Terri D.

I rely heavily on my stencil collection (and a copier if it needs to be resized) and the Quiltmaker Quilt motif collections (Volumes I -VIII) for EQ7. It makes it so much easier to audition ideas before going to all the work of marking the design in the correct size before quilting.

Ilovesewing

I also let the quilt tell me what to do. I usually hang it on the wall for as long as it takes to figure it out. Every time I walk by I look at it and ideas start to pop. When I have it figured out I take it to the machine and start quilting. Some quilts take longer than others to start the conversation!

citruscountyquilter

I let the quilt hang on my design wall until I'm comfortable with what I want to do. Usually though I will end up adding some more quilting along the way as I actually quilt it. I use parchment paper (like you use in baking) if I want to draw a pattern and quilt through it. The parchment paper tears away easily but isn't as fragile as tissue paper so you can wrestle the quilt around the machine more.

Kris P

I generally try to come up with a cohesive design. Perhaps flowers and loopdiloops on the main body of the quilt, Stitch in the ditch between the borders, and a coordinating flower chain or free-form feathers in the borders. Sometimes I'll finish the quilt top, but then wait until inspiration strikes, or I feel my quilting skills have improved enough to try a new design. Once I find a design I like, I'll spend lots of time doodling it on paper, in the appropriate size, until I can consistently make the design or flower I'm looking for. I've also found that the designs I can most consistently do fmq on my domestic are the ones I'm best at fmq on my friend's long arm. It's muscle memory and visualizing the design as you guide either the fabric or the machine to create that design.

crafty pat

I agree. I study my quilt and let it guide me as to how to quilt it. I only mark a quilt if I am using a design I want to follow.

Karamarie

[QUOTE=MissM;7030590]For those of your who do FMQ on a DSM do you develop a quilting plan in advance? If so do you graph it out or what? So far I have only done all over designs such as a meander, now I want to broaden my horizons.[/QUOTE

I am currently FMQ a queen size quilt on my domestic machine. I usually have a plan in my head and practice both on paper and then on a practice sandwich. What I am doing on this quilt I am doing is a simple meander as I think the quilt is busy enough. It is a log cabin with 9 embroidered leave blocks in it also. I wish I could post but I can't get posting pictures to work. I am not meandering the leave blocks as it wouldn't look right with meandering in them. I will have to do something in those blocks - any ideas?

carol45

I either take a photo of the quilt top, or print it out from EQ7, on my printer, and then I draw lines on it in pencil until I find something I like.