A question for those of you that do machine quilting, either on a frame or on your regular sewing machine: do you generally do the same pattern over the entire quilt? Or one pattern for the blocks of the quilt, and something else for the borders?

It's all a matter of personal preference. I do it on my regular sewing machine. Sometimes I stipple everything. Sometimes I do a pattern for the blocks and something else for the borders. I just look at the quilt as a whole and decide what I want to do. BUT, I always start off practicing on a practice sandwich. Practice, practice, practice.

Hope that helped. I know others will give you some wonderful suggestion.

This all depends on the quilt. For instance, a quilt with large hand applique blocks would suggest not quilting over the applique and some heavier quilting around it to accent the applique. On a very busy quilt or one with an overall pattern, like a Bargello, the quilting might be an overall large stipple or a looser end to end repeating pattern. Some quilts with multiple blocks the same, like Ohio Star or Baskets, might use the same design in each individual block. Wide open spaces lend themselves to denser quilting, where the quilting now becomes the accent. And for most quilts, I like to do something different in each border or sashing.

To me it also depends on the quilt. Sometimes you want to "hide" the quilting to make your fabric be the focal point, and other times you want to quilting to be the focal point. I was just watching a show at Thequiltshow.com with Joanie Zeier Poole. She does some serious machine quilting that looks amazing, combining intricate designs with very fine thread. It is worth watching.

Maria

It depends on the quilt. Some of them I stipple and other squares and borders are perfect for a design.