Quilting Mystery BOM--first step: The Ditch

Big BOM Mystery quilt

I've had this project pin basted and ready to quilt since last fall. As we are approaching yet another fall, I decided that I needed to put this project under the needle and get quilting! It is huge and the thought of pushing, pulling and shoving the mass thorough the harp of the machine was not pleasant.
I did start.

The first step, for me, is to stitch in the ditch to anchor all the pieces. Because I used a variety of colors in this quilt, there wasn't a way to do the ditch quilting without a lot of thread changes. (I could have used monofilament thread; but, chose not to use it. I chuckled because if there is a way to make more work for myself, I will find it!)

The beginning of stitching in the ditch

I used silk thread on the top and cotton thread in the bobbin. I matched colors so almost every fabric change meant that I also changed threads!

I decided to stitch the ditch of the pink centers of the blocks first. I started with the pink because I would be stitching in all of the areas of the quilt. This is important so that the quilting is evenly spaced across the piece.  I choose to do the ditch quilting with my number 24 free motion quilting foot. Being able to stitch in all directions without turning the project was important to me.

Once I had finished the pink squares, I started quilting the section of fabric next to the pink. Sometimes, this was a log and sometimes, it was the parts to square in a square. Body wise, I needed to do a little stretch after each section and every 30 to 45 minutes I took a 15 to 20 minute break. For a break, I worked on the design and fabric selection of another project I wanted to complete this quarter. I also walked around the house, folded laundry or started a side dish for dinner.

Some of the threads used to stitch in the ditch

As a result ditch quilting took most of the month of August. I stitched in the ditch at least an hour and often three or more hours many days. The reason to quilt in the ditch is because the "decorative quilting" that I like to add looks more balanced and it is easier to do. I figure that I have about 100 hours of ditch quilting which is a lot!!!

My plan is that by the end of October, I will have quilted the center of the quilt. I want to use rulers and I've picked out some threads that might work. I don't have a plan yet. I am happy with the progress I've made so far!