A recent customer quilt
I was contacted by a new quilter recently who had just finished her third quilt ever, and was looking for a custom quilting design to enhance the story she was telling. Hilary shared with me that this was a gift for her grandparents who were celebrating a big milestone anniversary, and was to reflect the house they lived in on the water, where many happy memories were centered.
Hilary had chosen colors that brought in the sun, sky, and water, and the back was a lovely series of nubby cross-woven linen blends that were pieced in strips to suggest the horizon on the water. My job was to figure out what to do!
Thread choice can make a big impact, and there were several options to choose from. We went with a light grey.
The design plan
The center of the quilt seemed to radiate outwards, but my first thought was that it looked to me like birds exploding outward when they take flight. To create a strong central focal point, I used some straight line quilting to create large V-formations, like flying geese, but elongated:
In order for this to work, each section had to be stitched in the ditch, and sometimes extra stitching through the center to make sure everything was anchored with quilting.
Once the birds in flight were finished, I was able to go in and fill in the swirls and eddies with freemotion quilting. I wanted to show the feelings of currents and motion, even as I also want to maintain a serene feel in contrast with the sharp motion of the birds.
You can see that nubby backing on the roller in back!
And when it was all finished, it looked lovely. It’s been bound and gifted now, so I can share!
So striking from the front!
But as usual, I love the back. You can really see how striking the fabric is and how the quilting really shows.
Wow, that quilt is beautiful, the colors and the piecing is wonderful. The quilting is absolutely gorgeous .
Thanks, Barbara! It was a special quilt, and I was honored that I got to add to the story with my quilting.