Is it hard to figure out what stencil or pattern you will use on your quilts? I am a new quilter and see a lot of lovely quilts on this board and think I would love to sew that.However then when I think of quilting I tend get overwhelmed with all the possibilities or none of my ideas seem right.

Wow - I think everyone feels that way at one point or another.

Maybe think of this for smaller projects? Like a table runner or small lap quilt. If you make a smaller project you might find it a bit less overwhelming. You will also get the benefit of less cost to "test/try" something. That way too, you'd have a small easy to work with test subjectd for the quilting ideas and you can "see" if the ideas you have are "right".

i start by looking at quilting designs and pick out what appeals to me. then i look at my project to see which one of those feels right. sometimes, though, projects need quilting that matches a theme, like halloween.

It's always harder for me to decide when more than one way can be "right"

The odds are that ten years from now, you might make a different choice/decision - but for now - choose something and live with it! :-)

I have the same problem (which is why everything of mine is SID'ed). Right now I am in the process of designing the quilting for my round robin quilt. I actually sketch it out and try different patterns. My creative muse is Charisma. Her work is so pretty and appropriate for the quilt pattern. Just remember, we are all work in progress.

The first thing I do is to check the batting package to see how closely your quilting must be for the batting to hold up to regular use and washing. For cotton batting that usually means that there must be quilting at least every 2 inches throughout the quilt. Next, if I'm doing blocks I need to decide on a block patter than complements the block it's self then I add in borders that compliment the block pattern. Sometimes you can decide by the fabric it's self, say for an autumn table runner you can pretty much know that leaf motifs will be appropriate. One other thing that I consider is the seriousness of the quilt or the novelty of it. I wouldn't ever do Fluer-d-lis on a 30's print quilt for example. Background fillers are another thing to consider. If you want the blocks themselves (intricate piecing) to really stand out, I often will do stitch in the ditch on the blocks and fill the background fabrics with small motifs like stippling, meandering, circles swirls etc. Hope this helps but if not just post a pic of your quilt and folks will be happy to tell you what they would do for quilting it.

I look at the block design and let it be my guide on what to quilt. It also helps to use the "dry erase" plastic idea. You buy a piece of clear tablecloth plastic and use tape to frame all the sides. You buy the dry erase pens and mark your quilting design onto the plastic. You can lay the design over the block and preview it to see if you like it, if not erase and try another one until you get one you like. Remember if your quilting designs aren't quite what you've imagined there is always another chance on another quilt. Have fun!

Start small! I started just straight lines. Sid or crosshatch.