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| 50/3 Mettler in Upper Left, 40 wt YLI Variegated Thread Everywhere Else |
I finally got all 22 blocks quilted and I've just started stippling the borders. I know that I originally said I was going to just do "minimal quilting or tie the quilt," but I lied. I did free motion quilting in each block, outlining the shapes and figures in each child's painting (the paintings were scanned and printed directly onto fabric using EQ inkjet printer fabric sheets and an Epson inkjet printer) and then I filled the backgrounds with a variety of free motion quilting patterns to make each student's artwork more dimensional. Hopefully everyone likes how I "decorated" his or her block, because my seam ripper is put away in the drawer and it is STAYING THERE!
I played around with a lot of different fill patterns and threads, sticking with a gray Aurifil 50/2 in the bobbin to save time and switching between 60/2, 50/3, 40/3 and 30/3 cotton threads for the needle. At first I thought I wanted lighter weight thread that would blend into the fabric and disappear, but the heavier variegated threads really grew on me for this project -- I think they are a nice complement to the bold lines of the students' artwork.
I found a great Kaffe Fassett print for my border, and I'm stippling around the little "fireworks" print thingys with variegated YLI machine quilting thread:
Back to my quilting! I'm linking up with WIP Wednesday over at Freshly Pieced.
Your quilting is so great! I love all the free motion patterns you use - well done!
ReplyDeleteGosh, this is turning out really cool! I love that you're quilting many different designs; it really adds nicely to the quilt design. I have to say that it's great how you are teaching your boys to sew and quilt and I love that you're doing this quilt for the 5th grade class. This is a ton of work and think of all the kids you may well be inspiring to pick up sewing/quilting!
ReplyDeleteThis is FABULOUS!!! I feel quite certain the kids will be thrilled with what you've done (unless they are just surly children ;-)
ReplyDeleteThis is SO cool! Love the quilting and thread choices. And we both have the same problem - can't keep it simple!
ReplyDeleteThank goodness for flexible deadlines. I thought your original timeline was pretty tight, and I was glad not to be you! Ha! I'm glad you went all out on this quilt instead of keeping it simple. May it fetch a king's ransom!!!
ReplyDeleteRebecca - I predict this quilt will raise a TON of $$ because what parent could resist the chance to own such a beautiful quilt that showcases their child's art? I do think the best outcome would be if someone with deep pockets buys it at auction and then donates it to the school for permanent display. Love it! Claudia W
ReplyDeleteI've been out of town and just now catching up. You have done an incredible job on this quilt and the actual quilting is amazing!!
ReplyDeleteHi Rebecca, I hope that the kids liked your FMQ. I imagine that the quilt was a success :-)
ReplyDeleteThanks so much for linking up to the 300th post party for Free Motion Mavericks. Take care.