Quilt & Bitch: Show + Tell

October 28 2019,

This quilt was started October 1st and finished on October 25th. This quilt was inspired by my trip to the root canal doctor also commonly known as the Endodontics.

After they injected me with novocaine there was a 20 minute wait till the medicine completely numbed me.

In the room there was a photograph. That photograph was of a barn door. Simple photograph resulted in a this quilt.

Below is the process of the hand quilting. My left fingers had started to become raw from the chaffing and the stabbing of the needle. This is not a new phenomenon, but because the threads were thicker (size 12 Aurifil and size 5 DMC cotton perl) the needles were bigger.

There are multiple types of notions out there such as Thimble-It, ThimblePad, UltraThimble, UnderThimble by Colonial Needle, Liquid Bandage, Aunt Becky's Finger Saver, spoons, and coins.

I have tried the Thimble Pad for my left hand. For me, the pad was too thick, I still wanted to feel the needle prick through all the layers and touch my fingers. The Liquid Bandage works, but I can't stand the smell. I have also unt Becky's Finger Saver and the spoon method, but without practice and not being able to get the hang of things, I have given up using it. As for using coins, I have not tried it.

In search of another finger protector, I found one person on a quilting bulletin board saying that they have used medical tape, similar to Nexcare Gentle Paper First Aid Tape. So I wrap an 3/4 of this tape on my left middle finger and my left thumb. I happened to have it in my stash, so I tried it. And it does work. It protects my fingers from getting too raw. I can reuse it a few times and it is not expensive.

On the right middle finger, I have my brass thimble and on my right ring finger, I use a finger protectors. These are the ones that cashiers use to handle money. I try to protect all the fingers that gets hurt during the quilting process.

This quilt again was an experimental. What exactly did I experiment? I experimented with threads again. I did not have the maroon thread in Aurifil 12 weight. This was not readily available locally so I went to Joann's and purchased DMC size 5 For the needle, I used the John James chenille size 22 needle. This needle is strong and though to work with. My hands got easily tired poking and pulling. I would not recommend such a thick thread for hand quilting, your hands will not be happy. I have not tired the DMC size 8 yet. At my local Joann's, they don't stock this size well, there were only a limited amount of colors. If I stumble upon this in another store, I will it at a later date.

So the Aurifil thread size 12 still hands down a great thread. It does fray, so when quilting, cut about 18" of the thread and not longer.

The needle I used is one from the John James Pebble Embroidery needle collection I definitely overpaid, but it comes in a cute container. Unfortunately the container is hard to open, so that was a bummer.