Quilting Feathers in Setting Triangles

Before I get started I wanted to once again mention that there was a typographical error in the measurement of the narrow border in Step 6 of Soupcon. I have corrected the error in the post.

As I was working away quilting the setting triangles on my Mom's Lazy Punk quilt I thought you might be interested in how I do it. I am quilting feathers in each one and I want them to look similar. I don't care if they are identical. I figure if I get the spine of the feather in close to the same position in each block the feathers will "appear" uniform.

To start I don't want the tips of the feathers to be cut off by the binding so I marked a line that is 1/2" away from the edge of the quilt. I won't quilt beyond that mark. To mark the spine I made  paper template. I like making templates from regular paper because it is very inexpensive, I can make a new one whenever I want and when I wear one out I can recycle it. To start I cut a piece of paper that was the shape of my setting triangle. The bottom edge lined up with the 1/2" mark on my quilt. I drew the spine on the paper and then cut out the inside curve. At the right side of the spine I left some of the paper on the bottom edge. My spine will stop at the corner so that I'll have room to fit in a few feathers for the tip that runs between the spine and the edge of the quilt. I marked that point "STOP" on my template so you can see what I mean.

I traced the along the edge of my template. I marked a circle on the photo so you can see the STOP point on my quilt.

I started at the left of the feather and worked the outer curve of the feather until I got to the STOP. I made a few more feathers to get me to the edge of the quilt and then I followed the inner edge of the plumes until I got back to where I started. I then quilted the feathers on the inner curve of the spine. The feathers don't have to be identical and they don't have to be perfect. The eye will see the whole and not individual components. And I can assure you that my feathers are not perfect but I don't sweat it and they do get better with practice! I'm still learning and finding that the faster my machine and the slower my hands the smoother the curves!

Before I set up my machine for quilting I decided to make one more fabric basket. Someone who is near and dear to me commented that she liked the basket that I made for my secret tote bag partner so I made one for her. I had bought a bag of scraps at a quilt store. They were taupes, greys, dark browns and black. There were also some linen scraps in the bag. I was able to make this little basket entirely from those scraps! I might tuck some chocolates and other little treats inside to sweeten it up just a bit! The basket measures 4" tall (excluding the handles), 6" wide and 2" deep. It is made from a free pattern that you will fine at Pink Penguin.

I simply must get back to quilting so until I post again, happy sewing!
Karen H