Another Finish

Finally, the Liturgical quilt that was started last year is finished.  The only task left is to attach a hanging sleeve to the back and bind it.  I was asked to quilt it simple and not too densely.  Here are a few pictures of the quilt hanging in my dining room.  Do you see those white cords at the top of the quilt?  You'll never guess what they are.  Have you ever seen those stretchy elastic holders with the pincher clips on each end for holding a mattress cover on your mattress, well they work very well for hanging irregular shaped quilts in order to take a straight picture.

Stitch in the ditch was done on both sides of all the grey "lead" and between all blocks and around the cross and heart.  There are  two crosses quilted in the top squares on either side of the main cross and continuous curves in the light squares to give the windows a cathedral look on the stain glass windows.

I tried to make the center cross look more dimensional by quilting irregular lines and knot holes running the length of the wood.  In looking at this picture though, I can't see them at all.  

This original design was first made by Joanne Wietgrefe for the First Congregational Church of Ithaca, New York in 2006. Her original is 7 ft. wide and 11 feet tall and hangs in the sanctuary of her church.  This smaller version measures 70 inches by 82 inches and all the fabrics used in the design are batiks.  It is to be a gift to the pastor of a church in Indiana.

This was definitely a challenge and learning experience for me and my customer.  I can say now that I did enjoy the process of figuring out how to make it without any pattern, but not sure I'll be making many more quilts in the future from a tiny picture out of a magazine.