Because I want the center of this quilt to be the focus, I thought simple quilting on the 6" border would be best. Simple straight lines, I thought, would be fine. But how far apart? I decided 1 7/8". But now that I have part of the border quilted, I'm not so sure....
This amount of quilting on a border will probably not be very durable and the lightly-quilted fabric will probably not weather the wash and wear necessitated for a baby quilt. In a word, I would describe the border as flimsy.
Originally I imagined extending the diagonal lines of the stars to the outer edge of the border. I didn't do that because the diagonal print on the fabric is at a different angle than the following the lines of the star point angles would be. Has that conflict ever influenced any of your decisions about simple diagonal quilting? Or do you (and perhaps I should) just ignore the print on the fabric and quilt across the diagonal print?
At this point I have to decide where to add more quilting to this border, either so it doesn't detract from the center or enhances the center. I still have a week and a half before the baby arrives and perhaps a little longer until we're able to meet him so I'm good to add more quilting. I just have to decide where and how.
Have you ever quilted, bound, washed, and dried a quilt, then decided to add more quilting? How did that work?
I happened to have this 10" hoop, below, purchased ages ago at a yard sale or thrift store, just in case. It worked great when I finished quilting the centers of the stars, and I found it easier to take in the car.
I love having supplies and tools on hand "just in case" of a possible future need. Is that a quilter/creator thing or does everyone do that?
--Nancy.
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Hi Nancy! Yes, I've encountered the same problem with fabric printed at a slightly different angle than my quilting lines. So annoying. My "go to" border quilting when this happens is a simple cable pattern. That might look pretty in the middle of your three lines. I have added quilting to an already washed and dried quilt and it didn't turn out very well because the batting had already shrunk and caused the first batch of wrinkles around the original quilting - but it didn't shrink in the second wash so it looked a little funny. It was on a very small quilt - less than 20 inches square. Since yours is larger, it may not stand out if you wanted to wash it first and add more quilting later. Hope this helps! :)
ReplyDeleteThank you for sharing your experience with adding more quilting after washing and drying a quilt, Corn and Wine. I suppose the smaller the quilt the more obvious would be the shrinkage -- maybe? I guess I'll carefully consider what to do both before and after washing and drying. Whether I add more before washing may depend on whether I have time!
DeleteDo you have a blog? I'd love to visit if you do. I see one linked from your blogger profile but there are no posts!
I've also taken a completely quilted and bound quilt and then added more quilting to both enhance the original design and stabilize the quilt better. It was an auction buy and though the quilter had done a nice job of hand quilting there just wasn't enough to keep the quilt from sagging. Luckily in this case a poly batting had been used so there was no issue with shrinking. I would have no qualms about doing that again if you're sure the batting won't continue to shrink. I think we quilters always have way more supplies on hand than we might need, until we need something on a Saturday night, lol!
ReplyDeleteThank you for sharing your experience with adding more quilting to a finished quilt, Pat. I added more to this one and will finish it, bind, then wash and dry it and then decide whether to add the little more I'm wondering if it needs.
DeleteLOL. Yes, that Saturday night need does become a problem!
It's a gorgeous quilt, no matter how much quilting is involved. I sure hope they treasure it.
ReplyDeleteThank you, Gypsy Quilter. I do hope the baby's mama likes it so she'll use it. I generally find that if mom or dad doesn't like a gift (book, toy, item of clothing, quilt) the baby doesn't see it much. I hope they all like it!
DeleteI love this finish. Very pretty!
ReplyDeleteYou know, I can't recall ever noticing if the diagonal pattern on a fabric conflicted with diagonal lines I wanted to quilt. I guess I am not very observant. That said--if you decide to add the diagonal lines and it bothers you too much once it is finished, it would have a good home here. LOL
Thank you, Janet. I think you're very observant which makes me think the lines of print on the fabric aren't really worth thinking about. Just go for the overall effect of the quilting.
DeleteIf I didn't like the finished quilt I would definitely send it on to you but I can't this time because it has to go to the baby. Perhaps some other quilt, another time...?
Hi Nancy, I too think a cable design in the border would be nice, though I would pick out the straight lines first. The curves of the cable would be a good counterpoint to the straight lines in the rest of the quilt and you could design the cable (or get a stencil from the Stencil Company) that would appropriately fill the space.
ReplyDeleteThanks for sharing your thoughts, Patrice. I didn't choose a cable because I'm on a time crunch to get this quilt finished before the baby arrives and I didn't have a cable stencil nor time to find one. But maybe on another quilt!
DeleteI'm voting for the cables also! I have added quilting to a finished quilt and it worked out fine. Good luck!
ReplyDeleteThank you for the vote for cables, Karen. I didn't choose cables because of the time crunch and not having a stencil nor an easy way to get one. And maybe also because cables intimidate me, especially because the length has to fit so precisely. With so little time to finish I didn't want to add more stress to my life. Haha.
DeleteThanks, too, for letting me know that adding quilting to a finished quilt worked out okay. Again, time depends on whether I add the quilting before binding, washing, and drying or after.
All these dilemmas we have over wanting our work to be the best it can be. Either way the baby's going to cuddle inside and enjoy the colors. October here has been a little prettier than I expected but because of the dry dry summer we had the colors aren't quite as brilliant. I love the slant of the sunlight this time of year. It makes everything look crisp, straight, and even.
ReplyDeleteHi, Robin --
DeleteOh, it's so true that I spend too much time aiming toward "perfection" when the truth is I'm the only one who will notice! Sometimes I think I'm concerned about things I might not think much about if I had more experience.
I, too, love the slant of the sunlight in the fall. Somehow it casts a warmer glow than at other times of the year, even in the summer when the sun is so hot. When I mention that to others, they respond with "huh?" I think you're the first person I've ever known to be aware of it. Honestly, it's one of the things I love about the whole year -- noticing the angle of the sun's rays and how they change from month to month.