Help please! Log Cabin
 

Hi everyone! I need some advice on quilting this and on the thread color I should use. I am practicing my fmq, but am not that good at it yet, so need some suggestions on quilting. Also, I'm having trouble deciding on a thread color since the colors range from light lavender to dark purple. Any and all input will be greatly appreciated. The picture doesn't show the color graduations very well.

As for color ... either a variegated purple or a grey (solid or variegated).

As for design ... if you are currently practicing FMQ I would concentrate on the design you plan to use and get the muscle memory down. You might find it easier to do a "free style" all-over design on this: meandering, loop-de-loop or even throw in a heart or leaf on the loop-de-loops.

I agree with a varigated thread, maybe lighter for the light parts and darker for the dark parts. For quilting, I'd section off parts with the walking foot, then fill in with all-over swirls or wavy lines. Pretty quilt!

Thank you for the suggestions. I've looked for other log cabins to get some ideas, but they all seem to be stitch in the ditch, which I'm not sure I want to do.

I would definitely ***not*** do stitch in the ditch! My suggestion for quilting is to use a walking foot and a straight stitch, guiding the fabric so you make softly waving lines. These can vary from each other. Your quilt pattern lends itself very well to this technique (which is also very easy to do!) because you can make the wavy lines run diagonally through your pattern. The wavy lines add a very nice "modern" touch to a quilt, in my opinion. I will see if I can find a photo:
http://www.sewmamasew.com/2014/04/qu...foot-quilting/
That is not exactly what I am talking about (wavy lines running diagonally through your quilt), but the website shows how you can achieve that effect.

I would highly recommend adding several layers of spray starch to both your top and backing fabric if you have already layered the quilt. This will help keep the fabric stable as you wander down the diagonal. If you haven't layered yet, I would spray starch the top several times and heavily starch the backing fabric (a 1:1 solution of Sta-Flo liquid laundry starch and water is good).

I do think a variegated purple thread would look lovely on this quilt.

I would stitch at a 45 degree angle and just stitch straight. I would get two types of thread, one matching the purple and the other the lavender. If you know what cross hatching is, just stitch in just one direction.

I did a SID on a king size log cabin, but........on the light blocks my thread was light and on the dark blocks I used dark thread. I did it on my Designer 1 not a long arm, it was extra work but I did like the end result. So using the variegated purple thread would look swell..........nice quilt

Thanks Prism and Maniac! These are more the ideas that I have been thinking about. In doing these quilting lines, does the rule of starting in the middle and working out hold true, or can I start at an edge and go across? I'm very new to machine quilting, so need all the help I can get.

As far as color of thread I think it depends on how much you want your quilting to show. I tend to quilt in a grey or white thread as those blend in well with just about anything except a really dark color and even gray blends in fairly well there. I usually quilt my log cabin in a diagonal straight line. It is easy to do because you can just go from corner of one strip to the corner of another so there is very little marking needed.

For free motion I find loops easier for me than meandering. I always seem to back myself into a corner meandering.

I generally start near the middle when I'm quilting but if you have your quilt basted together well there isn't a whole lot of shifting if you use a walking foot so if you don't start right in the middle it should be fine. Basting well is really the trick here. I glue baste but have also pin pasted before that. I like the glue baste because there isn't as much bulk and weight as with pin basting.

I think I might alternate. In the diagonal light areas, I'd do something swirly and fun. And then in the diagonal dark areas, I'd do straight lines. Just to play. It's fun to play. :)

Both! :D You do not start in the middle of the quilt. You start at the edge, but in the middle of the edge. So, you are sewing edge-to-edge; no thread ends to bury, as they will be buried inside the binding. For the photo you posted, I would start in the upper lefthand corner and sew to the lower righthand corner. You can choose how you work out each way from that middle line. One option is to simply sew the next line on each side and keep moving out until you are done. Another option would be to sew anchoring lines out from the middle, using the light/dark pattern edges as your anchoring lines, then fill in each section with additional lines.

Should mention also that, in addition to starch, spray basting helps a *lot* to keep all 3 layers in continuous contact with each other so there is no shifting as you quilt. Elmer's glue would be my second choice for the same reason. Both are better than pin basting or thread basting in terms of keeping layers from shifting. (For spray basting, 505 is better than other brands. With polyester batting, some basting sprays do not hold as well as 505.)

You could use monofilament that is invisible.

If you look in Judy Martin's Log Cabin book you will find lots of feathers stitched into the light sections and are stunning. The concept of varigated thread would certainly be interesting because it would blend differently into the lights and darks sections.

Your quilt is just lovely! I love the easy suggestions for quilting since it sounds like you are just discovering the fun of doing FMQ! Before you know it, you will find yourself exploring more designs later. As for thread, experiment by unrolling some spools of thread on the top and see what grabs your attention and what looks good to you. This tip was passed to me by a very nice quilt store owner. Try a neutral such as a light silvery gray. Or a variegated thread with the different shades softly blending together? Light colored or medium colored variegated thread is another option. It will be fun to see what you decide to do with your log cabin quilt!

Lovely quilt! Here is an idea that I saved in my "Quilt Ideas" folder. I don't know where I found it (if I did, I would give credit), but it is another idea for you. Straight quilting, but different.

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If you could find a verigated purple it would look fabulous on this pretty quilt.

I'd tend to go with a variegated purple, and use a meandering stitch. Loops are also fun and would work, IMHO, on this gorgeous quilt.

love Maniac's idea and also the suggestion to use variegated thread. It's gonna be gorgeous!

Thanks for all the ideas and encouragement! The quilt is sandwiched and pin basted, but seems a bit "floppy" to me. May take it apart and starch the heck out of it and try the glue basting. I like the idea of the variegated purple or grey for the quilting.

I am afraid I don't have any quilting ideas for you, however, I do have to tell you that it is a gorgeous quilt, love the colors, as purple is one of my favorite colors. I would,however, suggest using a variegated purple thread for quilting.