Bailey Is Done!

I finally decided to settle down and quilt my beloved Bailey quilt.  I finished the top in January.  You can read about its construction in previous blog posts.

I have been thinking and thinking about how to quilt it.

 I was pretty sure I wanted the direction of her fur to be my guide.

I was looking for the courage to start.

 

Then, a package arrived in the mail.  A book!

A book about people and portraits compiled by Martha Sielman. 

 It couldn't have been better timing.

 

This book is fabulous and browsing though all the beautiful quilts, I got the courage I needed to start.

I came up with a plan.  I printed the quilt on a piece of 8 1/2"x11" paper.  I slipped it into a plastic page protector and roughly drew my vision - following the lines of her fur.

 

I started doing the quilting one section at a time, starting with her nose and radiating outward. And of course I had to adjust as I progressed because paper isn't cloth.  As I finished a section, I poured through my machine quilting books looking for inspiration for the next section.

 

Machine quilting is not my forte.  I do enjoy it and I like the puzzle aspect of it.  I do not mark my quilts for free motion quilting because then I don't think it's spontaneous - which is what I like.  To be spontaneous, the design needs to flow from within.  To achieve this, I find a design that speaks to me and then I start drawing with a pencil on a piece of paper.  The design often morphs and changes while drawing into something that I am comfortable with. Then I know I am ready to stitch it and then sometimes it changes again.  The flow is what's important.

 

 

Ta Da! Here it is.  Done.

 I am very happy.  It is finished and bound with a sleeve and a label, ready to hang.

Here are some close-ups of my quilting - not too close though.