Long Arm Quilting: #1 Donna

Ok, I'll admit it.

Donna's quilt scares me.

Intimidates me even.  Why, you ask?  Because:


Donna's quilt has a solid backing fabric.

Any long arm quilter will tell you - solid backs are the kiss of death.  Or, really show off the skill and talent of the long arm quilter (not me right now!)  Supposedly, "busy backs" are our saving grace. Why?

Because of tension.  And you know how Darcy and I have had our differences over tension.  I think he's okay now, because since we had a little tension "come to Jesus" session, he's quilted up two really beautiful quilts without a peep.  I even did one with monofilament, but I can't show you because it's a pattern as yet to be released, and I keep those pretty well under wraps.

Well, ok I'll show you a little bit of it:


So when I was buying thread last month, I decided that the best thing to do was to buy thread that matched the back, so that any little tension issues would be well disguised.  And this is the thread I came up with:


Looking at it now, it's absolutely horrid.  The thread on the left is for the bobbin, and you can see it literally melts into the quilt backing - that's exactly what I want on a solid back.  But the top?  Ewwww!

When I was quilting Jen #18's quilt, I learned that a thread on top that uses a contrasting thread really shows everything.  And sometimes, that's the last thing that you want.  So with the top of this quilt being so light, and the back being so dark & solid to boot - what's a quilter to do?

So I went back to the Superior thread charts and ordered this:


And this...


Yup, one more...


Yes, this too...


Nope, still not done...


Yes, you saw that correctly.  7 cones of thread for just one quilt, because I just couldn't decide.  You're probably asking yourself, "Why on earth did she order 3 cones of the exact same color?"  Well, I didn't - but they are sooooo close that I couldn't pick the best one based on the color card, and I didn't want to choose wrong again and have to wait, and King Tut thread is soooooo yummy, and...

In any event, I think I've come up with a reasonable combination of threads, but I truly consider this to be the ultimate test of whether Darcy & I have truly come to an understanding about tension.

If we haven't... well Donna, that's what happens when you send your quilt in first!  :)

To endless possibilities,

Ebony