Forest Floor

Sharon made this amazing quilt called Forest Floor. It was a block of the month project using gorgeous batiks and leaf prints. This was a mammoth sized custom quilt. Prepare yourself for lots of pictures!

Although Sharon has her own longarm, she wanted this one custom quilted beyond her skill level. Potentially able to enter into a show or two. I'm not really a 'show quilter' but I like a challenge every once in a while. So, here I am with it! No pressure or anything...

I did some researching to help come up with some ideas and inspiration. I found it on Jen's blog.  I used a lot of her ideas, but changed some areas to better suit my liking and skill set.

I used a variegated thread called 'Autumn Splendor' from Connecting Threads for most of the quilt. It has green, orange, plum, and gold in it, which coordinates perfectly with just about all the colors in this quilt.

However, I did use a cream thread for the lighter areas of piecing. The piecing and fabrics are the star of the quilt, and I didn't want a dark thread to distract in those light areas.  I also used a coral color in a few of those colored areas too.

I used the coral thread to outline the leaves and veins in the printed blocks, as well as the border around them.

This was a BOM, so no two blocks are the same in this quilt. I had to design something different for each one. A mix of ruler work and free handed designs.

Lots of leafy feathers in the large areas.

I had quilted this design in 8 different areas in the quilt, and after I got to #7, I just really didn't like how it was looking. At all. Kind of lumpy and lopsided and long and awkward looking. So I ripped them all out and did something different. A large swirl with leafy feathers. More free-motion and less formal looking, that's a bit more of my wheelhouse.

The back shows a bit better detail.

Thanks for trusting me with this beauty Sharon! I hope it shows well.