Well I have accomplished quite a bit but less on my own projects than I have others. Cindy sent me in December her Border Creek Mystery after seeing what I did for Jane. What is funny is that this quilt really stumped me when I first saw it. I thought I might faint when I learned I would need to quilt another one - and Cindy was very specific she wanted different quilting! I think we did well here. There are some elements that are similar to Jane's quilt but I still think we achieved a very different feeling. I knew immediately I would want to do piano keys in the outer borders as sometimes these very large quilts get quite a bit of excess fabric in the borders and by the time we get to quilting them they need something to help them quilt out evenly and neatly. Feathers also do a great job at this but since the borders were very narrow and we already had done partial feathers I opted to again go with this design.
The dimensions of this top were 95" x 94". Cindy loves to send me very large quilt tops! I used So Fine! by Superior Threads in the top and Bottom Line in the bobbin, and Hobbs 80/20 batting in one layer.
I get a lot of questions about ditching - how and when I choose to do this - and the answer to that is that it varies. Usually I try to do what I think will look best with the quilt. Most custom quilting I do has some degree of ditching.
On this quilt I chose to ditch the framework of the quilt - which to me is the outer borders, and the small thin blue borders on the outer portion of the quilt. The body of the quilt then feels like one continuous piece with delicate framing of feathers and scrolls surrounding it.
There is always some amount of personal taste that goes into quilting - be it that of the quilt owner or that of the quilter to which the quilt owner has entrusted. Just as we all have different and unique handwriting - we all have a different styles of quilting. Feathers are definitely part of my personal quilt hand writing for sure!
Choosing a backing fabric is something else to really think about, and I think a lot of folks forget this part. I love to see the quilting on a beautiful neutral backing - but that is what I like. I have encountered folks who do not like to see ANY of the quilting on the reverse and send along very busy backing fabric. I think what Cindy sent along was absolutely perfect for this particular design plan and quilt. What a lovely reverse she will have in natural light when laid across a bed.
Up next is another quilt for Ellen and what a stunning beauty it will be. She has requested Nemeshing along with a custom plan we worked on together and I am looking forward to attempting this fun filler developed by Bethanne Nemesh.
After this string of really stunning traditional quilts I have in house, in wait are a string of modern quilts! So it will be a colorful and interesting few months of work ahead!
I hope your New Year is full of quilting already!
