The Smaller They Are, The Longer They Take To Finish

I started this miniature double Irish Chain quilt at least 20 years ago. It measures 11 x 11 inches.
I got ink on one border and took it off to replace it.
I replaced it and finished the quilting in the border a year ago.
The binding didn’t look good so I took it off.
It only took me until 366 days later to replace the binding. I am very pleased with it now.

Each of the tiny squares is 1/4 of an inch.
I actually quilted this one myself. I am sharing this closeup so you can see how tiny my quilting stitches were back then. They are so small I can’t even count them but I think they are between 20 and 24 stitches to an inch.

An Awesome Miniature Quilt

I developed a technique for piecing miniature quilts about 35 years ago called Magnificent Miniature Patchwork.  I taught the method all over the Midwest and beyond.
My work was featured in several magazines including the Japanese magazine Patchwork Quilt Tsushin.
The quilts we created were to scale - 1 inch to 12 inches  - of a full size bed quilt. This measures 11 inches square.
This particular one is an off center log cabin and I have used silver lame in the centers of each block.
It finally got quilted this year when I started having Robin Koehler do hand quilting for me. Her work is AMAZING and she also binds most of the ones she quilts for me.
Her stitches are so perfect. I love her work best done on solid colors as they really show off the quilting.
Since she has been quilting for me I have been able to reduce the number of works in progress and I have several more ready for her to quilt.

Half Log Cabin Miniature

This log cabin quilt is made with 1/4 inch finished strips. It is 8 inches square finished.
The binding is 1/8 inch wide. I pieced it about 20 years ago but got too busy to finish it. At one time I had quilted all my own miniatures.
It was hand quilted by  Robin Koehler. She is a fantastic hand quilter. 
You may have noticed I am getting help finishing some of my work.
I realized that if I want to finish so many of my pieces I need to have help doing that.
I was fortunate to find Robin as her quilting is up to my standards.
This is a serious work of art and not to be confused with a potholder.

So What Is Happening In My Studio

I am working hard (OK, not real hard) finishing many pieces that have been in progress.
Some might be as much as 30 years old.
I have some that are even older…some of those that I am not super excited to finish are 40 years old which is when I became a serious quilter.

These are all miniatures. I developed a technique for making miniatures. I taught it throughout the US. The strips are 1/4 inch wide.

This quilt started with fabric I painted and you can see it in the 9 patches. The sashing came from one fabric dyer and the border fabric from another. It just needs the binding to finish it.

The top quilt in the picture just needs binding. The other needs quilting and is on my list to have hand quilted.
It will be a great feeling to have these pieces finished.

Miniature Works In Progress

The only thing left to finish on this miniature quilt is the binding. I think the reason I am putting it off is I know the seams of the three different fabrics on the binding have to match the seams on the border. The strips are 1/4 inch wide.

I got an ink spot on one of the borders on this miniature quilt so I removes that piece of the border. I have the fabric to replace it but have never finished it. The squares are 1/4 inch by 1/4 inch. Like the first quilt this is hand quilted with teeny tiny stitches. I don’t think I could make stitches this small anymore!