Stash Dash Quilt Up Close, Part I

Quilting the center of the Bernina Stash Dash quilt was one of the biggest challenges I offered to take on this past August....hmmmmm, I thought after recieving it and spreading it out to look at it for the first time: "what on earth do I stitch around that star?" The task was somewhat daunting due to the fact that: 1.)this impressive star is the first thing everyone sees when they look at the quilt 2.)it has an elegant and somewhat complex design 3.)there were too many quilting ideas to pick from - it was hard to narrow it down and find "the one" 4.)it was more than likely that a couple hundred quilters would see it during it's Stash Dash debut. (perhaps even more than 200 quilters, it just depends on how many participated in the Stash Dash).

I sketched, re-sketched and asked the opinion of my best friend and quilting coach - Mom, until I came up with the perfect feather. This design really seemed to ad to the elegance of the star without distracting from it's impressive design. When I recieved the quilt, the star appeared to be floating on a large beige background. When the quilting process was complete, the star was anchored, yet simultaneously had been given "wings." As a longarm quilter who likes to get fancy...I LOVE large plain backgrounds to fill with swishing feathers, swirling mermaid hair, pebbles, leaves, stars, paisley's, teardrops...etc. It is an invitation and a challenge to create! And create I did!!!!