Swirling Leaves mini quilt

The finished quilt:



Swirling Leaves

 And the back:


Swirling Leaves

 I wish I could take a photo that would do justice to the vibrant colors in this quilt, but the contrast is just too much for my little point and shoot Canon.

Because the quilt design is double-sided, I spent a lot of time considering how I would quilt this.  A few months ago, I had subscribed to receive email updates from Leah Day at The Freemotion Quilting Project but had been so busy with life, I hadn't taken the time to really read and explore her blog.   I started spending time on her blog, perusing her designs.  By the way, Leah's blog is a fantastic resource for learning and improving one's quilting skills.  It's good to know there's a whole world of possibilities out there beyond basic straight line quilting and stippling.  On my own I have been exploring free-motion quilting designs over the last several years and in my opinion, the process of quilting seems to be an after thought for many quilters who just want to finish a quilt or feel their skills aren't up the the task.

I decided I wanted a "watery" inspired design.  I took Leah's Flowing Lines design as a starting point and added an occasional swirl.  Here's my practice piece - I was also auditioning various colored threads:

Excuse the lint!  I tried 4 different variegated threads before settling on a Gutterman's in earthy-tones that had  went to a black.  I liked the shadowy effect of the black areas on the black fabric.

This quilt has been finished for a couple of weeks and I haven't sewed a stitch since then as I've been deep into painting the dining room.  In some ways, this reminds me of trying out fabrics for a new quilt:

I'm going with the aqua blue, 4th down from the top.  It's Martha Stewart Lagoon MSL125. Wish me luck.