Good Morning, Quilters!
I hope you had time to doodle or quilt Claire’s Peony from Wednesday’s “Tuesday Tutorial”…
It’s a great BEGINNER motif!
NEW SERIES
Because I have had so many requests and questions about using the motifs in quilts–today, we are starting a new series, Rules for Quilting THE BIG QUILT!
I’m really excited about this project…It will start us all in a new direction. This is for long arm quilters as well as domestic sewing machine quilters like myself (I am currently stitching on a BERNINA 770 QE–a dream machine!) While there are obvious differences in the two methods, there remains a lot in common-especially in the design phase of quilting. I think we can all learn from each other!
There will not be an established time table…just regular updates.
So let’s get started!
CHOOSING MOTIFS FOR “THE BIG QUILT”
When choosing motifs for The Big Quilt, it’s easy to get carried away–there is so much space to fill and there are SO many quilt motifs…
I recommend choosing 2-3 motifs to start…only adding more if necessary. This saves time learning new motifs, but more importantly, it helps keep the design unified.
PRINTS CONCEAL, SOLIDS REVEAL
As you are basting your quilt, think about where you want to add quilt motifs and where you want to keep the quilting simple– like stitching in the ditch.
Remember that prints conceal and solids reveal.–Save your most elaborate quilting for the solids and choose simpler patterns for the print fabrics.
SHAPES FOR QUILTING
Next, think about the shapes that will be filled. Make a list in your Quilter’s Notebook.
For example, in the Double Wedding Ring Quilt:
- Pinched squares (approximately 8 inches)
- Melons
- Border (six inches wide)
- Corner squares in border
- Setting triangles
VARY THE MOTIFS
Time to doodle!
Claire’s Peony fit well into the pinched squares:
For the melons, I stitched a small peony with two leaves:
I planned to stitch a row of Peonies down the center of the border, but after doodling, I found that left a lot of negative space. By stitching half-peonies, I was able to fill the border space more fully.
CONTRAST FOR BETTER DESIGN
Setting triangles–The setting triangles are the space between the rings and the half square triangle border. My initial plan was to stitch leaves and flowers into each of these triangles.
However, after stitching all the center and melons with Claire’s Peonies, I could see that the quilt needed a visual break from all the curvy motifs. For contrast, I added straight line quilting…I think this is sometimes called Piano Keys.
Now the Peonies really stand out!
RULES FOR QUILTING THE BIG QUILT
We will be adding a lot more to this list…but for today:
- Quilting should not be an after thought. Think about the quilting through every phase of the project. Choose solid or near solid fabrics in some areas of the quilt for more elaborate quilt motifs.
- Choose just a few motifs–add more later if necessary.
- Make a list of the quilt shapes (including sizes) that will be quilted with motifs.
- Doodle variations of the motifs into each shape.
- Use contrast (curvy motifs and geometric motifs) for better quilt design.
- Be willing to change your plan as the quilting phase progresses.
This is just a start on our series, “Quilting The BIG Quilt”…we are going to come at it from several different angles…
Please chime in…We have more than 7500 experienced quilters…we want to hear from YOU on this challenging topic!
Tomorrow: How Long Does it Take to Quilt a Quilt?
Happy Stitching!
Lori
PS…All tutorials, images and information are the property of Lori Kennedy at The Inbox Jaunt and are intended for personal use only. Feel free to re-blog, pin or share with attribution to The Inbox Jaunt. For all other purposes, please contact me at lckennedy@hotmail.com. Thanks!
