hand quilting
 

Hi, new to this site but it is fantastic. I have done mostly machine quilting but lately have been working on hand quilting and enjoy that more.The quilting I have done was"in the ditch" quilting but I plan to make a quilt,Trinity Celtic Knot pattern and would like to hear from someone who hand quilts and may have made a quilt from this pattern and could suggest a different way to quilt it, not too complicated, as I am a novice at quilting.Any suggestions would be greatly appreciated. I live in Cape Breton,Canada.

echo quilting is nice when hand quilting- you quilt 1/4" away from the appliques/detail pieces- then another 1/4" - 1/2" outside that---what ever distance you like & continue to (echo) the details.
cross-hatch also looks nice. there are lots of options- do a search of pictures- browse the gallery/customer quilts at the website of the pattern designer & you will also see inspirational ideas.

Hi, Thank you very much for your reply. I think I understand what you mean by "echo" but not cross-hatch, real beginner here, will also check website of designer when I receive pattern that I ordered on line. I am in late 70's and this quilt will 115" sq. so can't get too intricate,lol.I have seen pictures of quilts done with an overall scroll? pattern, would this be drawn on from a stencil?

Welcome from WI. Can't help with the hand quilting question.

Thank you for the Welcome.

I didn't know that pattern and googled it - wow - what a beautiful pattern!!!

The one that I looked at was all these squares put together - you could cross-hatch it. I also do a lot of echo quilting. Depending on the size of the block, I might come in only 1/8th inch and just eyeball it..

You could outline the different pieces - like outline the chain that goes around. Don't forget to look at the bigger picture.

The other consideration I make when deciding how to quilt a quilt is avoiding quilting thru seams - sometimes when echo quilting - outlining a bunch of squares, or going around the hexagons in a Grandmothers' Flower Garden, you're quilting thru seams, it's harder to do.

When quilting a quilt w/ a bunch of squares, I might look at putting an X in the squares - avoiding quilting thru the seams.

I'm also a newbie, in my 70's and hand quilt. I usually keep it simple--quilt around each block 1/4" from seam. My philosophy is KISS and enjoy the process. If it gets too complicated or too tedious, it's no longer relaxing.

Glad you are enjoying the process. That's what it's all about. Now, not familiar with the pattern you've mentioned. I, too, will do 'echo' quilting and avoid seams if possible. However, if there is also a large enough area for any other design, I'll do that as well. Like to 'showcase' my quilting if possible. If you have a JoAnn's near you, take a look at some of the stencils there. Or your LQS - mine doesn't carry many. Some quilt shows have a pretty good selection of stencils as well. Look at the individual elements in the stencil and see if they can be utilized either the entire stencil or just parts of it in some of your blocks. Cross hatching is sort of large x's all over your quilt or within a block.

Thank you all so much for your great suggestions, very much appreciated. I hope to get started on this quilt sometime this month after I finish one I have going now. I like the cross hatching idea. I think it will work well on the quilt that is in process and the stencils plus outlining the chains will should look fabulous on the Trinity Celtic Cross,thinking I may use small shamrock stencils or a version of Celtic Cross.

Happy Quilting to all!!
Gert