Somehow, I neglected to share this absolutely gorgeous Sue Garman design that was made by a client of mine. It is all turned-edge applique, and exceptionally well done. There is a good amount of background space just screaming for some very traditional quilting. My client also sent me a good photo of Sue's quilt, and asked me to replicate some of her ideas on this quilt.
Here it is, as I start the "stand and stare" routine. I didn't wonder what to do for very long though.
I quilted this with a single wool batting, and a couple of threads. Because most of the quilt is white, I began with an ecru 40wt thread. The backgrounds and borders were quilted from the top to the bottom. Sue's quilt had the feathered sashings, which I liked, so I used them here. They give the quilt nice movement.
The backgrounds of Sue's reference quilt had a crosshatch, but that was ditched immediately. It would have required marking to get good alignment. I will never mark a red and white quilt without knowing how many times the red fabric was washed/soaked. I refuse to have a disaster on my watch (or at my hands!). I think my backfill, though less traditional, is plenty functional and faster to quilt.
Because I did not crosshatch the blocks, I put this pattern on the border. It was a bit of hind-sight that I should have spaced the lines all the way from the corner, but hopefully what I did works ok.
I used this neat gadget called a Simflex to quickly space the crosshatchings evenly between the applique circles. Stretch and mark!
When all of the white background was quilted, then I ditch stitched around the applique, and quilted on the applique swags. The swags (quilted in soft sage thread) have some echo quilting and a simple feather.
The quilt's backing is also beige, making the quilting show marvelously!
In a few days I will be loading another traditional beauty. I just hope it turns out as lovely!
Happy February-
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