Machine Quilting - Thistle Pods

Doris is at it again and made this wonderful Thistle Pods quilt designed by Judy Niemeyer.

 This quilt is simple yet complex - here's why: There are really only four elements - the two different blocks, the flying geese and the outer border. BUT, there is ample background space but not much area between the elements from all of the points... I honestly wasn't quite sure how to tackle this quilt at first, but after consulting with Doris, she said she liked the swirls I did on this quilt and maybe try those again.

This pattern is one of those that is somewhat deceiving to long arm quilters. When you see pictures it looks big, but when you see it in person, there's not as much room between those points as you hoped. It limited me on designs a bit, but I'm happy with the results and Doris is too and that's all that matters :)

 This is one of the blocks, I'm not really sure what to call it, maybe a sunburst...

 Here's the other block, a compass of sorts. That's it for the center, just these two blocks offset in rows.

 Then there are these awesome flying geese around the center. I quilted back and forth lines traveling from one goose to the next to separate the swirls on either side of this element. Remember that how the design looks on the back of the quilt can be as important as how it looks on the front!

 Finally, I quilted these tendrils into the outer border to soften the jagged-ness of all of the spikes. Oh, and this quilt does have a small extra border put on it that's not in the original pattern to make it just a tad bigger.

 Now this quilt ended up roughly around 103" square. Here's how it looks draped over the machine after quilting. It's big. I've had more and more customers coming to visit me and I realize that I probably haven't shared the best part of my "office" with you here. In the photo above, it just looks like a big room, right?

 Well, here's how it looks when you walk in from the house. I have these amazing vaulted ceilings that work so well to bounce indirect lighting onto the quilts as I'm working, or just to give some breathing room. It's one of those things that just makes me love my job and makes going to the "office" pretty easy to do.

 Alrighty, back to the quilt. so here's how one of the corners looks with all of the elements and quilting aspects represented.

 And because I couldn't stop taking pictures...

 Here's more to share :)

 And then there's the back of the quilt. I love how you can see all of the details!

Once again, this quilt was a pleasure to work with and I love working on Doris' quilts.

If you are interested in my long arm quilting services, please feel free to contact me at rubybluequilts (at) gmail (dot) com or check out the Machine Quilting Information page.

Also remember, Christmas is fast approaching so if you have quilts you would like to give as gifts, you can either reserve a spot or get them to me by November 7th (subject to change) for guaranteed Christmas delivery.