Project Quilting "It's All About That Thread": Mystical Mandala

This week's Project Quilting Season 7 Challenge was "It's All About That Thread."  Immediately, I knew I wanted to create a whole cloth mandala quilt.  Within a day or two, I had my quilt sandwich basted and ready for quilting with solid black for my quilt top and solid white for the backing.  Freezer paper and a compass were used to draft up the rings and lines as the foundation for my mandala, and my acrylic plastic/whiteboard markers were used to audition various free motion filler designs and motifs.  An assortment of Aurifil threads were selected to create a gradation from white/yellow in the center, out to orange, red, pink, purple and finally my green leaves.

Several days lapsed, as I wasn't 100% sure of my design or exact process.  I kept trying to assure myself that once I got started with the quilting that I would find my zen and the design would just flow.  Sure enough, once I got started Friday morning, my mandala just blossomed.  Only the center circle was marked with chalk.  Otherwise, I relied on elements from my design and the freezer paper templates to hit various marks as I free motion quilted various designs.  Before starting each ring, I would sketch out a few ideas, but as I began to quilt, new ideas would often arise and so my initial design certainly evolved as I went along.

Watching My Mandala Bloom Ring By Ring

I found the entire process very meditative, up until the very end!  After taking a dinner break Friday night, I returned to my studio to find a "Fatal Error" message flashing on the screen of my Bernina with several lines breaking up the screen!  Panic set in as I powered it off, and hoped it was just a temporary glitch.  I experienced a very similar glitch this past summer, requiring the replacement of the screen and ultimately computer.  Fearing the worst, I made the decision to eliminate a 5th ring from my original design, as I was not sure how much longer my Bernina would continue to cooperate.  This turned out to be a very smart decision, as once I got to quilting the four corner leaves, the messages began to pop up at a faster rate and would require me to power off my machine and restart to resume quilting.  As soon as the quilting was complete, my machine was sent out for repairs, and I turned to my "Old Reliable," my Brother to add the label and binding!

From Doodles to Done!:  My Journal Practice Page to Reverse Side of Finished Quilt

Here is my finished "Mystical Mandala" whole cloth quilt.  A total of 11 colors of Aurifil 50 weight threads were used for my finished design!  I will be linking it up to the Project Quilting page, where online voting will start later today at 10 AM (PST) and continue through 2/12.  Be sure to vote for your favorites, as there are some really spectacular interpretations of this week's theme!!

"Mystical Mandala" Wholecloth Quilt, Finished 21" x 21"