I really loved how the quilt top for Namibia Trees turned out, and I wanted to spend more time thinking about the quilting than I normally do. Instead of an all-over quilting design, I wanted to do something a bit more around the tree panels themselves. I have never really quilted a meandering, rounded, stipple pattern, so why not start by doing tiny stippling on a quilt that you really want to love (*eek, no pressure*)?!?!? Well, it seemed like the right thing to do, so before I could second guess myself, I jumped right in.
Namibia Trees – Quilting Detail
Because this is a larger quilt (roughly 57 inches square), I started quilting in the middle and worked my way out to keep the backing as flat and un-puckered as possible. Which meant I was quilting the middle focal block at the beginning, yikes! I wanted to change the quilting pattern up for the borders around the tree blocks, and I changed the quilting again for the extra border around the focal / middle block.
Namibia Trees – Quilting Detail
I did not really give myself time to stop and think too much as I did the first row of quilting. When I finished the row and pulled it off the machine to look at and photograph, I was really excited and happy with how it was looking! Next, I added quilting detail into the borders around the center row of blocks. I chose to use the meandering leaf / vine pattern that I practiced this weekend and featured in Part II of my Free Motion Quilting Tutorial.
Namibia Trees – Quilting Detail
I then added quilting detail to the remaining blocks before finishing up the meandering leaf / vine. I am really loving how this quilt is coming together, and seeing the quilting pop on the backing is really rewarding.
Namibia Trees – Quilting Detail (Backing)
Namibia Trees – Quilting Detail (Backing)
Namibia Trees – Quilting Detail (Backing)
Today I am going to work on putting on the binding. I think I will be entering this quilt into my local fair (the deadline for registration is July 12th, so I don’t have too long to make up my mind for that).
Linking up to WiP Wednesday at Freshly Pieced.
That tiny stipple looks so great. It really makes the branches pop out of the quilt beautifully! I think you should definitely enter your quilt 🙂
Your quilting is fantastic! I like quilts that change it up for different components, and yours is a great example. Did you have to start and stop a lot though?
It turned out great! I love all the different textures the quilting added.
It is looking great. Love the texture and colors.
Yes, enter the quilt in the fair! I love the texture and visual interest that the quilted added to an already awesome quilt. Nicely done.
That turned out beautifully!! Definitely enter it into the fair. I love your quilting choices. 🙂
Oh I love the quilting on that. Glad you went with your first instinct!
This is fantastic. What a beautiful quilt and what excellent FMQing on it. I really love the leafy pattern, perfect choice for a quilt of trees!
Love those trees, love the orange, and the quilting is impressive.