My first decision was what to do with the center of the quilt. Should I treat it like the rest of the background, which will most likely be diagonally cross-hatched, or is that kind of a big space to leave as "just" background? The empty space measures around 6" diagonally in the center, but is then larger in the spaces between the appliqued blocks.
Got out a bunch of different stencils -- knew if I was going to put anything in there besides whatever background treatment chosen, it was going to be feathers -- and tried them to see how they would fit. This was the one that I liked the best that could be adapted not only for the center but as a frame for the applique.
This is a triangle shaped stencil, #HOL-342-08 from The Stencil Company. I'll have to move it around as I trace it to get the effect I want because, of course, I'm not really filling a triangle here.
Alex also stipulated that she didn't want to have to wash this quilt when I got done with it, so would I not mark with anything that had to be washed. This is an air soluble marker; they don't last a really long time, but it is fine for what I'm doing here. I will have to be more inventive with the rest of the quilt, though, because I can only mark what I can sit down and sew before the marks fade out. In other words, it's going to be a little tricky to pull off a feather border. But then these sorts of challenges sometimes turn out to have unforseeable, but delightful, consequences!
This is the design stitched out; the picture was taken from the back of the quilt. The bobbin thread is Mettler Silk Finish 100% Cotton, color #703, cream. The top thread is a Sulky 40 wt. rayon, #1071, off white.
After the center was completed, the top thread was swapped out for YLI Wonder invisible monofilament thread. This was used to outline each piece of applique just off the edge, giving it quilted texture, but not showing any thread other than that used to applique the pieces to the quilt top.
All the blocks are done and now I can contemplate the background -- do I really want to do that grid? Or is there another alternative?
Got out a bunch of different stencils -- knew if I was going to put anything in there besides whatever background treatment chosen, it was going to be feathers -- and tried them to see how they would fit. This was the one that I liked the best that could be adapted not only for the center but as a frame for the applique.
This is a triangle shaped stencil, #HOL-342-08 from The Stencil Company. I'll have to move it around as I trace it to get the effect I want because, of course, I'm not really filling a triangle here.
Alex also stipulated that she didn't want to have to wash this quilt when I got done with it, so would I not mark with anything that had to be washed. This is an air soluble marker; they don't last a really long time, but it is fine for what I'm doing here. I will have to be more inventive with the rest of the quilt, though, because I can only mark what I can sit down and sew before the marks fade out. In other words, it's going to be a little tricky to pull off a feather border. But then these sorts of challenges sometimes turn out to have unforseeable, but delightful, consequences!
This is the design stitched out; the picture was taken from the back of the quilt. The bobbin thread is Mettler Silk Finish 100% Cotton, color #703, cream. The top thread is a Sulky 40 wt. rayon, #1071, off white.
After the center was completed, the top thread was swapped out for YLI Wonder invisible monofilament thread. This was used to outline each piece of applique just off the edge, giving it quilted texture, but not showing any thread other than that used to applique the pieces to the quilt top.
All the blocks are done and now I can contemplate the background -- do I really want to do that grid? Or is there another alternative?
You did an amazing job Paula. Positively breathtakeing!
ReplyDelete