Lumina Feathered Star

Wanda contacted me about quilting her Lumina Feathered Star and I couldn't wait to get started. As many of you are aware (if you're familiar with Quiltworx patterns), Quiltworx offers computerized designs specific to many of their quilt patterns and they're amazing. But many, if not all of them, are super dense, super detailed designs. Wanda didn't want that much quilting, yet she didn't want to settle for just a plain pantograph over the entire quilt. So that's why she contacted me.

 Wanda was hoping for more of a semi-custom touch - my specialty! The fabrics for the Lumina Feathered Star are a ton of metallics and they are very busy. In several areas the quilting would only show up when the lighting is "just-so". So what's a quilter to do? We opt to keep those areas simplified and put the details in the areas you're actually going to notice it, like the center and that amazing satin in the border.

 Wanda requested swirls and just whatever would work to make the center pop and amplify the quilt as a whole. I thought of these fun circles in the spiked border and they worked out perfectly. In order to fit the curves, not every spike is the same size and shape, so circles are easy enough to adjust as needed so the border as a whole looks finished. Some designs may not be as forgiving and the small differences would stand out terribly.

 This quilt has ginormous pieces (for a Quiltworx pattern) so the center was played up and kept subtle at the same time. I kept the swirls in the satin and played with straight lines to emphasize the feathers where I could.

 The majority of the quilt was covered in swirls, and you can see some of the other details here in this shot. This quilt plan definitely fell into the less-is-more category. Swirls, circles and straight lines in a variety of uses are all that made up this large quilt.

I love how you can see the sheen from the satin in the spiked border here. I think that was my favorite part of this quilt. And in case you're wondering, Wanda knew satin wouldn't respond the same as a quilting cotton, so it all was backed in a super light interfacing to make it behave, yet it wasn't too bulky to interfere in the piecing or quilting process.

All in all this quilt was a stunner and I was sad to send it back home. However I know it went to a great place and is probably being loved on as I type! That's what makes my job a tad easier, knowing that the quilts I spend so much time on go to good homes where they are loved and used!

Thank you, Wanda! Your quilt was spectacular, your piecing was phenomenal and I had so much fun working on this quilt with you!