The quilting has begun!

I started quilting my striped quilt today. I'm just doing straight-line quilting, using a walking foot and a beautiful variegated cotton thread by Sulky for added visual interest. I'm working along the bias, which makes it a little tricky to keep the layers from shifting, even with the walking foot. But Harriet Hargrave says that straight line quilting along the bias isn't cause for undue concern. I have a number of books on machine quilting, but Hargrave's Heirloom Machine Quilting, 4th edition is my go-to guide on questions of technique. So far, my results are looking good (fingers crossed).

I started with a sample swatch. My sewing machine is thirteen years old, and the tension can be a bit touchy, so I always do a test run before I begin quilting. I also wanted to see how the thread would look against a contrasting background. Here's my sample:

I'm happy with the sample, so now, the real quilting begins:

An hour or so later, today's quilting comes to an end, after five rows in one direction, and then three rows orthogonally:

I love the depth and visual texture that the quilting adds, especially with the variegated thread. I'll be out of town this weekend, so it will be a few days before I get back to work on this quilt, but it's off to a good start.