I just finished the top for my first OBW - lovely hexigons from farm/cow fabric - and I think that it turned out great. Now I must quilt the beast....and am trying to figure out how. I've carefully flattened and ironed the intersections, but holy cow.....that's alot of fabric all in a big lump! My machine was having issues just stitching it all together, I don't imagine that I'll be able to free motion (or have long armed) without breaking a good number of needles....and there is NO WAY that I want to hand quilt through all of that!

Oh...next dilema....my sides stretched when I put on my boarders and I need to square up.

How have you overcome the OBW hurdles? What pattern did you use to quilt?

Linda - San Diego Quilter

Can you pick a quilting pattern that avoids the hexs centers? :D:D:D

Take a rubber mallet and wackem one it will help flatten them out, I have a kaleidoscope at the quilter now, I have not heard if shes had an issue but I know my good friend Deb used the same quilter for her moms kaliedoscope and the quilter did not mention any breakage of needles or any other issue .
hope this makes you feel more comfortable
Sandra

did you press seams open? That helps me when I have a lot of seams coming together in one place. I've also been known to use a small dollar store mallet with a felt coating on it to smash the centers a bit.

Many LAQs just like to use meandering.
Your color/design and hexagon shapes will be dominant, IMHO. :-)

I stamp all of the above, great advice !!!

With the seams pressed open I didn't find that there was that much bulk in my OBW's. I quilted some of them in the ditch, since that gave a lovely design on the back and quilting doesn't show much on the front anyway. Others I just did swirls, feathers, whatever...

Oh yeah, show us your OBW!!! We want to see it.

If your quilt is not squared after putting borders on then you should take them off and remeasure to make sure the sides are equal and the ends are equal. Sounds likt was not measured.

Finally - here are a couple pics of the quilt. Sorry - could not get the entire quilt in one picture. I hung it on my wall unit and I could not back up any further without going up the fireplace.....

Per the suggestion, I think that I will take the boarders off.

While I cut sides and top to the measurement of the center of the quilt, both the quilt top and the boarders stretched as I sewed. Will it help if I trim them and starch the heck out of them? I didn't use a walking foot, but think that I will when I put them back on.

BTW - I just LOVE this group!!! :)

Linda - San Diego Quilter

That came out just beautiful! Love the fabric you used - who would have thought cows could make such a pretty OBW?

I rented time on a Long Arm to quilt my own OBW. I had no problems with the seams. I did a large meandering stitch. Looks great BTW

Beautiful OBW. Can't add to the advice already given except to say perhaps next time be a little more gentle with the bias. Pressing the seams open leaves little bulk in my experience and I usually FMQ a meander or leaves, feathers etc. I'm just working on the borders of an octagon one having FMQd vine leaves all over the body of the quilt.

center seams pressed flat
http://www.quiltingboard.com/t-87433-1.htm

I press the seams open for a OBW so that there is less in the exact middle of the blocks. When I quilted it I used a pantograph, because it has so much going on in the pantograph I was able to quilt alot of the bulkiness out.

That's a good pic but in OBW ALL the seams are pressed flat. :-D Here's a video I made, the pressing part starts about half way through http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=DUnPDdjHZdE

I think you meant to say pressed OPEN.
:-D

Yes I did!

:oops: :lol:

I will have to remember to press seams open on my next OBW....I did not do it on this one. After watching the video, I realize that I made things far more difficult by fully assembling the hexigons and then sewing the rows together. I had to struggle with all of those "Y" seams.

*laughing* Best to research, buy a pattern, or find someone else that has done the project.....but I saw them on the board and just couldn't wait!

Linda

I always tell ppl that they really need the book to make one of these - all the free tutes etc don't go far enough, not only in the construction details but also with getting the design layout right - this is the 'make or break' issue for me with these! After the nearly twenty I have made, I still refer to the books from time to time. I made the you tube thing to demonstrate my own particular (and rather pernickety!) way of pinning the points and also to show the 'wiggle and press' way of pressing an open seam as I heard so many ppl had trouble with open seams (and flat ones! :lol:)) resorted to pressing them to one side then complained about the bulk. OBW are not difficult, just complex if you see the difference and really reward being done 'properly' ie by the book. I hate to see ppl struggle and often note that it's those who haven't invested in one of the books. :-D Please do make another one - don't be put off! They're such fun and it's such a versatile technique - I hate to repeat a pattern and this is the only one I've made several times, everyone is different. And I have a stack of fabrics here calling to me now to be deconstructed and made into something unique. :-D

Your quilt came out beautiful. Love the colors. I had to press my seams open on my Hunter's Star for the same reason. It does help, but that won't help you now will it.

I wasn't all that impressed with the book, the pictures of the process sucked. The quilts were pretty in the book but I could have done without those and maybe a few more pictures of what I actually needed to know.

I guess I'm a video kid of a gal. Thank God for YouTube

I agree with k3n that the book(s) are particularly valuable when you're making a OBW for the first time. I continue to refer to mine, even after making several. Many questions that are asked here are answered in the book, including examples of how to select fabric for the OBW, what works and what doesn't, how much fabric to get, how to line up the layers, how to press, etc. I thought the instructions were excellent, and the pictures of finished quilts were inspirational - lots of ideas on how to finish the quilt with borders, cubes, etc. I only have the first book, so can't speak for the others.