Chocolate dessert!

The border quilting is like "chocolate dessert" for me! I love planning it, deciding if it will be simple or ornate, and actually doing the quilting is the finishing touch for me and signals the end is in sight. This is sometimes a good feeling, but many times a bit sad, as I love the process and when a project nears the end feel a little letdown and don't want the experience to be over.

On the other hand, "done is good"!

The border corner, above, is from the basket quilt featured in yesterday's post. Although the quilting in the center part of the quilt was basic, simple, the border let me showcase some really ornate classic designs. I like the juxtaposition of fancy with plain, and like the idea of elevating a utility style quilt with elaborate quilting.

I used Hobbs' wool batt for this quilt, and the designs stand out because of the loft of this batt and the way it compresses nicely when quilted densely around the designs. It's also very light and easy to handle in a home sewing machine.

This quilt was quilted in '03 when I still marked most of my designs, so I did use a washout blue marker on the basic brown solid fabric used here. At that time I needed an extra Ott light by my machine so I could see the marks, but now on my Bernina 730 the lighting is so good I don't have to position any extra lights around for the marks to show up well. Always check your marking by placing the marked quilt top in the machine. Sometimes marks are easily seen there but not in regular room lighting, so before you re-do something, give it a chance in the machine.

Lately I've been marking only basic lines and adding the frills and feathers freehand, contained within marked boundaries. I was ignoring my marked lines anyway, so having the freedom to quilt without peering at fading or non-existent lines is a real treat.

Do a little quilting today,

Diane