The Quilting Has Begun

Yesterday afternoon I quilted the water areas.  Front shot above; back shot below.
I know, it's more than just quilting; it's almost thread painting.  I used a light weight fusable, plus the strips are very narrow, so I felt it needed lots of stitching to keep everything in place.  I'm matching the thread color to each section on the front of the quilt.  The backing is black Kona cotton (thanks again DB!).

Today I quilted about half of the inner tube, one arm and shoulder, and a third of the face.  Tomorrow I should have a few hours free to quilt, also.  I'm hoping to finish the quilting by Monday or Tuesday.

When I take breaks from quilting, I iron blues, cut them in strips, and fold the rest.  My strip pile is growing:
I'm still not sure how I'll put together the strips.  I figure I have another week to go on the portrait; maybe by then I'll have a blue strip plan.  

Emily had her follow-up with the surgeon a couple of days ago.  She's healed well and will be all set to go back to college this weekend.  We're glad that is behind us.