I spent the day last Thursday free motioning my Sun Prints quilt. Making the back was easy. Basting was easy. But when I sat down to quilt, I was positively stumped. Maybe this is one of the reasons I don't make the same pattern twice very often. I didn't want to do straight lines like the original Less is More quilt, from my book - I kind of felt like "been there, done that," like it was a cop-out, which is totally silly, but it's the way I felt. So I tried to envision several different fmq styles, trying to think of an all-over design that would really work...and I just couldn't come up with one I was happy with.

I took a break and opened up iTunes on my computer, and made a playlist, with some newer tracks I've picked up lately, like Justin Timberlake's new 20/20 Experience Volume 2. I'm enjoying that album a good bit - it reminds me way more of the vibe from his FutureSexLoveSounds album than the first volume did, and it makes for some good quilting music. Music always helps me chill out when I get stuck, so I listened to a couple of songs, trying to clear my head, and then I decided that the panel of patchwork needed to have some different quilting than the negative space, to further set it off, so I got started stippling the negative space. I had thought about doing pebbles for a moment...only a moment before I remembered how much I absolutely despise stitchingthem...

When I got to the patchwork panel, I started with a large figure 8 in the bottom and top part of the blocks. It's one of my favorite linear fmq styles at the moment. Then, when I got to the center strip of patchwork on the rows of blocks, I decided to just do a little loopy doodle stitch, which was a lot of fun. I like the contrast that these different stitches give the finished quilt.

This fab quilt is headed to Houston for Quilt Market in my suitcase in a few weeks, but right now it's hanging at Inspire Quilting & Sewing as a sample for my Less is More class, coming up next month. And if you're dying for this pattern, it's in my book, Becoming a Confident Quilter, which you can pick up at local quilt shops, Amazon, and my Pattern Shop as well. Thanks Alison for the gorgeous fabrics, I really loved working with them and can't wait to pick up some more of them! And the lucky winner of the Sun Prints bundle and Color Plus pattern is: #804, Stephanie Blair! Congratulations, Stephanie, I'll be emailing you shortly :)

Quilt Stats
name: Less is More Sun Prints Style
size: 60" x 70"
pattern: Less is More from Becoming a Confident Quilter
fabrics: Kona Silver and Alison Glass's Sun Prints
quilting: meandering stipple in 50 wt Aurifil in color #2024 (white), figure eights 50 wt Aurifil in color #2024 (white), and loopy doodle stitch 50 wt Aurifil in color #2024 (white)
binding: Kona Pewter