I thought I would share the finished applique quilt that I did for Jill. Her request was to quilt it allowing the applique work to be showcased. I feel I was able to achieve this goal and still do some cool quilting. Here are the pictures:
and a close up of the block design:
The quilting is cool, yet not overpowering. The block design brings the eye in, making the applique work more important. The focal points are the flowers, but the quilting supports it nicely, in my humble opinion.
I used 2 stencil designs to support my freehand work- I mentioned the scroll work by Karen McTavish and the Block flower (one of my favorites!) is by Barbara Chainey, available at StenSource.
If you are heading off to the Long Beach Quilt Show, be sure to look for this quilt hanging in the booth called, “A Designing Woman.”
Off to load the next one…. Carla
Carla Barrett 
Carla, that turned out great. I love the frames around the applique blocks.
Carla, that is BEAUTIFUL! Love the applique, but the quilting really sets it off. Stunning!
Amazing! I love how you framed the flowers!
O. M. G.
That is soooo beautiful…Soooooo
Carla, you set out to ‘down’ play your quilting in order to accent the applique….I think both the applique and the quiting look spectacular!
Bravo!
Karen A.
That came out so beautiful. I love the way the quilting on the green frames the black with the flowers.
Very elegant Carla. You nailed it again!
Absolutely gorgeous! You’re amazing, Carla!
It’s perfect – the applique shines but so does your quilting.
It’s awesome!
I love everything about this piece… except that it is not mine! That is black thread on the the black, right? I looks like a very dark charcoal in the closeup picture.
Good eye, Sarah!! I used a very dark charcoal- once shade up from black. I did this so that I could see what I was stitching in the black sections. You must be a quilter to spot this… right? Take care, Carla
incredible and inspiring! I love the spirals.
I am just beginning to quilt and really like to applique. This is absolutely georgeous! I know I’ll never achieve this level, but it is awesome to see your beautiful work. Thanks for sharing! Linda Foushee