ISO Quilting Ideas

Alrighty then...the Twisted Drunkard's Path has been pinned and now it's time to decide how to quilt it. I'm stumped and would appreciate some ideas. The overall quilt is 48"x48". Without having seen it recently, I purchased some 40 wt Champagne-colored Sulky Viscose thread. My initial thought was just to meander all through the quilt, and the thread is lustrous enough that it should be somewhat reflective when stitched on the brown, and not in your face contrast.

Now, a lot of time was sent laying down those 7 arcs of decorative stitching on each block, so I'm not so sure I want to stitch across them when quilting, in which case, maybe I'd rather go for a tight stipple on the prints and browns.

Decisions, decisions. Of course, maybe I want to be  adventurous and quilt an all over pattern...in which case, what would that be?

What would you do? I've got to start it for Friday Night Sew In (see sidebar for a link to details), so that it's finito by Monday's challenge to tackle the challenge. All ideas would be greatly appreciated.

The past couple of days have been Christmas in February (which has not gone unnoticed by the hubs, by the way).

Look what came today!

My Frixion pen set that I have been anxiously awaiting. Let's set up the Consumer Test Lab, shall we?

(And no, get your mind out of the gutter, that is not a vibrator. It's a heat gun used on embossing powders and cellophane packaging.)

Using a scrap of the same fabric I'm using in the Baltimore Album quilts, I did a little scribbling with the pens.

 And then I hit it with the heat gun.

 Can you say "Gone in (way less than) 60 Seconds"?

 The only way you're going to see that ink again is if the temperature drops to 14 degrees in the house, or I store this quilt  in the freezer, in which case it will magically reappear.

Isn't science wonderful?  No worries if you don't have a heat gun...you can iron it away, or put your fabric in the dryer, or (as someone in my class did), leave it in your car, with the windows up, in the middle of July. :)

I can't wait to start using these pens on the Baltimore blocks. No more trying to get pencil out that didn't get covered by the applique.

If you'd like some of these pens, hustle on down to your office supply store. They have them at Staples (and that's the best price you'll find in a store), or you can order a set of 8 on Amazon for just under $14.00.

Speaking of ordering.....this also came today:

I'm planning on doing the Aurifil Designers Block a Month (you can get the details on that on Pat Sloan's blog). Looks simple enough, just waiting for the 12 wt thread to get started  (shh....don't tell the husband there's still another package (or two) to arrive).

I had a little trouble picking a Bella solids color off the computer to go with that layer cake. Every web site seemed to display the same color differently. So I sucked it up and invested in.......

.....color cards. Kona Cotton and Bella Solids are pretty long term stable, so I ordered cards for both lines. These two fabric lines can be purchased on line for significantly less than you can pick them up in your local quilt shop (I paid just over $5 a yard for Bella the other day), so having a sample of each color made will be extremely helpful when ordering solids to coordinate with the prints I'm using. I can just pop on line and know I'll be ordering the right color.

If you're interested in color cards, the cheapest source for the Kaufman Kona Solids card is Pink Chalk Fabrics, and if you want the Moda Bella Solids card you'll need to pre-order at Hancock's of Paducah (they're currently out of stock, but are expected back in.

I'm anxiously awaiting your ideas for quilting tomorrow night. Happy Friday!