Day 335 – Spike Paisley

One of the most popular designs from the project is Swirling Petals. Let’s go back to that design and see if we can make it a bit easier to stitch, but still with the same pretty look:

Spike Paisley will be easier to stitch because the spikes are echoed with a simple tear drop shape. Tear drops have a rounded curve that are easier to travel stitch along and branch off of with new shapes.

If you ever find yourself struggling with Swirling Petals, Loopy Paisley, or Moon Paisley, try swinging around the design one more time with a tear drop shaped echo on the outer ring. This will make the shapes fit together more easily which makes travel stitching and branching out with new elements much easier.

Design Family – Pivoting. This family of designs work in clusters to fill your quilt. Once you memorize how this cluster is created, you will be able to quilt it anywhere on your quilt and on any scale.

Directional Texture – All Directions. Angle your spikes in one direction, then the other to create a really neat effect on the surface of your quilt. Also experiment with echoing the spikes 1 time, then see how the texture changes when you echo the group 5 times.

Suggestions for Use – Do you have a little boy in your life that likes dinosaurs? For some reason I keep thinking about using Spike Paisley around a dinosaur block. Something about the spikes and tear drops just make me think of Tyrannosaurs Rex!