How do you select a quilting design
 

So, I am getting more and more confident in doing free-hand quilting on my LA. I havent found my "voice" yet, sadly. But have every confidence that I will. Just a few minutes ago, I posted a few questions to Charisma on her thread and it got me thinking that there are a few questions I could ask everyone. So assuming we are talking a piece that you want to freehand quilt in any way you want,

1. Where do you see the most inspiration? the blocks themselves? Other quilters work? a design you like best?

2. Do you find that you tend to keep going to the same designs that you are confident with, or do you try out new things?

Ugh, thought I had more questions, but that will do for now, hoping some answers will prompt more questions :) and a dialog.

I find the blank expanse of fabric (even if it's blocks etc) a little daunting - what to do where, how to start!
Sorry I'm not much help but I am interested!
Let's hope we get some members responding.

Oh dear!! There are so many responses to this question. I first ask myself how the quilt will be used. Is it a utilitarian or medium use or a show quilt? I also take into account the material "flavor" meaning is it a modern, country, contemporary, ect. Then I ask myself how much quilting because of the design of the blocks and where they need the extra stitching to have it stabilized correctly.

Then there is the amount of stitching that is needed for the batting I am using. When I answer this is when I move on to the design part. Often the quilt will "talk" to me as to where it needs this and that to make it right.

There are tons of books, pantos and classes. I am taking one now at craftsy for the background filler stitches by Leaha Day. (sp?) It is shown on a domestic (home) machine, but the principles are the same either way. She is the one who did the 365 days of stitches on her blog some time ago.

I really think if you start looking around on the web, you will find groups and classes that you can take from home. Also the local quilt stores have classes you can take to get the hand's on experience.

I'm still trying to expand my repertoire of designs, so I definitely try out new things, although I also have some standby designs that work well in various situations and I incorporate them too. I buy books from longarmers like Angela Walters, Karen McTavish, etc. and take classes when possible. I was really blown away by Judi Madsen's book, Quilting Wide-open Spaces. I also take Machine Quilting Unlimited, the magazine, and take lots of close-up pictures of good quilting when I go to quilt shows. I find quilts on the internet and save pictures in a folder for later study. When I get a quilt with a specific pattern I often look for quilting examples on the internet or in books, not that I always use those examples, but they furnish ideas. I don't do pantos, so I look at free motion designs and ruler work.

I just got a friend's quilt, and have been staring at it. Angela Walters just did a tute on making her paisley feathers, so I'm thinking about incorporating that into the design. The quilt has large pieces of a fabric with a very large floral print, really lovely, so I'm also thinking about doing some stitching to accentuate those flowers. It will probably take me at least another day to decide what to do.

I get stuck at that point also -- I do see other quilts that inspire me to think outside the box. It is certainly fun to learn and grow!

Lately I've been trying different designs and going beyond my usual swirls and stippling. I've gotten inspiration from Angela Walters and Leah Day, as well as books and watching videos on-line.

I also have trouble trying to decide exactly how to FMQ my quilts. The first year with my Longarm I just did a meandering/stippling stitch all over and was happy. About six months ago I branched out and do the loopy loops. I've tried to watch several youtube videos, then tried to duplicate the flow of the stitch using a sharpie on a piece of paper. When I find something I like, I will try to practice it several times on paper first before getting brave enough to try it on the longarm. All of the videos on line make it look like such an easy process. I've probably done at least 25 quilts on my longarm, but still consider myself a newbie at it.

While I can appreciate the detail involved in a lot of Leah's filler designs, the thought of spending days and days doing such small detail on a large quilt makes my head spin. If someone ever created an app where you could upload pictures of a quilt and answer some basic questions about your preferences and it could give you several choices for completing the quilting, I would buy that app!

I heard an instructor say you should always do one and only one new thing on each quilt you do. This way, most of the quilting will be something you are familiar with, and only one thing to learn. by the time you finish the quilt the one new thing will be added to your tool box. I don't always do this, but I try!