Quilting New Beginnings post 4--Eleventh Finish 3rd Quarter FAL 2019

Overall view of center quilting

Deciding what to quilt where is a part of the process that I often enjoy. It is also a part of the process that sometimes stumps me! For this project, I decided to emphasize the appliqué design which meant that the quilting would compliment the appliqué shapes.

I began quilting the center circle of the project. To create sunshine, I echoed the shape of the petals using a polyester thread in the same hue as the background fabric. I stitched a quarter of an inch around most of the design although I extended the lines around the dark pink petals to give the motif more depth.

To create more interest, I added a swirl in each of the appliquéd circles located in the center of the design.  Using silk thread, I added some shadow with some small stippling.  I spent about three hours in this small section! To see the quilting, you need to be nose close to the work.

Example of 

Sometimes, it can be challenging to determine which fill will best support the quilt piecing or applique without overpowering the design. I thought about how to stitch the next section of quilt. My goal was to like the results at least as much as I liked the center!

Quilting the next section was fun. I free motioned stitched lines to support the shape of the floral like motifs in a thread that was the same value as the fabric. I stitched a small circle design in the blue polka dot background fabric. I left a space between the quilting and the motifs. That space represents a cushion which allows my eye to focus more on the shape of the motif.

From the beginning, I planned to quilt circles in either the gold or the pink border. In selecting quilting motifs, I often look for clues in the fabric or the design of the top. This top has a lot of circles and repeating the circular design in various places makes the quilting appear more planned.

Wavy line in pink and circles

I found spacing the circles challenging because I either had too large or too small a circle for the design to fit the space. In the end, I decided to use different size circles to fill the space. I used a plastic pasta measure as my template for the circles. Long ago, that measure came in the mail as a freebie; but, it has become a piece of my quilting equipment instead!

In the pink border, I quilted a diamond shape using the intersection of the circles as my guide for starting the angles. When I was finished, I didn't like the way the quilting looked. In fact, that section of the quilt bothered me so much that I spent four hours removing all of the stitches!

View of the quilting from the back

I replaced the diamond shape with a simple wavy line. I liked that result better. In the outer border, I quilted large circles. I did use the Westalee circle ruler to create the circles in the outer border.

I'm still working on becoming more accurate when machine stitching the binding. I realize that I need more practice; but, the rate at which I finish quilts is too slow!!!!

An unexpected surprise was how nicely the quilting shows on the backing fabric. I didn't realize how great the quilting would show up on that background! I used a light purple 100 weight polyester thread made by Wonderfil in the bobbin. I used a 40 weight polyester threads made by Floriani and Superior for most of the quilting on the top of the project. I used silk threads made by Superior and YLI to quilt around the appliqué pieces and for some of the backgrounds. I also used that 100 weight polyester thread to quilt the circles on the outer border.

Label

For the label, Martha hadn't used one that she had received at a retreat. I had used mine years ago. Hers was perfect for this project! Again, I documented how many hours I spent which is an estimate. I also documented the cost of the project. Most of the project cost was the two day class and the kit fee for the course. The reason that I document the time and the cost is that so few people understand the time and materials involved in making a quilt!

You can read the previous posts to this project by clicking the links below:
A New Beginning--post 1
New Beginnings--post 2
Quilting New Beginnings--post 3

Finished back

Our book club read "Garden Spells" by Sarah Addison Allen book in 2007. The book was the inspiration behind this quilt. It is hard to believe that I've been noodling the idea for this quilt for so many years! As I looked at this finished piece, I realized that it fits the dots and spots show theme category for the Clark County Quilters quilt show in April 2020. I have a finished entry already!

I used 6 1/2 yards of fabric which brings my total usage from my stash to 71 1/2 yards! This was goal number one on my 3rd Quarter FAL list.

Finished front