Rhonda Bracey: At Random

What a cheerful quilt this was! Lots of green book worms, surrounded by white space and small bright coloured squares, and a cheery border. As usual I started by stitching in the ditch around all the main blocks, in white. Then I swapped to a lime green thread and just did a large meandering stipple across the main quilt top. I used the same thread in the border to free-motion stitch the lines there.

(Click on a photo to view it larger)

Threads used:

• Top: Fil-Tec Glide ‘White’ (40 wt, trilobal polyester, colour 10000); Robison-Anton ‘Ming’ (40 wt, rayon, colour 2322)
• Bottom: Fil-Tec Magna Glide Classic pre-wound bobbin (white)

Red, white, pink/apricot, and aqua — not colours I’d think to put together, but I think they worked well in this quilt. I started by stitching in the ditch around the blocks (in red), then did a large meandering stipple in the border (also in red thread). For the main top, I stitched an ‘open headband‘ motif in a soft aqua thread.

(Click on a photo to view it larger)

Threads used:

• Top: Fil-Tec Glide ‘Cardinal’ (40 wt, trilobal polyester, colour 70001); Robison-Anton ‘Sprite’ (40 wt, rayon, colour 2313)
• Bottom: Fil-Tec Magna Glide Classic pre-wound bobbin (candy apple red, white)

Someone spent a lot of time making blocks from tiny scraps — the finished squares were only about 1″. How to quilt it? As usual I started by stitching in the ditch around the main blocks and borders. Then I decided to do something simple because the scrap fabrics were so ‘busy’ — I free-motion stitched lines through the centre of each row of squares, in a checkboard pattern. I didn’t use a ruler, but even with wonky lines, the illusion is of straight lines. I left the sashing strips unquilted and did a line of straight stitching (this time with a ruler) in the border, a half inch from the seam line.

(Click on a photo to view it larger)

Threads used:

• Top: Fil-Tec Glide ‘Navy’ (40 wt, trilobal polyester, colour 32965)
• Bottom: Fil-Tec Magna Glide Classic pre-wound bobbin (black)

I think was my first tumbling blocks quilt! I started by stitching in the ditch around the borders and across some of the blocks, following the seam lines. Then I did a cathedral windows motif in the diamond shapes, in a pale blue thread.

(Click on a photo to view it larger)

Threads used:

• Top: Robison-Anton ‘Paris Blue’ (40 wt, rayon, colour 2283)
• Bottom: Fil-Tec Magna Glide Classic pre-wound bobbin (white)

How to quilt this small quilt, which had all sorts of elements — appliqued pieces, pieced blocks, etc. — in it? I started by stitching in the ditch around all the main elements, then did some straight stitching in the centre block, some free-motion curved lines in the curved applique pieces and in the border, some stippling in the white space, and some cathedral windows in the corner blocks. I left the remainder unquilted.

(Click on a photo to view it larger)

Threads used:

• Top: Floriani (40 wt, rayon, colour PF129); Isacord (40 wt, trilobal polyester, colour Fb 6650)
• Bottom: Fil-Tec Magna Glide Classic pre-wound bobbin (candy apple red, white)