Feathering...My pics finally uploaded!!!!

Here's more of Debbie's quilt! Finally...This is a "zoomed in" part of the big border. You can see a "zoomed out" pic of the big border in the last post. The feather overall undulated up and down in a wave pattern. In order to fill in the border sufficiently and make a fuller, more elegant feather I added some branches where the feather dipped up or down. These pics show the evolution of the branches step by step. It required much practice...but again...it was worth all the hard work! Gotta' love that white chalk!
Step #1 mark path of feather with chalk wheel.

Step #2 Following premarked line sew the first side of the feather from tip to base.

Step #3 Starting at the tip again, but using the first side of the feather instead of the chalk as a guide, sew the other side. It is important with this step, because of the tight curve, to be sure to make an extra long "stem" on each plume of the feather. Also none of my feathers have spines. This avoids a "messy" looking center vein where all the plumes of the feather meet unevenly - with my method they simply don't meet. After adding the branches to the feather it was completed after I echo quilted it entirely. It turned out smashing!