Borders, Sashes
 

Seems like every few months I "see" something else about quilting that I didn't notice before.
Star tips, corners, symmetry, color balance... and currently it's borders and sashing.

I can see the difference between a nice quilt and a WOW quilt is often related to just how the quilter used sashing and borders. I've searched here and done a blog search to see if anyone has talked about this subject. No real luck.

I see there are some books out there and I'll order some to deepen my knowledge.

I've also been looking closely at some free quilt designs and may follow their pattern since they hit the wow nicely.

But I wondered if any of you well-traveled quilters know of any good blogs to point me to. Or, if you're a quilt blogger - please address the topic and send me the link! :-) I need some design concepts explained (not the basics, but the next level).

Thanks all! Such a wonderful obsession I've found with quilting - so many amazing dimensions to it!!!

Looks like an interesting thread to follow.
I've noticed a tendency to have no borders on some quilts.
Thanks for starting this one.
Annie

I just go to any site I can find and look at the way they do their sashes and borders and steal the ideas (LOL)
Here is one place to go to see how to do star sashing--keep looking around this site and you will get other ideas
http://www.quilterscache.com/H/Howtomakestarsash.html
I also sometimes go to hhtp://www.quiltville.com
check the quilts on the right side of the site and click on any of the free patterns and see what the sashing and borders look like. Then if you have questions about them ask them here. Some smart person will have an answer for you. I'm sure others will have more ideas for you.
I, too, am no expert, so I will watach this thread for more ideas.

I don't know if I've ever seen anything specifically related to just the way sashing and borders are used either. But I do know that not every block should be sashed and big, honking sashing can totally destroy any secondary design a geometric block would form. However, very narrow sashing with cornerstones can add a whole layer of design. I took a Debbie Caffrey class and most of her quilts have very narrow sashing that actually adds to the overall design and even makes the blocks look harder to do than they actually are.

There are several books on borders out though. They seem to be a whole category by themselves.

Try the Quilt University free sample class on borders (lower right, click on free sample class).
http://www.quiltuniversity.com/index.html

I don't have any online resources for you but I have a wonderful book in my book stash that I refer to often. The name is Borders By Design by Paulette Peterson. If you like pieced borders, this is a great reference.

Ok, I went to Joann's and perused the book aisle - the border/sash books were all about How To and less about the design concepts I want to learn about. I saw some beautiful samples and wonderful instruction but no design content.
I'll check out the links you guys posted. Thanks for the input so far! I hope for lots more.