I finally basted the kaleidoscope quilt, and settled down to start hand quilting it. I have known what I wanted to quilt in it for a while so I dove right in last Thursday evening. I went to bed quite pleased with my progress. Friday morning I walked by the quilt before breakfast and then I wasn’t so pleased anymore.
I had thought the crisp lines in the black diamonds would make them fade into the background so the eye would focus on the way the colors make rings. More stitching was planned for the colored parts. Friday morning they just jumped out at me and reminded me of padding. Then I stepped to the side and this happened:
One whole direction of quilting seemed to disappeared. Since this is the direction we’d see and the way the light will be hitting from the window once the quilt is on the bed, it would look like there are columns of quilted diamonds and nothing in the rest. So much for knowing how I was going to quilt it! This is not going to work for me!
Last night I tried something else that I like much better.
This quilting handles light and shadows better, staying visible at different angles. I hope once I have more of them quilted the lines in the colored triangles will draw the eye around the rings and not be overpowered by the quilting in the black.
I’m off to pick out the parallel lines from Thursday evening, then I’ll settled in to more hand quilting.
Linking up with Kathy’s Quilts’ Slow Sunday Stitching
Your first plan probably would have been fine, but your new plan is better. Luckily, you didn't get too far with the first one. Picking out isn't fun.
ReplyDeleteBoy...you have given me something to think about. I had never considered how my hand quilting would look at different angles.
ReplyDeletePretty quilt and very interesting....who would think about the light / time of day etc affecting how the quilting shows up. Learn something new every day :)
ReplyDeleteWow - I had to look at that second photo twice. I thought you were photographing a different block. That quilting totally disappeared! I like the diamonds in the diamonds. At least you weren't far into it when you got a good look at it. Good luck with the rest of the quilting!
ReplyDeleteYour story was a learning experience for me too! I like the diamonds best also, but I do think your original plan has lots of possibilities in another quilt someday. Have fun with your quilting; you do a great job every time! ---"Love"
ReplyDeleteAnd now you know what Kathy is talking about when she says that her quilts talk to her. Your quilt was quiet while you were quilting but in the morning it was saying "this isn't going to work"! I love what you decided to do!
ReplyDeleteNo matter how you look at it that is one yummy quilt.
ReplyDeleteLove how the diamonds accent the quilt. Beautiful job. I need to get mine into a top this week so I can machine quilt it on Saturday.
ReplyDeleteYour handquilting is just beautiful! And you are FAST! And patient to pick out...This will be one stunning quilt. I love echo motifs.
ReplyDeleteThe quilted diamonds really do add to the quilt, this looks great. Your original idea looked good, too, but I like the diamonds better. The quilts really do let us know how they need to be quilted. Hope you didn't have to unsew too much and I can't wait to see this one finished. It is amazing!
ReplyDeleteSo funny how quilting lines can disappear like that. I really like your second choice. It is such a beautiful quilt. Makes me want to hand quilt something again soon.
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