I have just finished my first quilt. This is something I have always wanted to learn how to do. It is a Double Irish Chain with a seminole border. It is a queen, probably should have started with something smaller but I didn't want to make something I wouldnt use or need. Anyway, I think the top came out beautiful! I can hardly believe I did it. Now I am having trouble marking it for quilting. Just not sure what to do. I found a heart stencil pattern that I used for the larger blocks but really don't know what to do for smaller ones and the borders? Am open to suggestions. PLEASE! I know it is a personal preference but I would love input!

Hand or machine quilting? Lovely quilt BTW. You did an exceptionally good job from what I can see. First quilt?? You are a natural and hopefully you continue to quilt. Oh and welcome to the board.

Would love to do by hand but i would like to be able to use it this year so I will be doing this by machine :)

Hello..welcome from Hot..Hot Arizona..I'm a designer and top maker..I get a lot of help from friends on the quilting aspect..but it's a pretty quilt and for a beginner..it's amazing !! I'm into less quilting and letting the fabric or design speak..so I'm not sure I can help you on that part !!

Sorry i can't help with quilting i fairly new too, but just wanted to say great job on your first, looking forward to many more pics

I also am very much a minimalist quilter. Typically I either SID or echo quilt (following the design but at a distance from the seams) or do a diagonal grid.

Your quilt is lovely! Keep up the good work.

I love it so far, I guess it depends how fast you want to be done. I have seen large x ln the chain and hearts. Meaning hugs and kiss. I like to hand quilt more personal for the first. Tie and work as you like. But just enjoy and it goes really fast.

OK, here is what I recommend. I would mix hand and machine quilting on this. I have done it plenty of times and it looks fine.

FMQ on a machine is not easy to master and for this beautiful top I would not attempt to machine quilt your cut heart stencil mark as a total newby, heck I wouldn't do it as an oldy on my domestic machine, on my LA yes, but I never could master FMQ on a domestic machine. But fear not, the TIC design always looks good with straight machine stitching. I would stitch straight lines diagonally through each of your squares forming the chain on the body of the quilt so you would end up with 3 parallell lines of straight stitching going through the 9P blocks that form your chain, on the diagonal. You can do this with a walking foot and it is nice and easy to do so little to no learning curve. SID or just next to the ditch on either side in your lovely seminole piecing to make it pop and SID (or again, just next to the ditch, which is much easier than trying to get in the ditch) on you corner 9P squares. Once that is all done, I would hand quilt your heart stencil in all the white boxes. After that if I thought it still needed more I would do a nice flowing vine and leaf in the dark green inner and outer border that separates the main body of the quilt from the seminole piecing to kind of bring out the floral fabric you used.

Pretty quilt and great work for your fist one. You will have many more beautiful quilts to come. Quilt what feels right for you and the quilt.

You have done a terrific job for your first quilt. I think the simple quilt theme is called for here.

Hello and welcome, from western Nevada!

Very pretty quilt. Welcome from Michigan!

Hi and welcome. That is a very nice quilt top. Take a look at this web site. It might give you help on machine quilting.

http://www.ideas-for-quilting.com/ma...equilting.html

My goodness for your first quilt it is just beautiful. I would have never tackled something like this for a first quilt. I have no idea about the quilting just wanted to compliment you on your beautiful quilt.

Hello and welcome from Minnesota!
WOW! Your first quilt is beautiful!
Great job!

Well, that is just amazing for your first quilt!

I have an antique irish chain done by my grandmother eons ago, and she treated the chains much as feline fanatic suggests -- with straight diagonal lines through the chains -- then she did some fancy stuff in the plain squares.

For the plain strips next to the Seminole strips (bravo on those strips, by the way!) you could mark and stitch diagonal lines in two directions, which would make diamond shapes where they cross over. I've done this on a domestic sewing machine, and it is not too difficult to change direction like that.

Do you have a walking foot? If not, you should get one -- you'll get lots better results. And baste well -- it is unbelievable how lumpy a quilt can get that is not basted well, when you try to machine quilt it. I really like the spray basting stuff. It is easy to overspray, so I have gone to spraying the interior of the quilt, then pinning or hand basting the borders and outer edges.

Hope this helps!

Welcome from Kansas. Pretty quilt

You've done a remarkable job for a beginner! Looks wonderful!

Because of the size, perhaps you should consider sending it out for longarm quilting by a professional quilter. Candlequilter here on the board does beautiful work that she often shares with us....and she's running a great special pricing right now, 25% off! You might PM her.

I've long since given up trying to FMQ at home with large quilts after spending 8 weeks at the chiropractor following my last one!

Jan in VA

Welcome to the board from Southern California!

Your quilt is beautiful

As for the quilting, that is not my strong point!

Your quilt is beautiful.

Thank you!

feline fanatic I love that idea! Thank you so much! I didnt know I could machine and hand stitch the same quilt. I know I can probably do the SID on the diagonals I think I would also like something on the green border strips. I have NO idea how to hand quilt so not sure about the hearts yet. I do have a local friend that does LAS but I really want to try this myself. So can I quilt what i know I want and then add more later if needed? Can I stencil more design after my quilt is together or do I need to have it all stenciled before I begin?

Yes I do have a walking foot.

Thank you all so much for the kind words about my first quilt. I have had so much fun I love it so far. I hope I will enjoy quilting as much as I enjoyed making the top.

Howdy, Welcome from Porter Ok. Glad you could join us. Beautiful quilt love the colors.

Welcome from Michigan.:)

Hello, and another welcome from Michigan! Beautiful work, thanks for sharing it!

Beautiful quilt , you could quilt down the center of your blocks, or around each square in the main part of the quilt and in the border.

Welcome from WV. Beautiful quilt.

Hi and welcome from Arizona. Awsome first job :thumbup:

Welcome! Your quilt is beautiful! Love the colors.

The heart shaped space between the blocks lend itself to hearts. Wonderful quilt.

Welcome from SE Michigan!

Welcome. It's a beautiful quilt. My first pieced quilt was a king size double Irish chain, machine quilted. I love your idea of hearts in the white area. JoAnn stores carry a border template for chained hearts that would look really nice in your solid areas. SITD would be great around your diamonds. As long as you are using templates FMQ will not be that difficult. Just be sure to get your rhythm down on a practice sandwich each time you start quilting. You CAN do it!

Welcome from sunny Deltona, FL. Don't forget to join us on the chat. Beautiful quilt
Have a Blessed day.
Ellen

you did a great job!

welcome from se TX

Welcome from Glendale, AZ! BEAUTIFUL quilt, I absolutely love it!

Hi and welcome from NE Ohio.

Great quilting advise for our newbie with a gorgeous quilt. :thumbup: Welcome aboard from AZ. :-D