Originally Posted by sandpat

Chili is definitely better after being "married" for awhile!

Originally Posted by doowopddbop

Wow, don't you love how passionate we quilters are??? We all love our craft - and we all love our quilts.

As a longarm quilter, I use feathers occasionally. It took a few years of testing and trying to get just the look I wanted without too much quilting; the overquilting and double stitching and bump-back and double stems/filled stems is just not to my taste. I've found the technique I like now, and have used it on a couple of quilts with lots of open space. I chalk the spine but don't stitch it, and I leave a small space between the feathers.

My husband requested feathers for his own quilt that my girls and I made for him, and it suits the quilt perfectly. He loves it--enough said. I also used it in my tree skirt, because, frankly, I liked the look, and couldn't figure out how to quilt holly leaves and make it look as nice. http://www.quiltscapesquilting.com/patterns

Shivers go up and down my spine when a client asks me to do an overall pattern on applique' quilts, or motifs - I talk them out of it... The quilting is just there to add texture and bring the design of the quilt to life. If someone tells me to quilt it however I want to, I take clues from the design of the quilt, how it will be used, who it is for, and then I let the fabric and the quilt speak to me. (I hear quilts...)

So, at the risk of being shunned...