Originally Posted by k3n
Thanks Mousie!
Looking at it again, I'm thinking if I spit it vertiacally into three - strips of 2 blocks - 3 blocks - 2 blocks, then SITD only down either side of the centre strip/three patches of each block, then I won't have to worry about the joins. So now my only question is this - when I SITD the horizontal lines, how much fabric do I need to leave at the points where I'll be joining the sections? Does the 1/4" of the seam allowance give me enough room to manoevre? I've only ever QAYG by hand and then I left tails of the quilting thread hanging and finished off after I'd joined the sections. Obviously I can't do this by machine.
One way to do it is to go ahead and quilt all the way to the edge of one of the two sections to be joined (section 1), but leave 1" not quilted on the edge of the other section (section 2). When you join, make your .25" seam with the backing from section 2 held back so it is not included in the seam. (I usually also cut away the backing of both sections so it is even with the .25" line; that way the backing doesn't get caught in the seam.) Now you can fold under .25" of that 1" that was held back, and hand sew it down. I do the hand sewing with the quilt laid on top of an ironing board or table, so the two sections are out flat and I can tell that I'm getting the seam straight.
That's just one method. I have Marti Michell's Quilting in Sections book, and it has been very helpful in explaining several different methods of quilting in sections. It gives good examples of when you might want to use one method rather than another, and also gives helpful advice on how to break the quilt down into sections. Hope this helps.