At last, I'm back to finishing up what was interrupted by my recent trip. I'd told myself that the first order of business would be to get two small pieces mounted and framed, but there was Azalea II lying there at the machine, begging for me to sit down and quilt it.
Before I left, I picked up more of the Sulky dark green rayon thread that I was sure I'd be using for the quilting. As I stood there matching my mostly used up spool to the proper spool in the display, something told me to pick up a slightly lighter version too. Guess I remembered my assessment that my green threads were either light or dark. Wouldn't you know it, when I sat down to try my three choices on the edge of the quilt, it was that medium green afterthought that was the perfect one. I also tried a different length and width of the embroidery stitch than I'd tried on my earlier samples. It looks like crown vetch to me, was easy to manipulate around the corners as I followed a zig zag path between the mosaic "tiles," and the rayon picks up the light nicely. This, I think, is the first time I've used machine embroidery as the quilting stitch and I was pleased with how it worked.
I think this fulfills my need for something viney on the quilt and makes the squares pop up from the surface as I envisioned I wanted them to do. (The picture above shows the quilting in process. - the batting is Hobbs 80/20 black) Yes, after all my dithering and wondering and testing and imagining, I think this is the effect I ultimately wanted. That other stuff might end up on another version, but this one seems to want to be fairly pure.
One more decision to make - I plan a 1/2 inch binding of the background fabric, but I'm wondering if I should insert a narrow piping of the tropical batik from the purple section?
Before I left, I picked up more of the Sulky dark green rayon thread that I was sure I'd be using for the quilting. As I stood there matching my mostly used up spool to the proper spool in the display, something told me to pick up a slightly lighter version too. Guess I remembered my assessment that my green threads were either light or dark. Wouldn't you know it, when I sat down to try my three choices on the edge of the quilt, it was that medium green afterthought that was the perfect one. I also tried a different length and width of the embroidery stitch than I'd tried on my earlier samples. It looks like crown vetch to me, was easy to manipulate around the corners as I followed a zig zag path between the mosaic "tiles," and the rayon picks up the light nicely. This, I think, is the first time I've used machine embroidery as the quilting stitch and I was pleased with how it worked.
I think this fulfills my need for something viney on the quilt and makes the squares pop up from the surface as I envisioned I wanted them to do. (The picture above shows the quilting in process. - the batting is Hobbs 80/20 black) Yes, after all my dithering and wondering and testing and imagining, I think this is the effect I ultimately wanted. That other stuff might end up on another version, but this one seems to want to be fairly pure.
One more decision to make - I plan a 1/2 inch binding of the background fabric, but I'm wondering if I should insert a narrow piping of the tropical batik from the purple section?
2 comments:
Lovely and brilliant! Catching up on my blogging and enjoying every stop. I love the piping idea I think it would add the finishing touch. Blessings, Jenna Louise
Thanks, Jenna Louise. I laid the batik next to the quilt today and might even use it as the entire binding. It picks up all the colors in the quilt. More auditioning is in order!
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