This Quilt is for my granddaughter and I have a couple questions that need answered before I finish it. I started quilting hearts around it, but what can I do for the center blocks? Would stitch in the ditch be good or maybe someone has a better suggestion? What about the Quilt label. Do you put it on before putting the sandwich together or after. Do you quilt over the label? This is my first quilt and I wanted to give it to my granddaughter at Christmas, but I got stumped on what to do.
Thank you and Happy New Year!

Awesome job on the hearts! I am not near that good. I would just stitch in the ditch around the squares. The label is put on after everything else. You usually hand stitch it to the back.

First off, let me say you have done a great job with the hearts and it's such a pretty little quilt. There is one lucky little girl that is getting it!
Now, as to the middle squares....I would just stich/ditch around them as to not take away from the square.

I hand sew my labels on when I'm done. I use a little Lite Heat N Bond to hold it steady, then whip stitch it in place.

First off, I love this quilt, it is fitting for a little princess :D:D:D I love the quilting too!!!

As to the center of the blocks, how far apart can the quilting be according to the label on your batting. Can you do a meandering design around the characters and be within the guidelines?
Stitch in the ditch around the stars would be very pretty :D
Most quilters put the label on last, handstitching it down. There are some though, who will attach it first and them do their quilting.

Thank you for your ideas. I'm new to quilting and learning as I go.

I made a Peanuts quilt for a friend recently and I ended up doing a modified echo stitch around the figures in the center of the blocks to help make the characters stand out from the background. However, these squares look so small, I doubt you need to do anything more than quilt in the ditch.

It is a lovely quilt. I don't want my daughter to see it. She will want me to make one for her! :-P

Love lyour quilt, and your hearts are great. I would stitch 1/4 in in from the seams in the star blocks, this will make them stand out some. What a great quit for just a beginner!!!

I agree with MistyMarie that free motion quilting or around like echo will bob up the figures and make them dancing withe there pretty dresses.

Yes, the same star in my very quilts ;-)

i love the quilt. sorry i can't help with the sewing part as i tie mine.

That quilt is just adorable and I'm sure your granddaughter will just love it!!!! I would just stitch in the ditch and around the motifs. Your hearts look great!!

I agree, great job.

Love the fabric and pattern ! Awesome job on the heart quilting :mrgreen: I have no suggestions on the quitling for the rest . She will truly feel like a princess with that quilt

If you did echo quilting around the figures it doesn have to be precise, it will make them stand out.

Great quilting and a beautiful quilt. I would SID around the blocks.

First of all, lovely quilt! You're doing a great job. I would either echo stitch around the figures or meander, it would make them stand out.
Then maybe stitch in the ditch around the star points.

Your quilt is adorable. And your hearts are great. Did you free motion them?

I agree with Ninnie. When in doubt I always do the 1/4 inch, it may take awhile but will be worth it. The hearts are darling.

Cute quilt and great hearts. as to the label, i used to put them on after it was quilted, but in the corner so the binding secures 2 of the sides. I would sew them on with invisible thread. I basically do the same thing now except i put them on and then quilt the quilt. That way they are really attached to the quilt.

I agree Great Job :thumbup: As for the label I would put it on before I quilted it, I learned this the hard way :evil: I gave a quilt as a gift and she regifted it but before she did so, she took my label off and put another one on giveing herself credit for it. I only found out about it from the friend that she regifted it to. I knew it was mine as I had signed one of the block with a pigma pen. :XD: LOL Liz

Great quilt! I would stitch in the ditch around the triangles and center blocks!

I agree with AZAM on the above suggestions. Also, you will want to start in the middle with quilting your quilts if you are on a regular sewing machine so you don't get bunching up in the middle.

[quote=punkinsmomI agree Great Job :thumbup: As for the label I would put it on before I quilted it, I learned this the hard way :evil: I gave a quilt as a gift and she regifted it but before she did so, she took my label off and put another one on giveing herself credit for it. I only found out about it from the friend that she regifted it to. I knew it was mine as I had signed one of the block with a pigma pen. :XD: LOL Liz[/quote]

WoW!!!! that was pretty nervy!!!!

[quote=jljack]to: jljack
Oh my gosh, that's why I'm picky about who I make quilts for. Is she a quilter? Does she know what goes into the making of a quilt and all the love that goes into them?

Great job on the quilt. I love the hearts. Can you hand stitch around the characters to make them pop out?
SEWTOO

Your quilt is very nice. You should be proud and the hearts are great. You have the talent for machine quilting for sure.
I've mainly done hand quilting and the 1/4 inch around the pieces in the traditional way to quilt and I do that a lot. When you machine quilt in the ditch. you can jump the ditch pretty easily and I think the 1/4 inch is easier. I don't have one of the foots that keep you in the ditch. Echo quilting around figures makes them pop and is not that difficult if you slow down. Good job!!What a lucky little girl.
I attach my label in the corner so two bindings catch it also. I can't imagine someone taking a label off and regifting. I'd be very upset by that, heck I'm upset and it wasn't my quilt. sSme people have a lot of nerve.

Check your batting first, to see how far apart your quilting can be - last thing you want to do is have batting that requires quilting every 2-3 inches, and leave 5-6 inches unquilted and have a mess the first time it is washed.

I would then do a stitch in the ditch around the center block, and a meander or stipple type stitch (assuming close quilting required) around the characters. Then, I would do an echo inside the triangles that surround each center square.....Hope this helps.

Grrrrr! :evil: I've heard of this happening. I know a lot of experts are now suggesting you put the label on before it is quilted and that way the label is part of the quilting. The reasoning is mostly so the quilt isn't stolen (who wants to rip out the quilting and ruin the quilt!?!) but it would also work to keep the above from happening. I think I would have had some nasty words to say to the gal I gifted the quilt to if this happened to me!!

I would SID (stitch in the ditch) around the center blocks but I would also do an echo or outline stitching around each of the characters in the center block. This will make them stand out a bit more. I wouldn't do any meander stitching, but only because too much stitching will cause the quilt to become stiff as a board. It's hard to cuddle with a quilt that is stiff. Just a thought.

What a great quilt for your grandaughter! She is one lucky little lady. I bet you are her favorite grandma! ;)

What is an 'echo stitch'? :roll:

Echo quilting is simply stitching just a short way (usually 1/4-inch but it doesn't matter) way from the main design, following the lines (echoing), sort of like an outline. I found this link when I googled it and it shows some great examples. http://images.google.com/images?q=Ec...=com.microsoft:en-us&oe=UTF-8&um=1&ie=UTF-8&ei=BmVFS7WuNJW4M9vUoe8C&sa=X&oi=image_result_gro up&ct=title&resnum=4&ved=0CBsQsAQwAw

Thanks for the answer and the link. Nice examples, eh?

I think I would also stitch fairly close to the subject in the block, that way it makes it stand out more.

I generally try to remember to put the label on the back before I get to that part of quilting. The one and only time my mother had a quilt professionally quilted, she wanted the label before she started quilting so she could quilt it in. Reasoning was as mentioned above, with thefts of quilts, would be hard for the thief to take off the label before unloading. Also would deter what that nervy lady did as in regifting as her own.