Filigree Quilting

I made this challah cover as a companion to the chuppah I just finished. The center square was left over from the chuppah and, with the exception of the white fabric, all the other strips and coins also came from the chuppah-making process. I'm enjoying the challenge of taking fabric bought, cut, and used in one project and finding ways to reappropriate it. Here, I deliberately sought to echo the chuppah design without just shrinking it and redoing it. That wouldn't be too fun!

I used the ends of the strips from the front on the back and created three columns, each moving from lighter to darker fabrics. In Hebrew, shabbat is spelled with three letters, so one could say the columns abstractly represent those letters...or not. It's a thought that crossed my mind but I think it's up to the viewer to decide if that works.

I've been using challah covers to practice free motion quilting, and this was no exception. I was going for a delicate chain look, so some loops and meandering rather than a strict stippling motion. Like always, there are imperfections, but overall I felt more confident and comfortable than ever before. Perhaps because I finally figured out the best tension (between 4 and 5) on my machine to keep the stitches tight on the front and back. No loops anywhere this time!

I'm glad I opted for small sections of white in between each round of color on the front. I think it draws out the color and I'll have to remember this for future blocks. Also, the blue swirl fabric above (a Michael Miller wave print) is one of my favorites. The dragonfly print (below) is one of the first fabrics I ever bought, while the tiny scrap of Amy Butler is one of my more recent purchases.