Fishy Finish

A customer brought in a darling little quilt that her grandmother started but didn't get to finish.  Although the grandmother hoped to hand-quilt it, she asked to have the quilt finished by machine .

I had the pleasure of quilting this fun quilt.  Of course, my photos are of the usual quality, but I think you can see enough to make out some of the quilting.  

I really tried to get the trapunto of the big center fish.  It's pretty amazing. There was already a layer of batting, so my job here was pretty easy. I simply followed the outline of the fish and the lure and added one other line of stitching to stabilize it really well.  Her center line along the gills I decided not to touch because it already gives enough dimension but still allows the center of the fish to really puff out.  More importantly though, it allows the viewer to see the original hand stitches.

 Of course, to make sure that the trapunto stands out, I added lots of stitching around the trout.  Above the fish I quilted wavy lines to create movement in the water.

And below the trout I quilted air bubbles. 

 For the grassy area, I followed some of the lines in the largest grasses and leaves, going around or down the center, which ever worked best for continuous line quilting.  Every cattail, seedpod and large oak leaf is outlined.  I used the lightest beige grasses to travel around the quilt because my beige/gray thread just melted away.

The open water was especially easy.  Some smooth wavy lines created movement and ripples.

The treeline and sky were a little more challenging.  I decided to follow the edges of the woods where the two grays meet. It required really paying attention to where I was headed, but the result is that the line delineates the depth of the trees and the tree tops where the rising sun sheds some light.

Finally the fisherman and his boat got extra special attention.  I outlined everything.  I even followed his fishing line from rod and reel to the lure in the trout's mouth.  It looks easy, but one or two stitches off, and it had to be ripped out because the thread matches the line not the background.

In other words, I really challenged myself and had fun with Uncle Joe's Lures.  Here's hoping both customer and Uncle Joe (yes, there really is an Uncle Joe who hand-makes and sells lures) both love the quilt.

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