Quilting a forest

Thanks for all your lovely feedback on the Forest QAL quilt top - it is now basted and I've started quilting the first block. I decided to start with the Aspen Grove, as I had a bit of an idea what I wanted to do with it (and I want to quilt the 'pages' before I tackle the background).

I decided to quilt the grey ground sections with micro pebbles - most of these are about 1/4" or 1/2" in diameter. My arms were SO sore after doing these! I think tiny little movements in quilting are much more demanding on the muscles than larger ones. I used a variegated Aurifil (4670) 40wt thread, and the texture is gorgeous. I also love the variation from really light grey pebbles through to darker ones - to me it really suits the block. For the green, I've just quilted in the ditch along the seam lines, so the trunks and leafy sections really pop against the grey.

I'm not sure about the rest of the block. I've quilted vines and leaves across most of it which looks okay (not brilliant though - although it blends so well it won't really be noticeable whatever I do.). I might go back and do some dense quilting around the vines later, but I'll wait until I've done some of the other sections before I decide.

I'll be leaving the rest of this for a little while, so I can work out how to tackle the other pages. And so I can catch up on the last three months worth of bee blocks!!

Hope everyone has had a great weekend!

xx Jess