Once again, I didn’t spray baste. First of all, Since the quilt is basically width of fabric, I needed to find something a little larger. I’m guessing this white is a shirting fabric I had. But it’s still not much larger than the top, so I found it easier to pin baste. Btw, I kept on shifting pins around to try and get the sandwich a little tauter.
I know, I’ve been whining about not liking this a whole lot. Here is an example. I think the center would have looked better as a solid square or diamond. But no, it cuts in here and there. At first I thought that would add interest, now I think it looks messy. Very little quilting on the ‘snowflake. Not a lot on the background.
That is until I got to the large negative space and went with beloved feathers. Yes, I love feathers.
Not sure if you can see it here, but I echo quilted the border and that is it. I left the rest un-quilted. Then I used the original backing fabric as the binding. Oh one other thing I did, is cut down on the border, I think one of the things that really bothered me was how wide the border was.
Yes, I know, by not quilting the border I have created imbalance. The outer edge is wavier and less sturdy then the rest of the quilt. Which in my usual fashion, I quilt very heavily. But at this point I just don’t care.
A touch I like, putting spirals in all the circles. I filled the inner leaves as well. I simply started and stopped. As in quilted in place, filled the area, quilted in place and cut the threads. I rarely bury threads.
The narrower border is a good design choice, it doesn’t overwhelm the quilt like it did before.
Some artistic shots, with little purple flowers.
And slightly larger purple flowers, you probably can’t see, them too dark.
I get it. One doesn’t expect to take a class and come out with a masterpiece. I learned a new technique. Will I ever use this technique again? I doubt it. I don’t see myself wanting to make a large medallion appliqué quilt. I will certainly continue using the appliquick method. You may have forgotten, but I do have a Baltimore Album in the works. So why did I finish this if I don’t like it all that much. It was a challenge for me. I wanted to experience this kind of medallion quilt. I don’t think I’ll be giving this away, I think I’m just keeping it as something that I tried. I am pleased with my workmanship. Well, except for the design. So it stays with me. Who knows, my last three projects were small, table topper size, this might end up on the table, although at the moment I don’t want to remove the Mandalla quilt that is there.
To finish, another kind of creativity. My friend Henry is an amazing florist. He does all the flowers at the Pacific Club in Newport Beach. Yeah, amazing. So when he comes for dinner, I ask for flowers. It was right after Valentines Day and there is a lot of red. It is a beautiful arrangement. But flowers have a way of dying quickly.
So as the tulips wilted, I took the arrangement apart and used the flowers in smaller vases.
I even combined the orchids with daffodils from Trader Joes. Recycling at it’s best, and now the roses are dying, but the daffodils and the orchids are still going strong.
Leah