Eve's Christmas Wonderland

Eve is a member of my online quilting guild and one of the nicest people around. She is also one of the top two applique artists I know personally. Her work is just stunning. I am in the process of designing the quilting for her phenomenal Santa applique quilt. She did all of the applique by hand and her work is impeccable. Unfortunately, Eve had a stroke recently, and this type of applique has become more difficult for her. I approached her last summer and asked her if she'd allow me to quilt her heirloom Santa quilt and she said yes. I've been playing around with some designs for it and I thought I'd share the options I sent her way recently. Take a look and think about which approach you like best. The other big decision is about the background filler behind the applique. I drew up some choices for Eve on my computer so she could visualize what I was talking about and give me her feedback. First I did a traditional cross hatch which is always nice but, in my opinion, can get a little predictable. I also toyed with pebbles which reminded me of snow. That led me to swirls which reminded me of a winter storm. Finally, I tried out curls and added the proposed quilting lines to the applique. Keep in mind I wouldn't use a white thread over her applique. :) But can you see how Santa's body and the structure of the applique come to life with just a bit of additional quilting lines to bring it into that third dimension? Okay, which background filler do you like? I'll tell you soon which one spoke to Eve. :)