I’m afraid of my own quilt.
Veteran quilters, excuse my drama, but this is far and away the largest thing I’ve ever made. I had to move all of the furniture off to the side in my dining room, just so I’d have room to pin it. Note to self: this is the largest quilt I am allowed to make as long as I live in this house.
I had some helpers, once they woke up from nap. Nothing so helpful as two toddlers and a dog when you’re trying to keep things neat and even.
So far, pre-quilting and pre-washing, it measures just about 71″ x 91″. Not bad, only about an inch off from what it theoretically “should” measure… but holy crap is that big! It weighs about 6 pounds, which doesn’t sound like much, but it certainly feels heavy as hell.
It’s all pinned and trimmed and ready to quilt…. if I could just a) decide how I’m going to quilt it and b) get up the courage to start.
So, how would you quilt this thing? The backing is mostly a solid slate gray, and that same gray is present in a number of the prints on the top, so I was leaning towards quilting it in dark gray thread. (Perhaps because I’m concerned about my imperfections showing up too much on the back!) But do I just stipple it? Do some kind of straight quilting with my walking foot? Do something entirely different? Please, send suggestions!
Tags: basting, old red barn co, twin size
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I quilted mine in straight lines, along one direction. If I had the patience, I probably would’ve done the other way, too, so it would form squares, but I also created a pretty big quilt. You can take a look at my blog for a picture. It’s gorgeous, though– I love your fabric! I’d be afraid that a stipple might make it look too messy.
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I am cracking up!! I have been watching your progress on the QAL – and struggling with my own HONKIN HUGE strip quilt too! Barely enough room to lay it out and get it pinned up! You are farther than i am at this point!
Kudos!!
Ok, so.. you probably dont want to hear this. I am a newbie quilter… with only 2 other quilts under my belt… done with all the wrong tools. LOL But I’m here to tell ya that straight lines on a quilt this big is HARRRDDD!!! Thinking that was the easiest way to go, that is what i attempted on those others a few years ago! LOL Turned out to be the most difficult! Because you have this HUGE ROLL of quilt that you are having to shove under your machine and sew in supposed straight lines from one end of the quilt to the other!! NOT AN EASY TASK with that huge roll and weight!!
That was one reason why i was really dreading the quilting portion of the quilt along! LOLOL
I made a 46 x72 “practice quilt” with my left overs, and attempted stippling. OH MY GOSH it was soooooooooooo much easier!!!!!!!!! Because you’re only working on a small little portion of that huge thing at a time! Like eating an elephant! LOLOL Not trying to shove the whole thing thru your machine all at once! You will be sooo amazed at how smooth it goes once you start!! I was!!
I ended up doing more loopy swirly quilting than the normal stipple.. and had a great time! Alot less cussing, didnt sweat like i wasworking out likeon the other quilts, and it came out sooo cool!! So i’m convinced that is how i am going to tackle my big one – which is the same size as yours.
And.. by the way… once it’s all crinkled up you wont see your mistakes on the back!! It’s JOY!!! Dive in girl! Don’t be scared of this!! LOL!!! Just go for it!!! -
I love the way stippling looks on my quilts. I would suggest getting grippy garden gloves to wear when doing something this large. It helps me keep a grip on all that fabric weight and move everything smoothly under the needle.
Angela´s last blog ..Summer Rhythm
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I love your post! That brings back memories of me before my long arm. Looks like you had it pretty well pinned before your helpers arrived. As for your quilting, I think it comes down to what you are comfortable with. I personally would choose a pretty variegated thread and it would show up so beautifully on the back. I just love how that looks. As for the design, again stay within your comfort level. If you are comfortable with free motion quilting try something different like loops. They are fun and easy to do.
Jackie´s last blog ..Design Wall Love -
In some ways, quilting in a straight line is easier, but if you are planning to do it where you have to pivot (say, with diagonal lines), you can actually run into a situation where you have to shove the entire thing through your machine. This happened to me once — I thought it would be easier to do straight lines but it wasn’t. I’d vote for doing whatever you’re most comfortable with. For me, it would be meandering.
Cheryl S.´s last blog ..Row Round Robin -
I love it. I really love your interior design work, lol I looked at that more than the quilt. ; )
I’d hand quilt it… I always do. But you could hand quilt it with big stitches, like 5/”. My son has a quilt like that I bought him 6 yrs ago at Target and those stitches have held up great.
ITA on the straight lines… Another thing you could do is severely baste it and then machine quilt. -
THat makes me laugh because you’ll never get over that holy crap feeling of a massive quilt on your floor! Have you tackled quilting it yet? Good luck if you haven’t, I am always scared to start because I know its gonna kick my butt! Thanks for stopping by and happy quilting! -Allison
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I’m with the rest of the crowd here – free motion with lots of curves. It will add funtexture to all of the straight lines. Have fun!
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