But I'm back in the longarm room now, and I hope not to take that long of a hiatus again. This quilt top's pattern is called Whiskers by Modern Quilt Studio. I used a kit because I find the colors to be perfection, and I think the usage of the yarn-dyed striped fabric is just brilliant. I named it Spliced because that was what I was doing to add in those yarn-dyed strips ... splicing them in!
I found the piecing of this quilt rather challenging, because although the yarn-dyed striped fabric is gorgeous, it is hard to work with. I knew I'd have trouble getting the pieces to be the right size at the end as it sort of requires perfect piecing, so I cut the pieces bigger to begin with and used a scant scant quarter-inch seam, and trimmed down the excess at the end. It worked out well.
For the quilting design, I took one of my favorite approaches which is creating a foreground / background effect. I wanted to extend all the "whiskers" so they form a woven pattern. This of course requires some extra marking, but it's always worth it. The negative space in between are filled with swirls and pebbles.
I was rather afraid that after nearly 3 months away from the machine, I would forget how to quilt. But as it turns out, it's just like riding a bike! As soon as I got going, it's like I never stopped. Given how many of my quilts have a neutral background, it's always exciting to quilt with a bright teal thread. And I really, really like the striped binding too.
Linking up with: My Quilt Infatuation, Busy Hands Quilts, Confessions of a Fabric Addict, Cooking Up Quilts, Powered by Quilting, and Meadow Mist Designs.