Trapunt-faux, part deux

So, here's what I did:

I did "stitch in ditch" around the borders and figures first. I like how this creates a clean line and contains the free motion stitching. I did a stipple of varying scale, pebbling and curly swirls in my flat areas. All have a similar stitch density from quilt to quilt, but I did not get bored doing the same thing time after time.

First up:  Trials 2 & 3, polyester over cotton. Used Aurifil Mako 50/2 in top, YLI Soft Touch 60/2 in bobbin. All was not sunshine and rainbows! I started with PolyX in the top, but my Baby Lock despises that yarn, so I did some un-sewing. Not having a great week anyway, this made me feel like the universe was out to get me.

But it is quilting after all, I grabbed my brass stiletto and brass seam ripper, a Diet Coke and sat on the deck to rip the teeny-tiny stitches.

Then I pulled up my big-girl pants and went back into the studio.

Trial 2:

Trial 3:

I am happy with the extra "pouf" the layer of polyester gives. I had to play a little with my presser foot pressure, even thought the feed dogs are not engaged, and I am using my open-toed quilting foot, I needed to increase the working space beneath the foot to accommodate the extra height. I just do not like handling the polyester batting. I will say, it is cheap, thin, non-name brand batting from a certain chain fabric/craft store so it is readily available and did not require a huge investment for this experiment.

And to answer why I did not place the extra batting and cut away what I did not want: these are all min quilts, intended to hang. The extra layer of batting lends a nice stiffness for this purpose. I would not do this technique on a bed quilt or wrap quilt, it does make it stiff and I like a nice, soft, cushy quilt to wrap up in!

Next up, wool over cotton. I know you can not wait!