0908: at night ... nothing better than snuggles with puppies and quilts
The top is pieced and now it's time for making decisions as to how to quilt this project. Many longarm quilters will have several questions that might help in the decision-making process but, bottom line ... everything can be boiled down to two basic questions:
•who is the quilt for
•how will it be used
When thinking about who will be using the quilt personal taste and design style general influence pattern choice, but the biggest contributing factor in choosing a quilting pattern is the second ... how will it be used.
You can see how I've used quilts in one of my guest rooms which is decrated around a forest theme. I have quilts on the bed, on the walls and hanging on the quilt ladder. I also have a quilt hanging over the back of the futon that is exposed to light from the window. This poses another risk to shortening the expected life of a quilt and so I'm careful to keep the blinds closed on that particular window limiting potential light damage to my Diamonds on the Double quilt.
If we take time to look at ourselves honestly in the mirror (or at the quilt projects we've finished) we are
- very proud of our work
- recognize finishing usually took quite a long time
- aware of (but usually keeping the final figure quiet LOL) how much money has gone into the quilt to date
... but let's face it ... the cold honest hard truth is that most of us will probably only finish less than five heirloom quality quilts in our lifetime. We make quilts that are to be used, loved, washed several times in the washer, drug around behind toddlers and puppies, used to make the roof/walls of a fort, snuggled under during movie night with buttery popcorn or for picnics in the park on a sunny summer afternoon. Probably about the only stipulation or requirement we may have when giving a quilt to someone is that we don't want to see it later on the garage floor serving as padding for the "guy of the house" while he's changing the oil in his rig! :)
Quilts that take the kind of wear and tear I've listed above need to be filled with sturdy stitching that is continuous across the quilt top. Freequent stops and starts or thread knots are more likely to work themselves loose over time and become a potential weak spot in the overall quilting design. And that is why you will find most of us steering your decision-making process in the direction of choosing an overall or edge-to-edge design. These are the designs that provide more wearability to a quilt and thus allowing for a more extended or longer expected lifetime of the quilt.
These are three favorite edge-to-edge designs that provide texture avoiding the distraction of a repeating motif that can compete with the patchwork design and each design provides a nice alternative from the old tired much used "just stipple it" while keeping a traditional feel as the eye travels over the quilt.
The second picture in the center: 1312 BAPTIST FAN E2E: this pattern gives the feel of baptist fan quilting without all the hours and hours of ruler work and time-consuming setup ... an affordable traditional fan look.
The third pattern on the right: 1557 BASKETWEAVE E2E: a brand new pattern following the lines of the traditionally hand-quilted design. You'll want to think it through as you set up after each roll keeping the stitching lines lined up but you'll find the end result is well worth the little bit of extra time.
Check through your pattern library. You'll not want to miss out adding these fresh alternatives for textural edge-to-edge quilting to you design library especially when there is such an amazing discount on the price this month. Remember to enter the coupon code: daisydaysbright_05 before you check out.
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