FMQing Challenge, Feb: Feathering

This month's challenge design was an Echo Feather Plume.  Diane Gaudynski was our expert tutor, and what a fantastic tutorial she provided us this month!!  Very easy to follow, and full of heaps of tips and tricks she's amassed from machine quilting for over 20 years!!!

If you follow my blog, you will know I dabbled with feathering earlier this month on a cot quilt I made for an old classmate's new baby boy ...

Front view, left hand side

Back view, bottom left hand corner

I wrote about the quilt here...

Anyway, when I realised I had run really close to the deadline of getting my entry into this month's challenge, I decided that I would put aside a couple of hours today to do a small (9in squared) panel to demonstrate what I have learnt this month.  I have to say, working on the feathering on the quilt earlier in the month certainly helped me a) feel more comfortable about it this time, and b) ensure the stitches, both front and back, were a lot more even.

I found that you could see the patterning more clearly when it was on a paler fabric, though it still looked pretty on the patterned purple.  I decided to just echo the design out to the edges rather than using a separate design as a filler or leaving it plain ... I probably would go plain if it was already in a border or block, sewn into a flimsy (full size quilt top).

Once again, I used a polyester batting (just cheap stuff I got from Spotlight years ago), but I really love the puffiness this design creates with the batting.  It's really only thin stuff too ... closer to 1/8in than 1/4in, but with this design it really comes out looking stunning!!!  Definitely using this design in future quilts!!!

Doesn't the back just look gorgeous?!!!!

*LOVE*

Thankyou, again, Diane Gaudynski!!  And of course, thank you goes out to SewCalGal for hosting this challenge!!  I don't know if I would have been brave enough to try this design out without your encouragement!!!

I am linking this post up with February's challenge post.  I'm headed over tomorrow to have a squizzy at what the other participants have achieved this month ... Right now, I need to take notes for a few lectures for my new uni subject before picking up DD from the Early Learning Centre ...

Enjoy your weekend!!