Sunshine and Shadow

I am SO enjoying working on this little wholecloth.  Sometimes you work on a quilt and it just "works" and this one feels good :) 

I've received a few questions via comments on the blog and I'm unable to respond to you when it's a "no-reply blogger".  If you do have particular questions about a project I'm working please just email me so I can get back to you.  I always feel like I'm ignoring my readers when I don't respond.

I've received many questions about the marker I've used.  I used a Frixion pen for this particular quilt as I needed VERY precise sharp lines.  There are definite pro's and con's about this pen as it was never intended for quilts...it is for writing on paper.  The color is removed from your quilt with a hot steam iron but there may be a light white mark residue that is left in your fabric.  I'm hearing 50/50 whether it is removed with either a commercial steamer or a good wash.  Regardless, I've been using it more and more but always with a bit of caution.

I've managed to get the "bones" of all 16 blocks quilted and now it's time to start adding all the beautiful background work!

When I'm teaching I always talk about the "sunshine and shadow" in a quilt.  It's very important to have a little of both.  In order for your main quilting designs to POP you must have some background work or shadow behind it.  The photos above show an overall shot of this piece...this is ALL sunshine.  The quilting is nice but there's nothing special about it.  It all blends together.

I have chosen to use three different background fillers to provide my shadow as well as a little interest!  I've chosen my very, very tiny scribbling filler for the inside of the block...very tiny echo quilting around the blocks and micro-pebbling (my students call it "sand") in the center block.  I've added a dime to give you an idea of the size.

The finished size of the quilt will be about 29-30" square.  The background work is extremely tedious and slow and I know it won't hold my attention for any length of time.  I've saved the feather border so I can change back and forth between the feathers and the backgrounds.  I'll share another post showing how I do the feathering.

Hugs, Cindy :)