Feathers

I have been doing some thinking about machine quilting and sketching feathers.... An opportunity presented itself to purchase a long arm quilting system and I thought long and hard about the possibilities of the major purchase. In the end, I decided although the price was right, the timing was not. With a baby due in just six weeks, I don't think I would be able to devote the time I would want to hone my machine quilting abilities.
But I have been thinking about machine quilting patterns in particular feathers, which I always love to see on a quilt. I am not all that great at doing them free hand. So I decided to take my sketching to the next level and do some machine quilting. I have also been inspired Patsy Thompson, who does some phenomenal free motion quilting using multiple colors of thread in one pattern. I started with a fat quarter of fabric along with a piece of extra firm batting (like the kind used in fiber postcards). I ironed in some diagonal guidelines and penciled in the curvy line to follow and went to town.

I chopped the fat quarter into 4x6 postcards and now am adding some more machine stitching. So they are turning out a bit more machine embroidered than simply quilted.