quiltingbuddy

I like both and do both, but when I first started quilting I only liked stitch in the ditch too. It's your quilt and you can do what you like with it. Just keep quilting!

Edie

Remember the quilter's saying - "MY QUILT - MY RULES!" Stitch in the ditch is as much quilting as the Meander stitch or the fancy designs. I tie quilts too! I have to find a really neat sharp needle - Anyone know of one? I have gnarly index fingers on both hands and I have trouble pushing through the needle - I need help on that! Thanks! Edie

citruscountyquilter

Quilting serves two purposes. One is to hold the layers together. The type of batting you use will dictate how closely the quilting needs to be to each other. Heed this guideline. My brother-in-law was gifted a quilt. The person who made the quilt didn't quilt it closely enough together and when he washed the quilt the quilt bat moved and bunched making the quilt unusable. I had the big job of taking it all apart and putting in a new bat and quilting it correctly. He wanted to preserve the quilt because the fabric used was from his children's clothes when they were little.
The second reason you quilt is to add design. How you design the stitching to show or not to show is up to you. Some people like very densely ornate quilting, some like straight lines, some like it not to show. The choice is yours as long as you follow the rule above about quilting it closely enough so it doesn't fall apart.

Bobbielinks

Citruscountyquilter say if very well!!

justflyingin

No problem here. Quilting in the ditch is actually pretty hard!

madamekelly

You sound like me. I can't wrestle a large quilt into my DSM ( domestic sewing machine) due to previous back and neck injuries, so I have begun to explore QAG ( quilt as you go). Your log cabin would be perfect for this. You can either quilt as you sew each piece on, which shows no stitching on the front of the quilt, or finish the block, cut batting and backing a bit larger and quilt each square. Look on YouTube for quite a few methods for doing this as well as several methods for connecting the blocks. I am self taught by YouTube videos. I work with twelve inch blocks since that is manageable for me.

Farm Quilter

I'm a longarm quilter so I live for the fancy quilting on my quilts...but it's your quilt, your choice! Just make sure it is quilted enough to hang together through use and washes, as well as following the guidelines given by the batting you choose to use.

MargeD

Well, it's your quilt, your choice, although I tend to favor stitch in the ditch. I still haven't attempted FMQ, not sure what I'm afraid of, although when quilting quilts with lots of squares, I often will do a zig zag or small embroidery stitch from corner to corner. I keep telling myself someday I'll do FMQ, I'll let you know.

captlynhall

I tend to quilt at least an outline on each side of the pieced seam, but also like to vary the quilting design depending on the pattern. I do hand quilt, so I enjoy the process of the quilting, and want it to enhance the pieced design. Personally, I like to see the quilt stitches. I feel that is what I'm doing, quilting. The piecing is only a part of the whole.

Pennyhal

I love to hand quilt and stitch in the ditch all the time. Sometimes I even go back and stitch inside the blocks if the mood hits. A lot depends on the type of bat you use too. Those really flat bats are good for machine quilting. I find the 100% cotton bats hard to hand quilt. Log Cabin is my favorite block and I make it all the time or some variation of it.

I have to say that while I like art quilts, I love bed quilts. When I go to shows, sometimes the beautiful machine quilting overtakes the beautiful piecing. Sometimes they enhance each other. But it doesn't matter what I like. It's what you like that counts. After quilting for a while, you'll find that the quilt will tell you what it wants. But you do have to listen!