Wednesday 23 April 2014

Preparing to quilt

At the moment I'm trying arrangements to make cushion covers from the triangles left from the triangle quilt. I don't really need cushions, and I'd rather make another quilt, a wall hanging this time, with big hexagons on a pale blue/grey background. 




But I do need to practise FMQ on the fabric used in this quilt. It's my version for the triangle quilt along at the Sassy Quilter.





May I pick your brains? If I do an allover pattern, swirls or ripples, do I need to stitch in the ditch first to stabilize? The quilt is 1.80 x 2.20m (approx 6 x 7') and I'll be quilting on my Bernina 440 QE, so there's an awful lot of quilt to fit in to the right of the needle. I shall be pinning the quilt sandwich together with safety pins.

I welcome your ideas on this.


I'm linking up to:
Freshly Pieced for WIP Wednesdays and 
Sew Fresh Quilts for Let's Bee Social

Happy sewing

Marly.

17 comments:

Jennie said...

I love the colours you've used in this quilt. I don't generally quilt in the ditch before doing an all over pattern on any size quilt.... good luck!

Ruth said...

Love your triangle fabrics - so hot and summery! I'm not sure about the need for stiching in the ditch with an allover pattern, I've heard instructors on craftsy say every stinking seam just do it and others say not needed. Sorry! no help with that one!

charlotte said...

That is so pretty. I love your color choices. I have the same machine as you, and wow, that's a lot of quilt. You can do it. Pin very heavily to avoid shifting. Start in the middle and work your way out to the sides. It will keep things pretty even. I would quilt from the middle out in each direction just a bit, as opposed to going all in one direction and then another. Does that make sense? Good luck!

Vireya said...

I'll be interested to see what others say in answer to the question about quilting the grid. I know people who do it no matter what. But I also wonder if it is always necessary. I didn't quilt the grid for this quilt:
http://weednstitch.blogspot.com/2013/09/done.html
which has an all-over quilting design. It is a bit smaller than you are working with, but I didn't have any problems. I started the quilting in the centre, then worked out to each end.

Swedish Scrapper said...

No help either, but I love how your triangles have come out, and I like your floating hexies on pale blue idea too. Cool that you are keeping it zig zaggy on the edges!!

Mary Huey said...

Love the colors of this top!! I've quilted on a domestic machine for 20 years and do fine with the pinning and no "ditching" but I would put a pin in the center of every triangle. Look forward to seeing the finish!

Lisa England said...

Love this cheerful quilt top! I quilt on a frame so I can't answer your question about stitching in the ditch, but I love the allover swirls idea.

Lorna McMahon said...

Your triangle quilt turned out absolutely gorgeous! And so big! If you are going to fmq, just make sure you pin baste a lot. It may shift a little as you are going, but should be fine with an all over design. Looking forward to seeing her all quilted up!

Judy@Quilt Paradigm said...

I don't stitch in the ditch when I do an all over design either. I have tried both ways, I have found that when doing an all over design, if the quilt does shift, it increases the chance of puckers... As Lorna and Mary said, just make sure you use a lot of pins and go for it :)

Alison V. said...

I'm just planning to quilt mine with an all over pattern as well -- probably leaves for me! Your quilt is wonderful!

Val's Quilting Studio said...

Definitely an all over swirl would add to the cheerfulness of this flimsy!

Sue Daurio said...

What a great quilt. I love the colors. An all over pattern will be just wonderful on this one. As long as you pin well or spray baste, you be fine with no ditch stitching. Can't wait to see it quilted

Andrea @ Mouse in My Pocket said...

I've only had FMQ done by a long arm quilter, but they always just do the free motion, no stabilization stitches. Your finished top is lovely. I think a mini to hang on the wall to match would be great.

Tanyia said...

I love the pink and yellow/orange here, this is gorgeous. So bright and happy! I hope you got good advice for your dilemma! No help here either, I persoanlly wouldn't do both but I am not sure if that is technically the right answer lol :)

Stopping by from Lee's WIP hop http://www.domesticdeficitdisorder.blogspot.com/2014/04/wip-wednesday-april-23rd.html

Lorette said...

Great color on that quilt! Well done! Quilting edge to edge design doesn't need ditching. Looking forward to seeing the results!! Happy quilting!

Dasha said...

If you do an all over design, you won't need to stitch in the ditch. I generally stabilise a quilt when I do a specific design which is contained within the boundaries of a block. Also stitch in the ditch on borders quite often.

scraphappy said...

What a happy quilt. Love the bright and sunny colors -- they can't help but make you smile. I have found too that stabilizing stitches increase the odds of puckers. I try when on the DSM to never revisit an area once it is quilted. Good luck with the quilting.