Wow! This quilt top was just stunning! So much work had gone into it — all of the appliques were hand stitched. It deserved some serious quilting, so I experimented with different motifs and designs in the different areas of the quilt — and I had my first attempts at using a scallop ruler. The scallops look fine from a distance, but don’t get too close as some are a little wonky!
Some of the various quilting techniques and motifs I used on this quilt included:
- stitch in the ditch around all the applique pieces
- McTavishing in the black centre square
- leaf and vine motifs in the first black border, with flowers in the open part of the baskets (all black on black so hard to see in photos!)
- ‘piano key’ straight lines (using a straight ruler — Line Tamer from Four Paws Quilting)
- scallops in the outer cream border (using a scallop ruler from Handi Quilter, courtesy of my friend Michelle)
- Diane Gaudynski-style feathers in the large outer black border
I only used black and cream threads throughout as it was important that the quilting enhanced the quilt top without overpowering it. This quilt took about 12 hours to complete.
Click on a photo to view it larger.
Rhonda Bracey: At Random 
Do you work with an open toe foot?? The quilting is awesome as is the piecing! Even looking closely…..looks terrific!-D
Yes, I use an open-toe foot. Though for ruler work, such as the scallops, I should have used a close toe foot for better control and distance measurement. The Lion Tamer ruler seems to work OK with an open toe foot as long as I don;t put the ruler at an angle where the ‘measurement’ is affected by the open toe.
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