Afterimage

 This quilt has been sitting for weeks as I pondered how to quilt it. I wanted to do circles to accentuate the curves in the piecing but I didn't have a half circle template the right size. My big pizza pan was the right measurement but  just too big to work around. Try centering a pan on the block then hold it and move the quilt and  pan under the needle. I thought I could make a template by tracing around a platter onto form core board but I knew my cut wouldn't be smooth so to clear my head I went for a walk after weeks of being lazy and it hit me like a big wet snowflake in the center of my forehead to use the templates that I used for cutting the block parts. The big triangle template with the concave and convex sides is perfect. I have to be careful not to let it get under the presser foot but it works and it is a nice size to move around the circle. And works for the inside circle too. The solutions I find to everyday problems when I go for a walk! The next problem was the template was too small to extend the circle into the border. I could only stitch 1/8 of the circle at a time and no blocks parts to guide me. I pulled out my old fashioned and most accurate easy to make and use compass. Then made a new one. This was how Grandma and Great Grandma marked their baptist fans for quilting. I used cover weight paper, I folded a 1 1/2 inch to 2 inch wide strip in half then put a pin hole at least 1/4 inch from the edge to put a pin through at the center of the circle then I punch a small hole a generous 1/4 inch from the outside of the circle for my chalk pencil then hold the pin end and swing a half circle with the chalk. Easy, accurate, cheap. Back to quilting I'm on circle 75 of 144. --Ann-- click to see design process