Autumn Splendor

This paper-pieced beauty was made by Christine Schwartz.  The orange, gold and purple batiks she chose are just beautiful!  Pattern (Autumn Splendor) is by Quiltworx; Judy Niemeyer and her son are experts at designing paper-pieced patterns.  The seams are staggered so everything lies flat.  If you ever consider making one of these pointy star patterns, Judy Niemeyer is the only way to go.

The first thing to do is have a quilting plan of action!  Decide what you want to show off - in this case the stars and flying geese.  Decide on a quilting pattern around those elements and stick to it on the rest of the quilt.  I sketched out a variety of designs until I found the right one.  Even then you are still entitled to change your mind, and start over.

The quilting is all freehand and everything has been stitched-in-the-ditch (SID). 

 

Three thread colors were used.  I started with gold colored thread and did all the quilting on all the blocks where gold/light fabrics are, then went back with purple and then one more time with a touch of monofilament to SID around the orange flying geese.

 

 

I quilted feathers in the dark fabrics and SID in the center of the star.

 I used an echo in the gold fabrics around the flying geese.  I wanted the fabric around the star to be quilted down, so it would be showcased.  I used a small stipple, swirls and SID.

The SID keeps the flying geese flat and gives it a more finished look.