I finished all the feather wreaths in my Wheels quilt wheels. You can see from the photo how great the texture is when seen from the back. Of course, the 'feel' is still there on the front, it's just harder to see. The next part of the quilt I wanted to tackle was the inner sashing. I decided to create a faux block in between 
the pieced wheels using the quilting. I drew in some guide lines and stitched an on-point square. Inside, I added some petals and created a very pretty flower design. I wanted something curvy and complimentary to the feathers and I think they turned out perfectly. I continued the design on the outer edge of the quilt but just left out that 4th petal. I am going to quilt the leftover bits of sashing in between the motifs with a tight stipple and that should highlight both the feathers and petals. Before that can happen though I need to quilt the outer two borders. I plan on a large feather chain that extends beyond the piecing lines (treating both borders as one) but I'm a little chicken to get started. I've re-watched the amazing Ultimate Free-Motion Quilting with Patsy Thompson Craftsy class. Patsy is one of my all-time favourites and her lessons are so easy to follow. She makes the most beautiful feathers and her border technique for feathers flowing from feathers is what I am going to use. I hope they turn out because the results are fabulous! I just keep looking at the The Classic Double Wedding Ring quilt I finished on my Janome sewing machine and I know I can do it! That king sized quilt is covered in gorgeous feathers so it's just a matter of getting over my fear and getting started!
In anticipation of summer travel I was inspired to sign up for another Craftsy class, Quick and Easy English Paper Piecing. That's in addition to the Craftsy Pieced Hexies: Beyond English Paper Piecing Class I have in my list. I had watched an episode of Quilt Monkey on QNNtv and realized this traditional hand-sewing technique would be ideal as a take-along project. As usual, I've enrolled in all the Craftsy classes and ordered a book on-line full of ideas. I watched the April segment of the FREE class that started it all, The 2012 Block of the Month, where Amy Gibson shares a couple of EPP blocks. I remember now how much I actually enjoyed making those blocks (see them HERE), even though there was no sewing machine involved! I want to put together a little travel kit of essentials (like my Goody Goody Binding Bag) and tote the supplies along this summer. I am very excited to get started! I'm thinking that charm pack of 1930s fabrics will be perfect.
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