This beauty has been on my frame since December. Aside from a vacation and some days off here and there, we have been constant companions. I have poured my blood, sweat and tears into it, and that is no exaggeration! Judy Neimeyer quilts surely challenge me. There is so much going on in them and everything seems to cry out for quilting.
Ardyce asked that the light blue area around the geese have a lot of quilting, so that's where I began.
From there it just made sense to continue the theme.
For the center star, I chose to follow the geese around to give it movement.
The area on either side of the outer geese gave me a challenge. With each element I completed, the closer I got to needing a design idea for this area. I thought feathers were a natural fit but also felt it would be a let down to do a plain feather. So when it came time to quilt this area, with yet no design in mind, I started drawing on my plexiglass. This is one tool I would be lost without. I finally went back to the swirl design and enclosed one side to become featherish. There was so much space in this area, I extended the curved cross-hatching out.
Lastly for the border. I had this idea from the start to bring the star points out, which I did, and to make geese fly around the border, which I also did. But my plan was to use the small swirl design as the background, to bring out the other elements. Well, as best laid plans go, I didn't like it. So onto plan B. As it was, the quilting didn't show up very well on the border fabric, so I needed something tight to accent the other designs. I decided on 1/4 inch lines. Oh my, that took days! And honestly, it looks really cool..... but from the back! ugh. Oh well, live, learn, quilt.
My main concern is always the front of the quilt, yet I still want the back to be wonderful if possible, especially when the back fabric is one that will show all the quilting. This is one of those quilts. The back fabric is navy and shows everything. I have to say, I am happy with the way the back looks also, a pleasant surprise.
I should add that I used multiple So-Fine thread colors, Medeira Monolon and Filtec magna classic bobbins. Ardyce supplied the Hobbs Heirloom Wool and I added a layer of Quilters Dream Cotton Select Batting. Here's a couple more pics of the front because after all, it's all about the front.
I am so happy to have had the opportunity to work on this beauty. It was wonderful to be able to stretch myself and see what happened. Thank you so much Ardyce for trusting me with your baby.
Thanks for looking and have fun quilting,
K
