The word small now has a new meaning to me. How about micro? Tiny? Whatever you call them, Leslie brings her talents to the forefront by sharing her years of miniature quilt making experience with us.
Leslie's lecture and full trunk show gave us a window to her world of the time and thought process necessary to balance these quilts. She puts up to 50 hours of her time from start to finish to her exacting standard of quality. A teacher, Leslie is "persnickety" (her word, not mine) about her quilts and if she isn't satisfied, pieces may go into a UFO basket of possibilities.
As Boothbay is her home, she and her artist husband show are area galleries and art shows. Many of her quilts are framed for customers who want a specialty piece of art for their walls. While she admits that all her family members have a full-size quilt, her true passion remains in the minis.
If you are interested in trying one, Leslie does give us the following suggestions to ensure successful miniature making.
Leslie pre-washes all her fabrics. Favorite threads for sewing and quilting are also my favorite--Essentials by Connecting Threads. She uses a size 70 need for machine sewing .
Be sure to keep in mind the scale of your prints when selecting fabrics for your quilt. Use a flannel board to hold all pieces before sewing.
Press all seams to set (steam ok), but do NOT iron. Open seams when working with the smallest blocks only if necessary Some blocks are so small that the seam allowances are all that shows. Start out with a larger block and trim down to match and more precise piecing. Once the block is made, square up and then press. When cooled, place the quilt under your largest square and then put a couple of heavy books on top and leave it from 3-12 days to flatten out.
When you are ready to make your quilting sandwich, Leslie suggested less quilting is more. Her favorite batting is Quilter's Dream "Request". Another favorite is Hobbs Thermore. Jeana Kimball's size 12 quilting needles (sold in tubes) are used in her quilts.
I need to climb out of my full-size quilting box and give these pretties a try...how about you/ Check out more beautiful photos on the Webshots link to the right of your page. There will also be a show and tell album for yesterday's meeting.
