Quilting Sunbonnet Sue

I made quite a bit of headway on the Sunbonnet Sue quilt yesterday. I started with a quilt sandwich of the same battings and fabric—one layer of Warm and White and a second layer of low-loft polyester between quilting cotton—and tested my stitch tension. On most quilts, I use 40wt Signature cotton in the top and 50wt Aurifil in the bobbin. For this quilt, I am using 50wt Aurifil in both top and bobbin. Once I had the tension dialed in, I began working on the quilt.

There are five columns of six 12” blocks divided by sashing. No cornerstones. On this top, “quilting the bones” means outlining each block rather than stitching in the ditch along the sashing. I started with the center block, working out from there, and was able to get the center column of blocks quilted by lunchtime. (I stop every 20 minutes or so and get up and walk around.)

I want those appliqués to take center stage. I stitched in the ditch to outline each block, then stitched 1/4” from the edge of each Sunbonnet Sue. The background is filled in with a basic meander—or, as I like to call it, “amoeba quilting.”

This is where those two layers of batting help. The background recedes due to the quilting and each Sunbonnet Sue puffs out ever so slightly. I will not quilt within the appliqués.

One block takes about 40 minutes to quilt. I think the next column of blocks may go a bit more quickly. The center of the quilt takes longer because there is more fabric to wrestle around. As I move to the outer edges, I can roll up the excess fabric to keep it out of my way.

Once the blocks are quilted, I’ll go back and quilt something inside each sashing strip. Diamonds, maybe? And then I’ll have to decide what to put in the borders. I am still aiming to have this all quilted by the end of February. I know my college roommate would like to have it on a bed where it belongs. Her grandmother made the Sunbonnet Sue blocks and yes, those are true vintage fabrics.

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I got so much quilting done in the morning that after lunch, all I did was press fabric, drink tea, and read a book. I want to speed this cold on its way. I went to bed early, too.

I am going to postpone errands in town until tomorrow. We’re under a winter weather advisory and I am likely still contagious. I’ve been doing a Costco run the first week of the month, and I only have to go to the grocery store twice a month.

We’ll see if I can get another six blocks quilted today.