Mother's Day Bird Quilt

I recently had the privilege of custom quilting this fabulous bird quilt for Colleen Kimm.  She is planning to give this beauty to her mom for Mother's Day this year.  Since her mom is a nature lover, Colleen chose the wonderfully realistic bird print as the focus fabric.

As I thought about this quilt, I really wanted the quilting to accent the symmetry of the piecing and to draw the eye to the center of the quilt.  With that in mind, I quilted the most intricate design in the center block. To make it pop even more, I quilted the straight lines and wishbones around just that square.

In the blocks along the diagonal, the quilting points back to the center.  For the squares in the center of each outer edge, I chose a complementary motif that is less intricate than the center block, but isn't directional like the diagonals.  I really like the effect of using the three different designs together.  They are all part of the Swoon collection by Anne Bright.

I enjoyed quilting this one immensely.  I love the use of the focus fabric to allow the large scale print to shine.  In fact, I have some butterfly fabric that may just find its way into something similar the next time a friend has a baby girl.  In the meantime, I'll smile every time I see a picture of this quilt.  I can't wait to hear how Colleen's mom reacts to her gift.  From what Colleen has said, this quilt is perfect for her.