My Hand Quilting

Two years ago this month I bought a Tin Lizzy 18 longarm quilting machine. To this day it still remains here in my sewing room in the boxes, unopened. My plight is that I discovered the only place to assemble it would be in our basement. I do not want to put it down there. My reasoning is because I am afraid of water leaks and possible damage to the frame work. Also, there is no way I would chance having a huge roll of batting become water-logged. I am no stranger to hand quilting, I am not too lazy to hand quilt, I have done it in the past, but anyone who grabs up a needle, thimble and thread knows that hand quilting is a tedious and long process. It can take weeks and months to complete your work, hence, the quilting bee........below are some pics of my hand quilting, my own design. The woman who made the quilt top was a friend of my mother-in-laws. Her name was Verna, and she gave this to me as a gift. Unfortunately she has passed away many years ago, unfortunately it is another of my UFO's.

I really need to finish this quilt. It will be an antique for sure since it has been with me 30+ years. I fear if I wash it the thing will fall to shreds, but then maybe my hand quilting will keep that from happening. I need to get out my huge quilting hoop and sit it beside my chair in the living room. I need to put my crochet hook and yarn away for these warmer months and pick up my quilting needle and thread. There is so much to do, and so little time. Wishing and hoping doesn't get things done, so I need to hush now and get busy. Hope your day is filled with good thoughts and good things ♥