I don't know why I waited so long to quilt the border of this quilt.
It really wasn't hard. I got out Gwen's Quilting with Style book and refreshed my memory on the process. I first marked the vines and then the individual feathers. I use a silver colored pencil (berol verithin). The markings wear off as I work on the quilt and what ever is left will wash out.
When doing the actual quilting I started with the vine. I sewed the center vine line all the way around the quilt. Then I quilted one side of the feathers all the way around and next moved to the other side. I really tried to be relaxed and not in a hurry while quilting the feathers. I think that made all the difference. I was slow and careful and even managed to get some of the restitched areas (where you have to sew back over the original stitching to make the pattern continuous) stitched in the same holes as the original stitching. I'll have to remember this in the future. "It's not a race." "Take your time."
I wanted the feathers to stand out a bit so I put in some background stippling around the feathered vine.
I'm pretty pleased with it so far. I just need to bind, wash, and put it on the couch!
Hopefully we'll have a bright day for me to take finished pictures! It has been dreary and raining this week so my photos are not the best.
