Society Silk Strawberries, Quilted!

I am seriously obsessed! I love these vintage society silk embroidered pieces and had the perfect gift in mind when I found this special linen from my favorite KS Ebay seller! I use them right from the package,  knowing that once the quilting is finished, the creases will never show.The next step is basting around the edges. I keep my fingers really close to the hopping foot to get right inside the outer edge of embroidery. I probably wouldn't suggest this to everyone, it's tricky!I use two layers of batting, 80/20 Hobbs Heirloom on the bottom and 100% Hobbs wool on the top. This gives the piece a nice "pouf" and will automatically look like trapunto!I also do a quick sketch in my notebook. I am not one to sketch on the piece, not knowing what our high tech pens will do in the long run. I do love the purple air pens for a few registration marks, but that's about it! So yes, it is all free form and free motion quilting!The finish! These are "squeeze" pieces between large customer quilts and only take a few hours. I never know what they will look like when finished. I have some focus area in my mind and take off from there! I also sewed in my name and did use the purple pen for that. I didn't trust my free motion on letters. A few close ups are next!This piece had a few small stains. Probably no one else would see them, but I would always know they are there. I took an afternoon to soak the finished piece in Retro Clean, out on the patio in the super sunlight. It turned out sparkling white and the silk embroidery isn't affected at all.The big question now is "how do you finish?" I trim to the back edge, mount on acid free matboard, cut a mat and frame!My mom followed my progress on Facebook on this piece and loved it! So glad, since she got it for her 75th birthday yesterday ;) Finished frame size is 18" x 24". Hope you enjoyed the journey!Beautiful on my mom's wall!