I quilted for Maryann a few months ago, it was a beautiful Map of the World quilt for her son’s 40th birthday.  This time her friend in Florida asked her to have me quilt this vintage quilt that I think was her grandmothers!  As you can see it was shall we say, fragile?  The fabric was paper thin and tattered.  How to quilt this was a big dilemma for me, do I use a large scale design to take in some of the bulky fabrics or do I do a dense design that will cover all the imperfections.  I consulted my Gammill Facebook group and got some good advice.  I was planning on using wool but changed my mind to Hobb’s 80/20, for one she lives in Florida and also because sometimes the loft of wool can pull the fabric and I was concerned with tearing.  Luckily I invested in the Gammill quick change feet set a few months ago and put my spoon foot to good use.  The spoon foot glides over the seams so that the hopping foot doesn’t catch on a seam and tear it.  When I have a challenge I really just want to get it done so here is what I did.  I started by basting the inner yellow fabric seam to make sure the border was at least straight.  Then I basted the top edge of the quilt.  I like to pre-baste all my quilts because it really helps keep the quilt square and alleviates any surprises at the bottom of the quilt like running out of backing or batting or finding a big wavy mess.  I proceeded to baste the inner border and then the outer border all the way to bottom of the quilt.  As you can see from the pictures there were a lot of challenges but I made the best of it.  The design I used was Abundant Feathers, I had planned to do a tulip design but I thought this one would quilt better and add to the antique look of the quilt.  It almost looks custom the way the feathers fill the irish chain blocks.  All in all I am glad this quilt is finished and I am so thrilled with how it turned out!