From the Vault - Kimono T Quilt

Another trip down to the vault, to pick out an old quilt to show you...

I finished this wall hanging in May 2003.  It's 26 x 49 inches.  I made a lot of Oriental-style quilts back then.

That was when I discovered paper piecing, as well.  I still love paper piecing today.  This is a T-block that looks like a kimono when you add the obi strip.  Each kimono is on a slightly different neutral background.  Well, I guess there might be some repeats.

Gosh, I just realized 2003 was ten years ago!  Doesn't seem like that long!!  That was when the "stained glass leading" bias tape was big.  That's how I covered up the raw edges of the blocks.  I didn't piece them - just laid them on the caramel fabric and stitched through the bias.  

Speaking of the caramel fabric - it's not cotton.  It's that shiny stuff you use for lining jackets and coats, back when we used to sew our own clothes.  Silky looking without the $$$ of silk.

I had a hard time with the quilting of this.  Back in 2003 I only had chalk for marking, so it was difficult to get the hexagons precisely marked.  I did a straight stitch on my machine for the straight lines.  Where I had trouble was was with the free motion I used on the internal scrolls.  I didn't mark them and it was hard to get them relatively smooth and even.  I remember tearing out more than a couple.

Because of the shininess of the material, it looks puckery.  Well I guess that's because it is.

The back. 

The end.