Sunflowers

 

This beauty was made by Marlene.  The pattern is called "Sunflowers" by Primitive Gatherings.  Marlene's hand blanket stitched wool applique was a treat for me to work on.

When Marlene and I were discussing a quilting plan she suggested using 3 different designs for background.  She suggested the piano keys on the outer edge of the border, and something different on the inner section.  I gave a few different suggestions and she left the final choice up to me.

I decided to use branching curls on the inner border section and a good old fashioned stipple behind the applique in the center.  I like the contrast in the designs.

This piece isn't very large at 40" x 40" but the amount of time and effort that went into it still amazes me!

Simple Sampler

 

I recently had the pleasure of custom quilting Marlene's beautiful "Simpler Sampler" quilt.  This quilt is anything but simple, but it comes from Kim Diehl's book entitled "Simple Sampler."  Marlene did change up the border to make it her own, and I like the simplicity and how it frames the beautiful blocks. 

Marlene and I discussed a few of her quilting likes and dislikes but she said she prefers not to say too much and let her longarmer decide.  The hardest part for me was coming up with a plan for the pieced blocks.  I took my inspiration from the centre blocks and added diagonal lines in the background of 8 of the blocks, radiating out from the centre.  I like how the pattern gives your eye a place to rest.

The other four blocks were treated with a different motif that matched the molar feather quilting in the border.

The wool applique blocks didn't leave a lot of room for quilting, so pebbles seemed like the perfect choice to fill in all the small areas and make the applique pop.

Thank you for trusting me with your quilt Marlene, it really is a beauty.