String & Story

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Quilting Plans for Rhythm by Lo & Behold Stitchery

HollyAnne Knight

When we were opening String & Story on Main, I knew I wanted to piece a Rhythm quilt as a shop sample. It’s elegant simplicity was just begging to show off our collection of solids. Little did I realize that we would become practically obsessed with this pattern for months! Today, we’re going to take a peek at a few ways to quilt this lovely pattern.

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Rhythm was designed by Brittany Lloyd of Lo & Behold Stitchery in March of 2020 to combine her love of strip piecing and tiny bits. Fortunately for us, Brittany did a brilliant job writing this pattern so that it comes together smoothly and without being fiddly— even with all those colors!

But once Rhythm is pieced, it has a fair number of seams, and is an extremely angular quilt. So, how to quilt it?

All Over Quilting Plans

It’s rare that I look at a quilt and think, “Oh and all over design would be just perfect for this!” Y’all know— I am a more is more quilter in nearly all my quilting plans. Rhythm, however, was an exception. I love the way the color wash plays across the quilt, and I didn’t want to create a competing “story” with my quilting. (Though I did start drawing out a plan that used the lines of the quilt as a musical score. It would be a beast to quilt, but it was a fun idea)

Much like the pantograph of Brittany’s cover quilt, I chose to quilt my first Rhythm quilt (made with the Elizabeth bundle) with an all over McTavish. I used 50wt Aurifil 2311, which matched my background. The stitches themselves disappeared, but the texture softened the composition of the quilt.

Made with the Alicia Bundle

Rockstar Alicia also reached for her FMQ foot and matching thread, quilting swirls all over her quilt.

Made with the Jane Bundle

Darcy followed the same philosophy, but she reached for the walking foot and a handful of different threads. Her quilt has the least “quilting texture” but the variegated threads she chose add a “sparkle” as they move across the quilt! I also love the movement of her patterned border!

Getting Experimental

During the Rhythm QAL the Summer of 2022, I decided to get a little “wild” with my fabric and quilting choices. The Rhythm quilt has amazing window-like qualities, so why not pick some wild prints to be “out the window” and a bold solid to look more like a foreground than a background.

Using only 12 prints (and repeating 4) from Jess Phoenix’s Vibrant Blooms line, paired with French Blue Painter’s Palette solid, I pieced a truly exciting quilt. It has such a different pizazz from the elegance of the color wash Rhythms! Then came quilting. I decided to do a semi- custom quilting plan, alternating wishbones and ribbon candy in the horizontal blue “stripes.” It will create a really interesting texture!

I started to quilt on my domestic again, but my backing shifted (reminder: slow down and do your basting properly!), so I’ve switched to quilting on the longarm. Tiny motifs like this can be tricky, but I’m already excited for the finished effect!

Final Thoughts

I was genuinely excited to make my first Rhythm quilt— I love a good color wash! But I didn’t expect this pattern to be so versatile and interesting. After all, at first glance, it seems almost boring in its utility. After a few iterations, though, I’ve discovered that this quilt pattern is rather like an excellent Little Black Dress— it dresses up, down, casual, formal, classic, or spicy. Truth be told, there are at least a half dozen more fabric and quilting plan combos I’d love to try out! The Elizabeth and Jane varieties hang in String & Story on Main and are always customer favorites— and this pattern is one of my favorites to recommend to newer quilters or to folks trying solids for the first time!

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