Flower Market Finish

Finally finish the quilting on Flower Market. Its such a nice feeling when you put the last quilting stitch in a quilt. Its a feeling of joy, accomplishment, and relief. I really enjoy seeing the difference the quilting makes.

Before quilting.

After quilting. So pretty. Wish I could figure out how to put the pictures side by side.

And now the back before,

and after.

Now just to show you that I am not "perfect" I thought I would show you my mistakes. Pantographs are not easy for me,  I tend to get off track here and there.

What the heck happened on this one? Its like I was drunk.

Flower Market and Thread

Yesterday I showed you a new quilt that I started called Flower Market.  I am loving working on this quilt as the weather outside is frightful.

Today I thought I would talk about thread. Sounds exciting I know. But choosing the "right" thread can make a world of difference in the final product. Do you chose thread that is matchy matchy or thread that shouts out to be heard. Do you use the same thread on the top as the bottom or do you switch things up? Do you use one thread for the whole quilt or several different threads. Decisions decisions.

For this quilt I chose to use a light blue thread for the bobbin as it would blend in with the backing and not be to noticeable.

Blends beautifully.

Now for the top I was going to use a bright red variegated but then felt it would just be to much on this busy quilt. Instead I chose to use this pale purple variegated as it would just blend in with the top and not take anything away from all these bright fabrics.

This thread just is a subtle addition.  It doesn't compete and it doesn't demand attention.

Because I love the change quilting makes, here is a before picture....

and after some quilting.

Intro to Pantograph

After finishing the Nine Patch Quilt I was excited to get another top onto Lola. My Mystery Quilt is still a long way from being ready to quilt however I know what I want to quilt on it and its a shock to me. I plan to quilt it with a pantograph and that is not really something I am comfortable with but because of all the pieces it will help calm the quilt and make it not so busy.  (I will explain what a pantograph is as we go along in this post.)

I have a closet in my studio that I store finished tops and I looked through and found this lovely busy top "Flower Market".  I made this from just a bunch of floral fabrics that I had been collecting. My sister M gave me some of the fabrics for my birthday one year. Its just an explosion of floral and I love it! My only problem was I couldn't decide what to quilt on it as its really busy.

This is the backing I had for this quilt. While the top is loud and in your face, the backing compliments the top but is soothing and calm but still wild.

I didn't have enough backing and so I had to add another fabric to get me to the desired size. I like to add a little something different, something unexpected to my backs and this is what I came up with for this one.

Now for the pantograph. Lola has two sides to her personality. The front side is her carefree creative side and the one I always use. What comes out of the front is all me. I decide where the stitches go and how they flow on the top. Lola's back side is controlled and a follower. From the back I can place a pattern down on the table and use a stylus or a laser light to follow a pattern. Its a different skill and one I just haven't explored.

For the floral quilt I chose to use a pattern with large leaves.

Then after much set up that I won't bore you with I just follow that pattern with this laser light.  See that tiny red dot?

This is what the top looks like after just one pass of the pantograph. I have to say I really like the way it is looking! Sometimes I surprise myself.