ....... especially Russell. He has been so supportive and patient with me, has offered his advice and done the maths along the way. I could not have done it without him.
One last photo.....the finished quilt.....'Dear Prudence'
23rd April 2013..... For those who are interested, I have written a book about the whole story of my Dear Prudence quilt. 20 pages, AU$12 each and can be ordered here. Postage within Australia is $4.30 and postage to the US (and most other countries) is AU$13.
You might also like to read about 'Elenor Jean' HERE, with pattern booklet available HERE.
Both booklets available HERE as a set for AU$20.
Linda :)