This next quilt is one of my favorite quilts I have ever done! It is the Square Dance quilt that I made using my own blocks and those of my group in Stash Bee, Hive 12.
I love loading a fresh quilt onto the machine because each quilt is so full of potential.
Then, as I quilt, the design begins to show itself. I used grey thread to make the feathers in the grey section.
Then I switched to aqua thread for the star centers. I liked the contrast between the feathers and the angular, geometric design in the stars.
One afternoon, as I was under the machine to double-check the tension, the sunlight was reflecting off my machine onto the back of the quilt making a lovely design.
On a custom quilt like this that took 25-30 hours to quilt, seeing the end of the quilt is a welcome sight!
This photo was immediately after I pulled the quilt off my machine. I love how this quilting turned out!
I entered the large Square Dance Quilt (8″ blocks) into the North Carolina State fair, and earned 2nd place in the Group category. My mini square dance quilt is the same block design, but with 3″ blocks and a small border. It earned 2nd place in the Miniature Category at the Quilting in the Pines Quilt Show, and the Floral Fantasy Quilt Show. It’s amazing how different the same design can look with different quilting, colors, sizes, and borders!
One last shot of the back of the quilt. I’m so happy I used a solid grey for the majority of the backing because it really shows off all the custom quilting I did. I also like how the extra blocks on the back turned out. I was a little afraid to add them at first because of how thick the seams would be in that area, but I think it was worth the risk. That row adds a lot of fun to the back of this quilt. This is one quilt that I am going to enjoy!
If you are planning on making or giving a quilt in time for Christmas, and need it quilted, I still have time to do a few more quilts before Christmas. Contact me so that we can get started!