Quilting the top

I don't seem to have got very far with the quilting!  I have finished one of the three sections, but it is the smallest one.  Lots of interruptions, phone calls, other stuff - that's my excuse anyway.

It takes a while because the nature of the design has lots of differing parts to it which means that I decided it needed a relevant type of quilting for each bit - not one design across the whole lot.

Of course it doesn't have to be done that way but having started it like that I have to continue.

Seeing it develop is fun though and most of all really good practice if you want to get better at free machine quilting.

Now I'm not confident that I will get it finished in time for the exhibition.

It's interesting to see the back of the quilting stitches because it is not confused by the fabric's print.  See image below. You can tell if your idea or plan has actually taken shape as you wanted it too - or not!  Another thing is that from the back you can see how your stitch tension is working out and adjust it if necessary.


One decision left to be made is what sort of border to put on it.  Because there is so much variety in the top itself I don't want to give myself a huge amount of work with the border - so it may be a plain one and perhaps one that matches the backing.

 Sections two and three are twice as wide as this one but whether that means twice as much work remains to be seen.

One thing - quilting it in sections is definitely an advantage over trying to do it all in one go on an ordinary domestic sewing machine.

If I reach the conclusion that I won't get it finished for the exhibition I shall put it on hold and pick it up again later.

To be continued .....