Exploring the Process

I love making quilt tops and get a huge buzz out of seeing a loved one under one of my quilts but that process of getting a quilt top into a quilt I am not so keen on, or is it that I am just not experienced at it?

Up until now I have either sent a quilt to a professional to be quilted (which can mean that they are away from home for a long time but come back beautifully quilted) or just done the basic in the ditch.  Nothing wrong with in the ditch. Up until now it has served its purpose for me. I have even fallen for the 1/4" to the side of a seam and love this look also but again this has not worked for me and my current top that I am trying to quilt so with this I am "Exploring the process".

I am currently trying to get my Rainbow quilt over the line to a finish.

I have done my usual "in the ditch" first and then went back and went all over it 1/4" on the outside of all the rainbow squares. This was where I had initially planned on leaving it but I wasn't happy. The colored squares looked a little "puffy".  What was I going to do. I can't stipple .... I can't even get an even coverage when I sit and "doodle" it let alone on a 10" practice square so there was no way I was going to attempt this on a full quilt.

OK so time to "bite the bullet"!

With a lot of hesitation out came a plate and a pencil (see I'm not even game enough to use a water erasable blue pen yet).

I drew a basic 4 petaled flower ..... these worked well for me in my "quilting the quilt" class a few weeks ago so here goes ........

So 2 down and another 28 to go.  So far I am liking the way it takes the puffiness out of the squares and makes them flatter.  It must be noted here that I personally like soft quilts that you can snuggle under and that are not over quilted and stiff ..... time will tell on this one.

This quilt is a learning curve for me and hopefully some what of a confidence builder as after this one I have to more tops to do.  These other two are sitting on my Accountability list (both tops have been finished for soooo long) and I have wanted this Xmas one on my wall last year so I have told myself I have to have it done this year!

This one will be a test but hopefully I can explore the process a little more with it ..... time will tell :o)

So as time permits I will be heading back here and tackling more flowers.

but not before I go here and draw them up!

Thank you so much for stopping by.

Sharon

You can also follow Lilabelle Lane Creations here