The Iris quilt top hung on the wall for a few days, while I tried to come up with the ultimate quilting plan. Then, last night in a burst genius, I decided to keep it simple with a 2 inch crosshatching through the embroidered blocks, arcs in the sashing and a piano key border. With that settled, onto the frame she went and the plan to start quilting first thing in the morning after my morning cup of decaf.
This morning, I walked past the sewing room and glanced at the quilt on the frame. I found myself rethinking the quilting plan as I went through my morning wake up ritual. Sigh...why can’t I just stick to the plan? Why do I make things harder for myself? I didn't make these quilt blocks. I’m not even keeping this quilt, and the recipient isn’t a quilter, they won’t care about the quilting. Yet there I was at 9 a.m. taking it off the frame so I could try out the different new quilting ideas.
If you look closely at the image, you’ll see a large piece of plexiglass over the quilt block in the image below. Using dry erase markers, I experimented with the different ideas.
Originally, I thought the crosshatching could go over the embroidery, now that idea doesn't feel right, it would push the embroidery into the background.
The new plan is to quilt around the outside of the Iris. It’s time consuming, but it will really make the Iris stand up and be the star of the show.
The straight lines radiating from the center is common for this type of preprinted embroidered block. However, it is not the preprinted quilting design on this block. I can barely see the preprinted design but it's there and I hope it washes out.
The only quilting in the sashing will be a wavy line in the green gingham fabric, this will help frame each block and soften the harshness of the radiating straight lines around the Iris.
The final lavender border will be kept simple with one-inch spaced piano keys.
And that's it, no more changing my mind!
This last picture is a little eye candy of the all the fabrics and how they play together. The border fabric is the one I planned to use in the sashing of the original plan that you can find here.
See y'all bright and early Monday morning with an update on the quilting. Maybe I'll get it finished this weekend...HAHA! Don't hold your breath!
Happy Stitching!
I can't wait to see this quilt finished, she's beautiful already! Happy quilting!
ReplyDeleteOh, how I can relate to the rethinking and the second guessing and the pulling the quilt off the frame... I think the crosshatching would have been lovely and would not have detracted from the embroidery as long as you'd used a lightweight thread like So Fine, but your new fancier version will of course be pretty, too. It's a long slog to quilt a quilt either way; you have to go with the idea that excites you enough that you will be motivated not just to start, but to finish it. Good luck and happy quilting!
ReplyDeleteSometimes it's just hard to stick with plan A, especially when you think it's not at all right You've got a good plan. Hope all the quilting goes quickly. It does sound like plan B should go faster.
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