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.