I've honestly quilted so many of these I've lost count. Sorry. But still I try to quilt each one a little differently than the others and it's really easy to do with this pattern because each person colors the various pieces differently or emphasizes a different part of the quilt. It just adds to the personality of each person that made this quilt and I only hope that I can help to emphasize that personality and give the quilt the same dedication and attention as the person that made it.
Anne made this quilt and in the process she started it, changed it up, redid parts of it, and she couldn't be happier with the results. My instructions were to quilt it "over the top" and she added she really liked pebbling. I always ask each customer before I quilt one of these quilts which part are they drawn to the most. Sometimes it's the feathered star, sometimes it's the flying geese, for Anne it was the center star. With all of that in mind I got to work.
Now as I mentioned how everyone colors this quilt differently, Anne was the first person in the extension sunbursts to use the same background fabric for all of it. I was a bit perplexed on how to tackle this area. Normally it's anywhere from 2-3 colors so I have barriers and defined edges. Not with this one!
To keep the colors popping (it's so much more vibrant in person) I kept the quilting in the background of the flying geese and let the colors shine.
Here's a hint of that pebbled center. Once again I left the flying geese alone so they popped out against the dense quilting.
I've been playing with rulers more and more and added in some geometric quilting into the lone star portion of the quilt to break up the more organic quilting designs and define this area.
Some areas are similar to other quilts I've done in the past and others are new, but my main goal with any of these quilts is to make it all work together.
Again I played with straight simple lines to mimic the designs in the lone star and set this center star apart from all of the pebbling that surrounds it.
I can't even begin to tell you how many bobbins of thread went into this quilt. With this grunge green for the backing, it really shows off the quilting well. Here's a bit of the center...
Here you can see some of the New York beauty blocks, the flying geese borders, the lone star. I love how you can see the different areas and know what is what by looking at the back. I would show you the whole back, but this quilt was massive and I just couldn't get a detailed shot that large.
Here's the back of one of the extensions. So as you can see, this quilt was jam packed with swirls and feathers and lines and pebbles and fun! I had a bunch of fun planning this quilt. I'm not going to lie, it was a challenge, but I'm up for a good challenge from time to time. :)
Now, as I mentioned before, I went through a ton of thread. Actually when I finished the quilt, this was all the thread I had left on this cone for the bobbin... It's amazing how heavy a quilt can be after it's densely quilted which makes no sense because thread doesn't weigh that much.
Anywho, thanks to Anne for letting me play with your quilt! I know she loved it and I couldn't be happier knowing I have a happy customer.
If you have a quilt you'd like me to finish for you or give you a quote, please e-mail me at rubybluequilts (at) gmail (dot) com. I'm currently running about 4-6 weeks out (possibly a little less for all over designs) and I'd love to quilt for you!
what gorgeous work.
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