Quiltingboard Forums - My Promise Quilt

We are moving and I wanted to make some decorations for our new home. As I started to work on my first wall hanging, I quickly realized I hadn't paid close enough attention to the finished size. It was larger than I expected (about 61" square). No problem, the walls in the new house are high and there is a lot of room to fill. Bigger is actually better. I'm the type of person who doesn't like to work entirely according to someone else's plan. I enjoy taking patterns and using my own colors, quilting styles, accents, etc. The pattern for the background (the heart) was the pattern I started with, but I totally revamped it. Originally it had a white background with colored strips forming a simple heart-shaped rainbow. I'm more of an Americana lady myself. So I went to another book and borrowed their flower applique patterns and created my own piece. I hand appliqued all the flowers, etc., onto the background. My sister suggested I have a word or a verse in the void in the upper right corner, and after some contemplation, I found something that was very meaningful to me. I did use machine quilting for the letters. Phew! As I progressed, the quilting motifs came naturally, (a version of the feather interspersed with leaves and flowers) and the idea of accenting with beads along the stems felt appropriate as well. I machine quilt free-style on a Bernina 820 so excuse the goofs. Then I tried a brand new technique and made a flanged binding. I love it! I will be doing that again. It's a little extra work but I love the effect! As you can see, I'm totally in love with this quilt, and am very excited to hang it in its new home. Thanks for looking!