Utility quilting and other ways of finishing quilts

I love to make quilts with a folk art or primitive look. There is just something about the simple designs that appeal to me. These quilts lend themselves nicely to utility - or "big stitch"- quilting and other ways of finishing quilts other than traditional quilting. I especially love utility quilting because it is so relaxing to do - no hoop and no worry about getting tiny stitches. This can be done with pearl cotton, but I prefer to use DMC Cébélia #10, a cotton crochet thread, because it has no shine. It comes in a nice variety of colors, though I do wish they included a darker warm brown.

This is the quilt I finished these last few days while I was laid up with this head cold. I used Camel #437 for this one, a medium golden brown. I covered the surface with large Baptist Fans using Magic Chalk and a stencil for marking. I love how it turned out! I started this quilt in 2004. A shop about an hour away had started a Country Threads club, and since I've always loved Country Threads patterns I decided to attend. The only way to get the patterns at that time was to attend. I finished the house during class - it is invisible machine appliquéd - and started on the stars. Well, that was the only club meeting I attended, and this project sat neglected until I finished the top last spring. I'm so glad to have it done just in time to hang in the entry for this fall.

I finished this plaid quilt- started in a class with Roberta Horton - years ago, but am showing it here as another example of how quilts can be finished. I used Pearl Cotton #5 on this quilt and used crow footing to tack it together instead of quilting it. There are several different tack stitches for fastening quilts which I think are a nicer alternative than tying. I learned to do this in an old Patchwork Place book by Judy Hopkins and Nancy Martin called Rotary Riot, published in 1991. Other stitches include cross stitch, buttonhole stitch, Mennonite tack and Methodist knot. I'd forgotten all about finishing quilts this way until I dug this one out for the picture. I think I'll use this method on at least one of my primitive Jan Patek tops that is waiting to be finished.