TGIFF! -- Hands Hands Fingers Thumbs

I'm sure you've been waiting with baited breath to see if I finished Hands Hands Fingers Thumbs on time, haven't you? You are the best!

When my friend came to pick up the quilt yesterday, she said, "you know, I really shouldn't have asked you to do this at this time of year." And I replied, "you know, I really shouldn't have said yes at this time of year." And then we laughed and laughed. She's a knitter so she understands. It's nice to have friends like that, isn't it? :)

So did I it get done? Well, obviously M-R, you just mentioned that your friend picked it up yesterday. Um, right, I guess I did. I finished the binding and label at some ungodly hour yesterday morning. Gotta love the many holiday movies at this time of the year, eh? Great company for those late-night quilting sessions!

Photos were a last minute scramble. Crazy snow, eh? I think we're supposed to get another 20+ cm this weekend.

Hands Hands Fingers Thumbs - Side One

Hands Hands Fingers Thumbs - The "Nothing To Do With the Name Side" a.k.a. Side Two

My friend let me know that the quilt was a hit with the teacher and sent me a photo of the teacher and children with the quilt. Yay!

Notes on the quilting: I wanted black and grey thread on the dark side and white on the white side. I know that's a no-no among some quilters because if the tension is off the top or bottom thread shows through to the other side. I did it anyways! Freedom! Here's why I thought I could break the rules and you can decide for yourselves whether I should or shouldn't have done it:

• My Bernina is awesome at balancing the thread tension. Although I have done mismatched threads before successfully, they were close in value, if not in colour. There were no pop-throughs on either side.
• I used a higher loft batting than usual -- Hobbs Heirloom 80/20 cotton/polyester. I figured that any pops-throughs would be hidden in the valleys. 
• I used the same thread brand (Aurifil) and weight (50 wt.) so that colour was the only difference. I'd like to tell you that I used the 50 wt, which is usually for piecing, so that it would keep any pop-throughs as small as possible, but the reality is that they were the only weights in those colours that I had.
• I practiced the rectangular stipple/Aztec motif of a scrap quilt sandwich and made some adjustments to the tension. 

I thought I was golden. I wasn't. There are some minor pop throughs, but mostly in the corners of the rectangular stipples, when I turned too quickly. I was able to pull some of them into the middle of the quilt by gently pulling apart the two sides of the quilt around the pop-throughs. I know they will also show even less once the quilt is washed and gets all crinkly.

Final size: 55" by 70".

I'm linking up with TGIFF! over at Gingersnaps Quilts this week. Come join us.


A heartfelt Merry Christmas if you celebrate it, and a Happy New Year! We have a full house for Christmas and New Year's this year so I will see you in the New Year.