Day 37: As a general rule, when I stitch the layers of a quilt together, I do so 1/8" inside each seam line rather than working an overall design like clamshells or waves. There have been exceptions to that, of course, and occasionally I add embellishments to open areas of solid-colour fabric (a daisy in the center of a circle, for example). In this way, the pieced pattern is reflected on the back, and is more obvious by virtue of not being overwhelmed by prints. Quilting came about as a way to prevent batting from clumping or bunching up, and now many batts are rated by the maximum number of inches between lines of stitching which the quilter must not exceed. Where the chrysanthemum/Dresden plate blocks join in "Autumn Oranges," I had large open spaces of brown which really needed tacking down. As I worked on the plates, my mind was running over possibilities. Circles? Small inside large? Yeah, that would do, especially since I already had ready-made templates. But I wasn't satisfied with the idea. Yesterday, it hit me: add scallops around the outer edge to make a big daisy! A quick sit-down with the templates, a sheet of plastic and a pair of scissors to cut it with, and ten minutes later, I had a 12-petal "sunflower" I could outline in chalk.
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