Rhonda Bracey: At Random

At first glance, I thought this scrappy quilt was too busy, but on stepping back from it a little, I realised how cleverly constructed it was with the offsetting of the lights and darks creating various optical illusions.

I started by stitching in the ditch along all the diagonal lines, then filled in the dark parts only with a large ‘n’ and ‘u’ stitching pattern, keeping about a half inch between the up and down strokes of the motif. I didn’t use rulers — I just eyeballed the distance, so some are a little closer or further apart than half an inch, but the overall effect is of similarly spaced parallel lines.

(Click on a photo to view it larger)

Threads used:

• Top: Isacord (40 wt, trilobal polyester, colour FB4133)
• Bottom: Fil-Tec Magna Glide Classic pre-wound bobbin (lead gray)