Originally Posted by AndiR

Oops, sorry for using confusing terminology ;-).

Many longarmers prefer not to do stitch-in-the-ditch (SID) as it requires more control of the machine, going slower, and using a ruler to keep the machine steady. And while outlining 1/4 inch away from seams is a fairly common way of hand quilting, in longarming it requires many starts and stops and tying off which again slows us down.

An alternative is continuous curve (CC) where we make a gentle curve from one point to the next in a block or unit. It mimics the look of the 1/4" outlining, but with planning can be continuous so you rarely have to stop and tie off threads. You can see what it looks like in this example in the four-patches and half-square triangles. I use it quite often as it highlights the piecing without being too busy. I especially like it for sampler-type quilts as it provides continuity between blocks that may be very different.

Andi