Perhaps it's just me but sometimes I feel the quilting done by Longarm Quilting shops (private or store-front) are over-using the Feather Quilting design.

I see many, many absolutely beautiful quilt top pictures posted to show off their creations only to see that the Longarm quilter has smothered the quilt top with feathers.

Don't get me wrong, I love the look of feathers on a quilt however, I often look at the pics and say to myself - it would have been nice if another quilting design was used other than the feathers or, along with the feathers to give the quilt some character.

Often I feel the feathers TAKE AWAY from the beautiful quilt top, its piecing and fabric colour/patterns.

This is not meant as criticism, but merely to find out other points of view - again I reiterate - I love the look of feathers BUT I think sometimes they should be used in moderation.

Thoughts please?

I agree. But I also like machine quilting that is less dense, too.

I agree

me too....they have their place, but not too many and not on ALL quilts..and I hate/dispise MICRO quilting....I like to see some space/fabric showing..not just stitching everywhere...

Ditto.

Ditto!

not me- i never do feathers!
i have noticed some people do them on every quilt-- but not everyone does- i am one long-armer that does not do feathers- i'm fairly sure i'm not the only one.

oh yes....i don't like quilts that are almost "hard" from so much quilting......they lose that cuddly feel.....am a firm believer in " a little goes a long way"

Less is more to me.

It depends on the quilt. Some are greatly enhanced by dense quilting, sometimes including feathers.

I tend to agree with you. Of course it does not hurt that I do not like feathers. I just have been seeing a lot of them lately and most often they are taking away from the quilt.

Then you could ask the question--"Is stippling overdone?" and you could ask "Is SID overdone?" and you could answer "YES" to both. So to answer your answer your qustion--"Whatever floats your boat! Do what makes you happy!"

Some of the really dense and imaginative quilting, especially what seems to be competition bound is really amazing. However, I can't imagine it on anything but some type of art piece. Do you think some are going for that look? I think sometimes we can get too caught up in the latest "trends"--wanting to be on the "cutting edge" and all that. Too much of a good thing looks exactly like what it is, too much!

Ditto!!! Feathers have their place and they're VERY fast to quilt, but I like to look at the quilt and let it speak to me. :)

Traditional hand quilted feathers are soft and flexible in comparison with machine quilted feathers. There are so many designs for machine quilting - feathers are only one.

i like feathers a lot. and i agree that i would like to see more open areas of piecework and not see the quilting overwhelm the piecing. but here's another thing: i would like to see another kind of design. it seems that i see the same designs all the time. bubbles, bananas, vines, cables, meanders, feathers, curls, etc.

when i check out the leah day website, i see hundreds of other interesting patterns for quilting, but i hardly ever see them being used on an actual quilt. feathers will always be the favorite if feathers is all anyone sees.

I love feathers. I doubt they could be overdone--for me. However, I like the looser feathers on a bed quilt and the heavier work on a wall quilt. And I'm really happy to see a quilter throw in some dragonflies! I think that it's like all things beautiful -- or ugly. It's in the eye of the beholder.

I agree, when it is too dense, you cant tell what the quilt looked like.

I cannot even imagine the time that would be involved in using Leah Day's patterns on a bedsize quilt. And it would be very densely quilted.

I like feathers but not a lot of them. They are nice on the borders and in large background areas. To much quilting makes a quilt hard

Ditto!

What one loves, another might not - to each his own.
I like the feathers, but also like many other quilt patterns.
I tend to prefer the not-so-densely quilted quilts - seem softer to the touch and to my eyes.
As long as the quilting is no farther apart than the width of my fist, I'm satisfied it will hold up to washing, and isn't that really the original intent of quilting the piece - to prevent batting from bunching in laundering.

i didn't mean as an all-over design. i meant as a filler and in only some places. and looser than her tiny work. almost everything she shows can be enlarged and used as fillers.

http://freemotionquilting.blogspot.c...c-circles.html

this isn't the best example, but it gives a general idea of the possibilities. it's neither a bubble, nor a feather, nor a curl, but it's a nice filler and interesting in it's uniqueness.

There is room for all of us in using design and quilting. Seems like we have this thread every few months or so. Each quilter needs to do his own thing. :):)

I feel better now! I haven't learned to do feathers and felt like I had to learn how to do them. I also don't like really dense quilting unless the project calls for it. Glad I'm not the only one to think this way!

Well said! and Im not going to say much more about it... other than I love feathers and I think most LA'rs especially here, do a beautiful job of quilting them and Ive never seen one "over" done. Dont forget not all densely quilted quilts are "hard", the batting plays a big role there.

If you paying a LAQ, this will be custom quilting and will be much more expensive. Thre are a lot of things to consider, it is not always just a simple decision.

I love feathers but I think overal long arm quilting is over done. I like functional and soft quilts and some of these gorgeous quilts look beautiful but not inviting. Also I often feel the piecing has fallen away and the attention is on the quilting. If this is the intent and people want this that is great. If you do not and you bring your quilt away to be quilted besure to talk to the person quilting before hiring them.

Feathers are appropriate in certain areas of a quilt, but over doing takes away from all the piecing or applique.

that's interesting. i always thought that feathers was custom quilting. i thought simple edge to edge or loops was the least expensive to have done and the rest was all custom.

thanks for that information.

I wish I could do feathers, but for now I just meander around...

Ditto. I am a longarmer and i do some feathers if it's best for the quilt and alright with the piecer. most of my quilts have no feathers at all...

I thought the quilting pattern or design were chosen by the quilt maker? I would think the LA quilter would be just doing what was requested? Unless they are told to do whatever they want. Maybe they do what they are most comfortable doing? Be it feathers, swirls or stippling. I have a sunbonnet sue quilt that is all hand appliqued, I have been reluctant to get quilted because I know what I want done and am afraid it won't come out like I want it. So it sits as a UFO in a box...it was my DGD's Christmas gift from last year. Maybe I will get it done for her this year. Guess I better get movin' cause it's mid Sept already huh?? crafty_linda_b

It can be custom depending on the quilt. If it is an overall design then it wouldn't be custom, so it just depends. I do all freehand(not with pantos), but there a lot of pantos that are overall feather patterns.

Talk to quilters that you know who have sent their quilts to LAQ that they are happy with. A good LAQ will do exactly what you want.

I think that there are always current trends that we might love and time passes and something else comes along new and we love it!! I used to look at my mom's quilts from the 70's and 80's and just didn't like the batting and colors and block patterns, ect. They are lovely, well done quilts, by the way! But, as time passes, I see the real beauty of them and realize they are the style of an era, and will be loved and remembered fondly. Is this maybe why all the current or constantly changing choices cause us to like or dislike them? Just thinking...I love feathers, but don't care for quilting that is so dense on a quilt to cuddle under!

Well put, Jillnjo, I agree wholeheartedly.:) I have some from the 80s that no longer appeal to me for just some of these reasons.

I tend to be very much a minimalist, feeling that the pieced pattern is intended to be the focus unless it is a whole cloth quilt or one with lots of 'open' space. That said I greatly admire quilting either by hand or machine that enhances the design and increases the beauty of the quilt. Just don't overdo it!

I agree with you!

I very much agree that many quilts are way over quilted,I am a hand quilter only and like the soft fluffy look.