QAWM: Quilting the Quilt

 Where were we? The top is fused to the batting and I used the Escape Hatch Finish to get the quilt ready for machine quilting.

Now I would like to share another wonderful thing about fusing the quilt. The work is stabilized with the fusing so that no basting is needed to quilt it. This is especially true on small works such as this, but also true to a lesser extent with really large art quilts.
It is not even necessary to use free motion quilting on such a small piece. I just leave my feed dogs up and use my open toed embroidery foot for the quilting.
When outlining the fused shapes, I stitch NEXT TO but not ON TOP OF the shapes. Stitching in the ditch like this, tucks in any stray threads and makes the pieces looked pieced!
To start, I stitch in place about three stitches and then go. To finish I will also stitch in place and then I hit the thread cutter button (Janome 6500P) and that pulls the threads to the back.

But my starting threads are still there on the front.
I use a self-threading needle to pull those threads to the back.

I am very careful not to stitch on the strips, but just next to them, matching the thread to the background fabric color.

I like to let the machine make the straight lines from the shapes to the outer edges, stopping and turning, returning to the inner spaces, not going off the edge.















And I may add angles and extensions from the fused shapes, whatever suits my fancy. It doesn't take very long to quilt a small work like this, and when you are done quilting, the work is finished, except for your signature!
For my signature I find a nice quiet place to put it, and I use my darning foot and drop my feed dogs to write my name, free motion.
And then the quilt is finished and ready to apply the rod pocket or loops on the back for hanging.

QAWM 2012 Sample: Small Fused Art Quilt, 12x14", hand dyed cottons, fused, and machine quilted.
PS  Overlapping shapes, and DOTS!!