another finish - utility quilt stitched

Do you remember me showing you these???

And then this???

(this is the one that I couldn't figure out what it was supposed to be

after I stitched it,

so instead of using it,

I stitched another Schmitz pattern to use instead... 

the bird holding a flag of the year

In fact, the whole group in the Sit & Stitch group at the LQS replaced this one...)

Anyway, I sent my big ole' quilting machine on vacation

for the Christmas and New Year's holidays

(yes, it needed a spa day- it is a year old now),

so I decided I would hand quilt something again. 

And this wall hanging was awaiting quilting,
and was the perfect take-along size for traveling & quilting.

"Ring in the New" by Kathy Schmitz:

(Click on the picture and then click again
and you can see some of the Utility stitches off to the right side in the black.)

I used the Utility Quilt Stitch...

at least that's what I call it. 

It was a stitch lesson from Great-Grandma B...

I think that this is the quilting stitch that I learned first,

that was a long time ago...

The Utility Stitch
is a big, hunking running stitch

using a big, hunking thread - like crochet thread or pearl cotton,

and a needle with a big ole' eye.

It's just like a normal quilting stitch,

where you rock up and down,

top to bottom to top to bottom to top through the layered quilt.

Then pull the thread through and repeat. 

Repeat until you get the whole line of quilting done. 

Then, repeat until you have the entire quilt done.

Normal,
except for the stitch length, anyway...

Instead of the 12 to 20 stitches per inch?

Well, it's only 4 to 10 stitches per inch. 

And because of the size?

Well, you can just whip through

a lap quilt or wall hanging

like it's a bowl of ice cream
on a 90 degree day!

Try it sometime,

I think you'll like it!

I was talking about the stitching,

but you can do the ice cream, too! :)