It now has a frame of charcoal grey, setting off the picture nicely. The very outer, lighter fabric is the background folded over the extra batting, so I have something less linty to hold on to.
On Wednesday, I showed the zigzag stitching of clear poly thread holding down the edges of the appliques.
This was one of the many quilting tips I learned in the Lovely Landscape Quilts book by Cathy Geier,
though she does this step after fusing the top to just the batting. I did a zigzag test piece of fabric and batting, and decided I didn't like the added dimension of a channel of zigzags, and straight line stitching wasn't going to hold the edge. So instead, armed with a 1.5 length/1.5 width zigzag stitch, clear poly, a 8/60 needle, the appliques were secured to just the muslin they're fused to.
During this stage, she also does some thread painting. Again, I opted to do that once the batting and backing were on, because I wasn't sure just how heavily quilted this would be. Though without backing, it would be a great opportunity to hide ugly stitching or stitching buildup, don't you think? I may regret skipping this step later!
Once the edges were all tacking down, I spray basted the top to the batting and backing. Cathy uses fusible web to securely bond the top to the batting, and much less fusible to apply the backing. I didn't want that kind of permanence, nor did I want more fusible buildup. Spray basting was the way to go for me!
In a nutshell, Cathy's initial landscape quilting steps are:
1. Fuse the top to batting.
2. Stitch down raw edges/appliques.
3. Add some thread painting.
4. Lightly fuse on backing.
What did I do?
1. Stitched down raw edges/appliques.
2. Spray basted top to batting and backing.
So much for following directions! But I will say it was extremely helpful to read how she goes about prepping and quilting her landscape quilts. I am no expert when it comes to this genre, so any and all information is helpful.
As with every quilting project, it's important to seek guidance on how to approach the project, to make test pieces, and to form one's own path to completion. I'm doing what works for me and my project!
Until the next Santorini landscape quilting installment,
Happy Quilting!
oh wow it is absolutely lovely!!!! The perspective is spot on
ReplyDeleteThe charcoal really is a nice addition to the piece.
ReplyDeleteIt would be a nice way to hide all of those stitching "problems" on the back, but I can see your reason for doing it "your" way.
What a beautiful quilt top!
ReplyDeleteHi Susan, your quilt is really coming along. As for the steps to follow, I agree with you that you need to find out what others do, and then do as you want! I try different techniques with each landscape quilt. I think that how you approach your quilt really depends on the quilt itself. Good luck!
ReplyDelete