More Wholecloth Quilted Mandalas

Hand Dyed Mandalas Ready for Quilting

Zen time as I transformed two more hand dyed mandalas into wholecloth quilts.  Just like Moonlit Mandala, there was no need for marking, as all the quiting was guided by the shapes and patterns created by the dyeing process.

First quilted transformation is Starburst...

"Starburst Mandala" Finishes 22" x 22"

Here is a close up of the quiting with Aurifil  White (#2024) in 50 weight which really allowed the hand dyed design to take center stage!

Quilting Detail

A bright pink Kona solid was used for the quilt back, allowing the wholecloth quilting to truly shine!

Reverse Side of Wholecloth Mandala Quilting

Next up is Peacock Paisley...

This quilt got off on a rocky start!!!  In my excitement to start quilting, I reached across my sewing table and slid the prepared quilt sandwich under my sewing machine and just started quilting!  For this mandala wholecloth quilt, I chose to incorporate different variations of the Paisley shape into each area of quilting.  Starting in the center, I chose a very elaborate and dense feather that was then echo quilted!  As I was quilting I kept hearing a punching sound and initially dismissed it as the hand dyed Pimatex cotton has a very dense weave.  After I had finished quilting three feathers, I went to bury the thread tails.  As I slipped my hand under the back side to ensure my hand needle wasn't going through to the back, I soon realized the cause of the punching sound:  An entire sheet of paper that was now stitched onto the back side of my quilt!!  I grabbed my trusty pair of tweezers and went to work carefully removing all the small bits of paper that had been perforated by my very dense quilting!!  

Haste Makes Waste

There was no way I would allow this minor set back to interfere with my Zen quilting!  Once most of the paper was removed, I double checked for any rogue pieces of paper and them resumed my meditative quilting!

Some doodling was required to figure out a new Paisley design for the next round of quilting designs.

Auditioning Different Paisley Designs for Round 2

And some more doodling fun for the outer ring.

More Paisley Doodles

Here you can see those doodles translated into quilting, again using Aurifil White (#2024) in 50-weight.

Detail of Peacock Paisley Quilting

A fabulous Kaffe woven stripe was used for the binding...

Peacock Paisley, Finishes 22" x 22"

And a picture of the quilt back, with most of the paper removed from the center!!

Quilt Back

This is the last of the smaller sized hand dyed mandalas from my December Dye Party.  So this called for a much needed Dye Party where I hand dyed 6 more mini mandalas...and I still have 1-2 larger sized mandalas.  Looks like I will be whipping up some new quilt sandwiches in preparation for some more quilting zen.  And yes, I will be sure to check the backs for any random pieces of paper before placing any of them under my sewing machine!!

More Wholecloth Quilted Mandalas on the Horizon