On Hiatus

I have just finished quilting an 8-day very large custom quilt.  This top was immaculately pieced, and layed as flat or flatter than anything I make.  The pieces on this are all single pieces, and are enormous.  Every time I quilted something, it required rolling the quilt back and forth on the frame to be able to quilt the entire section.  I just cannot describe how tiring that was for my shoulders every day.  To say I was happy to have it done yesterday was an understatement.

 This quilt is similar to my Postcards from Venice quilt that I made in 2010-11.  Her's is better pieced! I decided to quilt the medallion similarly, but a little different.  I put feathers in the criss-crossing bands, and lines radially out the brown patches.  The biggest problem was finding a thread that worked on all 3 colors because if it didn't, there would be a TON of tying off.  I chose a Superior Fantastico for the feather bands, and then a turquoise SoFine for the brown.  Initially, I started the brown with brown thread, but tracking from one section to the next in brown looked crappy.

The center is fused applique.  It's a great design for this type of quilt, with the lovely Arabeque details,  Because it is fused, though, it lays kind of stiff, and not puffy like applique should.  The very center is a great piece of machine embroidery - a very nice touch.

I wanted to bring the Arabesque feature of the center medallion out into other areas of the quilt, within a reasonable budget anyways.  I chose a 9" stencil, and embellished it as is shown.  The stencil itself is rather simple, but the shape is why I chose it. It is quilted in the same variegated aqua thread as the feathers were quilted in.

 I then added the arch above the stencil, and the pebbles on the stencil, as well as a line of echo quilting around the stencil.

 Next, in a 50wt turquoise thread, I added the feathered details.  I just wanted the texture here, not the thread.

The area under the arabesque arch is stippled in a brown So Fine thread.  It brings a subtle color to the turquoise fabric. It also works because this is a Shot Cotton, and it is woven with turquoise and brown threads.

The area outside of the arch is quilted with a fill, also in the turquoise thread.  The next photo is deceptive because it does not indicate how huge this triangle really is.  There are actually 8 of these triangles.

I copied the same stencil to the outer border, but in a smaller size.  I also added a rope stencil detail about 2-3" from the edge.  This is a nice way to subdivide a very wide border.

 Linework 1/2" spaced is outside of the rope, and a fill in brown SoFine is inboard.

With this behind me, my next 2 weeks are about getting my stuff wrapped up.  I loaded a piece of silk today to quilt off a teaching and book sample.  That should be finished up early this week.  I have one more class sample to quilt - just a nice small 20" star, nothing too taxing.  I am gearing up for my kids' vacation week in 2 weeks, when I have to get my daughter's quilt loaded and help her quilt this. Neither of us are all that psyched this year, but at a mere 36", it should at the least be relatively quick. Here's a sneak peek at a fills sample I have started...Lots more fills to come!

Hope your weekend is better than mine ... :-)