I finished this 20” piece, this color is so hard to photograph!!
Everything was free motion quilted. 
Coloring this mandala design (it has 40 repeats) with thread was a lovely experience, BUT:
– I stitched too much and flattened the design too much (I should have stopped at picture#3 );
– the variegated thread takes too much attention!
– the textured quilting outside the wreath doesn’t highlight the mandala design (even if it is different than the stippling just inside the outer wreath and has a radial direction).
LIVE, QUILT and LEARN! I am stitching another one!
Happy quilting!
Edited:
Hi Geta, 1/16/17
I am new to quilting, and have only done a few free motion quilting pieces. I just did my first applique’ quilt and even with this i am questioning about the back ground quilting. I am wondering if it is possible to quilt the whole background- with the pattern of the applique drawn on it but not the pieces, then quilt the whole background first then add the applique’ because when i did my first one i had a heck of a time trying to quilt in very narrow spaces, it just seemed like if i quilted first and around the drawn applique’ areas it would be much easier and not hitting the hump of the applique and then the stitching is off on the applique. Would this work , even without using applique?
Hi Laura!
I have never tried this technique; it should work, but it depends on the size of the applique pieces and the applique technique you want to use.
If the applique pieces are big, the area that remains unquilted will become fluffy and the applique piece will not fit perfectly. If you hand applique the piece, it could work; but if you want to fuse the piece, you could have problems.
Maybe it’s a good idea to quilt a little inside the applique design. You could try it on a small quilt.
I have seen quilts with the whole background quilted first (with a grid, as an example) and then the pieces were appliqued. In this case, the uniform quilting helps the applique process.
I hope this helps! Thank you for asking! I guess other beginner quilters could have this problem too!