I've been teaching All About Angles workshops since 2019. This project is actually the first quilt top that I pieced for myself in this style, way back before that time. I had selected the color palette, because these sunset colors called out to me and the pile of fabric hung out together on my shelf for quite some time before I cut into it to create this small quilt top.
Like many quilters, I've been wanting to finish up some of my WIPs. I participated in a 100 Day Project January 30 - May 10, free motion quilting for at least fifteen minutes a day. I prioritized finishing up quilt tops, including this one. I spent 33 days quilting this 24" x 19" quilt, meaning I spent well over 8 hours quilting it. I really enjoyed the process since I worked a bit at a time and wasn't hurrying to meet a deadline. This is important for me, because I am generally a procrastinator who is super motivated by a deadline, which can really limit the possibilities for the late stages of making a quilt. Can anyone relate?
I started by extending the diagonal lines from the piecing as well as reflecting them, continuing until I had divided the quilt into many areas of a variety of sizes. This step could have been done with a walking foot though I chose to free motion these lines. I marked my lines with a chalk pencil or disappearing marker.
Then I really had fun, choosing a different motif for each section, I started by echo quilting within the section before filling it in with the chosen motif. These motifs came from my usual FMQ toolbox as well as inspiration from Step-by-Step Texture Quilting by Christina Cameli (my newest quilt book) and The Ultimate Guide to Machine Quilting by Angela Walters and Christina Watson (affiliate links). Everything is quilted in 50wt Aurifil: Magenta (#2535), Red Orange (#2245), Bright Orange (#1133), and Medium Purple (#2545).
Pin for reference. Some of my motifs were very small patterns.
Sunset All About Angles was finished with a faced binding, which was a choice to further emphasize the quilting as the star.
My All About Angles class is available to guilds on Zoom. I teach a set of rules to create improv units that use the same angle, with no math or special tools. There are so many ways to utilize these units in a final composition. Please send your guild program chair to my teaching page for all the info. Thanks!
I've linked up to May's Favorite Finish linkup with Cheryl at Meadow Mist Designs.
Mel Beach
Congrats on this amazing finish. So many fabulous textures...I really want to see this stunning quilt in person!
sarah
Post authorThank you, Mel! Someday! :-)
Kathleen McCormick
I love this and all the quilting detail is so much fun. Great job and a nice way to finish this quilt...a little at a time.
sarah
Post authorThank you, Kathleen! I can't imagine doing this amount of quilting on a larger project. I'm so impressed by those who have the time for that. I do look forward to some more fancy quilting on a small project.
Melanie
Totally a fellow procrastinator over here :) And I love a deadline to get me going but it is also so stressful to do everything last minute. I know it is currently me, but sometimes I envy those who have better timing skills or discipline.
Also: Beautiful quilt and lots of quilting (time) for this size. Happy to hear you enjoyed the process!
sarah
Post authorThanks for visiting, Melanie. I often think that if I just get _(whatever random things on my to do list)_ done, then I could totally start doing things ahead of the deadline. Nope. That's just really not how I work.
Mary
Your FMQ on this piece is inspiring! I truly love both the piecing and the quilting. Fantastic job!
sarah
Post authorThank you so much, Mary. Sometimes it's really freeing to not be working to deadline on something.
Nancy
Once again, Sarah, your artistry and control of free motion quilting astound me. As I told you before, with this eye intuition, I am not able to consider trying free motion so rely on enjoying the work of others. Question - in the photo that shows the little round puffs so perfectly created do you use a template? The whole piece makes a marvelous hanging because it pulls the viewer in over and over to study various elements. Love it!
sarah
Post authorThank you so much, Nancy. No templates. This is all hand-guided free motion.