...since I posted anything about my alphabet stars quilt. My mistake for not sharing the progress I've made on it so far!
Over two months ago, I finished all the FMQ on the top. I knew from the start that I wanted fairly dense quilting and was planning on all of it being concentrated in the black spaces on the quilt.
After all, I reasoned, if I'm using black thread then my mistakes won't be terribly obvious! Brilliant thinking, right? But as I spent what felt like hours doing FMQ "straight" lines, I came to the sad realization that all this work was going to stay relatively invisible on the front. Head smack.
But, I plowed through and got it done working on and off through a long weekend. When I finished up, I knew immediately that the star centers needed some extra attention. In an hour, I went through the whole alphabet and did some FMQ flowers with white thread. I really like the loopiness alongside the straight lines!
So what the heck is taking me so long, you might ask? One final quilting element - I decided to hand quilt the inside of each star with variegated perle cottons in 6 different shades. I love the effect, but I am definitely a sloooow hand sewer.
At my speed, this will last the rest of the summer. But I think the effect is so worth it, I don't mind taking things easy! It's come on vacation with us, so maybe I'll get more than a few letters done sitting lakeside.
Enjoy your summer everyone!
Isn't it tricky finding the balance between thread that won't show every "mistake" and one that will disappear? It's coming along beautifully... who cares how long it takes!
ReplyDeleteThe tone on tone quilting adds lovely texture! The quilting blends in, but it adds so much to the quilt. That perle cotton detail is lovely! Such a nice touch.
ReplyDeleteWow! That is a lot of amazing quilting! I am impressed to begin with all the straight line quilting. I would have sewn black straight lines right through all those star points! That is a lot of starts and stops!! And the hand quilting does look gorgeous!
ReplyDeleteI love the bright colors. So pretty!
ReplyDeleteThis is going to be fabulous!!! Once you get in the rhythm your hand quilting speed will increase... and it's a wonderful way to relax and enjoy the summer:-)
ReplyDeleteOMG! This is so lovely. With your free motion quilting and handing quilting this is my absolute favorite. Anyway I am sucker for Alphabet quilts, alphabets fascinate me. This pattern is just awesome!
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