Is it ok to ask "how" to quilt here?
 

To be honest, I have only ever quilted one item.
Wait ... actually two. Two table runners, but that was done using stitch in the ditch, & it was a cathedral window that I did ... so it looked like it was more intricately quilted.

Here's a photo of the table runner that I pieced for my daughter.
Since I'm new to "quilting" (I love to piece) ... I really don't know what to do.
I have all the "stuff" I need. Walking foot, etc.
I do not have a long arm.

I DO have a Sweet Sixteen but not the stitch regulator, and since this runner is a bridal shower gift, I don't want to "learn" on the SS just yet. I'll save that for getting in lots of practice first.

Dd's shower is in 2 weeks. I'd really like to quilt this thing now (this week).
Any suggestions on what I can do?
I'm also not sure about what to do with that pineapple piecing. So pretty. Don't want to mess it up.

Thanks for your thoughts! I really could use some help here.

I COULD take this to a quilter, but I'll never learn if I'm off doing that (which is why I have pieced more than I have quilted).

Also, for the nicest look ... do I want to use a backing fabric & have it flip to the front for the binding, or should I make a separate binding. I'm thinking of using an aqua print or a grayish silver print (both are in the piecing if you look closely).

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I love the fabric you chose for the borders.i noticed that you cut the side pieces so the pattern " matches" on both sides. :thumbup: not many people notice that those types of prints have " stripes".

As far as quilting - I think just enough stitch in the ditch to hold the pineapple blocks down - then eithe a simple meander or crosshatch for the border. Or justsome parallel stitching around the center.

It takes time to learn how to quilt. When I started machine quilting, I chose the three tops I felt least attached to, and gave myself permission to ruin them. The quilt instructors I've watched on YouTube have all said, basically, you're going to make some ugly quilts while you learn; so personally, I would not start out learning to quilt on a gift quilt.

Sorry to be a wet blanket!! Your table runner is absolutely gorgeous. My suggestion would be, have a professional quilt this, and start learning on pieces that don't have to be perfect.

If you want to stick to straight-line quilting, how about a basic grid with the walking foot? You could use a variegated thread in blues or a monofilament. Here is what I'm talking about.

This is really good advice

What a beautiful table runner! I have no advice for the quilting though. Sorry. I am a fan of stitch in the ditch, and that is really all I know about.

Dina

Beautiful table runner. Love your choice of fabric.

You want to SID no matter what to make sure that it really lays flat. If you pick a 50/2 mid-grey (lighter than the paisley diamond in center of pineapples, darker than the light grey floral) it should be basically invisible.

I'm assuming you're asking because you want something more than SID. SID would certainly be an option, but here's another option for you to consider.
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For the pineapple blocks, I'd stick with a 40 or 50wt mid-grey thread so it does not show up very much and the piecing can be the focus. I'd do one small "star" in the very center square & then two more echoing that, touching each of the paisley pieces. I'd do triangles in a 40wt mid-grey. I would not hop to the outside of the white line until I reached within the 1/4" of the border that my binding would cover. Then I'd "continue" (minus the white) the lines from the triangles out to the edge of the quilt & follow back in to the white, travel stitching to next angled line.

When all of that was done, I'd consider adding a motif in the center of each "block" that was formed by your crossing lines. As a beginning FMQ'er, I'd recommend grabbing some scrap fabric to practice first, but doing a simple 4-petal motif (marked with white pencil or Ultra Clean crayon) in a 50/2 thread that is the same blue as the background would be simple enough & the thin matching thread would allow any minor glitches to seamlessly blend in. You need a Darning foot (also called Free Motion foot) to do FMQ on a domestic machine. It could also be done on the Sweet 16, but that isn't necessary as long as you have a Darning foot for your regular machine.

I would definitely mark your design first, especially as you are on a tight deadline.

As for the binding, speaking from experience, doing a "regular" double fold French binding is FAR easier than self-binding. The only reason I'd suggest a self-binding is if you are short on fabric. I did self-binding once. It took me hours to get the corners even close to decent. I would never do that again.

Yikes Bree123, that's a LOT of quilting for a beginner. I think this could be done simply and look great with just straight lines with a walking foot. I'd do the center with SITD, and not on every round, maybe every other.... Then a large single crosshatch in the border. You can mark it beforehand with tailor's chalk which will rub out easily enough when you are done quilting.

No need to send this out to a longarmer... you can do a nice job with your DSM. It's so beautiful, you don't want too much quilting stealing the show from those pineapples.

It's all straight lines except if she does any flowers & those are optional -- plus, honestly, unless using a very bright thread or a 28wt, the quilting in the borders really won't show up. I did something comparable with placemats for my 2nd quilting project (1st one was a SID table runner from JAF's BOM). I don't really think doing lines every 1/2" is any more difficult than doing lines every 2", but maybe that's just my personal experience. The nice thing about table runners is that you have very flat batting so when combined with a Walking Foot, the movement is very similar to piecing -- which she's clearly quite skilled at! :)

No suggestion for quilting this other than SID but it is beautiful. I like sewbizgirl's suggestion.

It's beautiful, beautiful! Your piecing is brilliant and so are the colors. I'd SITD for the pineapple parts. As for the border, I'm wondering if you'd consider using a stencil? Maybe a simple vine pattern? That way you'd be following lines and the quilt would have a mix of straight and curvy lines.

I myself would quilt this using my Bernina. I would first stitch in the ditch in the pineapple blocks. My preference is to see the beautiful piecing and not have any quilting being a distraction. The I would crosshatch the border 1" or 1.25" or 1.5" whichever looks proportionally correct with this lovely table runner. Good Luck! :)

Very nice Jackie! I used painters tape the last time I did a crosshatch design and just sewed next to the tape. I reused or put a new strip down after each line because that was easier than marking a large area all at once.
PS I have a stitch regulator for half off of retail if you want one for your SS.

WOW, thanks so much ladies for your suggestions about the quilting.

I cannot wait to find myself a FMQ class ... & maybe get some help with my SS machine, but yes, I am not brave enough to get into anything complicated on this project.

I DO love the straight lines though, & feel certain that I can do that!!
I LOVE the painter's tape idea, bc every time I have chalked lines, I've never been happy with it.

I'm going to make another quick post about thread & stitch length ... so that it will get noticed & get some traffic.

Thank you so much .... loved the ideas!!! Could never have come up with this on my own.

Many great ideas on how to quilt your lovely tablerunner. My question: what is the width of the border?, center pineapples? From the pic it seems those borders are very wide........taking away from your piećing. Jmho

I love your table runner and I'm sure your daughter will love it too. I love Bree's ideas although I would probably use SID around pineapples since they are so pretty. I'd use a medium gray or taupe thread #50 cotton. Somewhere, probably on here, I read to SID on low side (seams have been pressed to one side) and to spread the fabric out slightly. That way when you release your hands, the stitching will not show. Straight line quilting with a walking foot is great. I would pin baste this piece and start at the center and workout. I don't know why but sometimes I need to readjust the pins to avoid little pleats (anyone know why?). For big projects, I always follow Sharon Schambers method from YouTube to baste with boards using a Herringbone stitch. No pleating at all with this method. I love separate binding and hope you have enough fabric to do this. Cut 2 1/4 to 2 1/2" depending on thickness of batting so you end up with the same amount showing on the front and back. With your border, you won't be cutting off points in piecing, so I would just cut it 2 1/2" and sew a 3/8" seam if you need to. I love McCall's Sharon Driver's 4 videos for doing binding. So easy. BTW, I would use cotton batting as polyester would melt if something hot was placed on it and I would check the batting for distance you need to quilt. Can't wait to see the finished runner.

I appreciate your opinion & I wonder what the others think, too.

I considered that!

I was going to use a lighter fabric for the border (a pretty grayish silver print) but my other daughter said NO, that this darker fabric made the table runner more youthful. I had to cut the border larger to accommodate the pattern. After seams it should come out to 5" on each side, and the blocks are 9" if I recall. Yes, it's a wider runner, but her table is wide. Not extra large wide, but 40-ish, I recall.

Maureen, when you say to SID on the low side, are you referring to the side that does NOT have the seam pressed to that side?

Thanks!

You got it! Some walking feet have a seam guide that actually rides in that ditch. I personally prefer an open toe foot so I can clearly see the seam, but I think I'm in the minority.

yes that's the side. Gently spread the seam apart with your hands in a u shape and stitch on the line on the low side and when you release your hands, you can barely see the stitching. Try it. You will love SID. Makes everything stand out and stabilizes it for FMQ.

i don't know if you're in the minority. I also don't like the seam guide. I don't think it gets close enough to the seam line.

I just want to wish you luck and tell you that I love your pineapple blocks!!!

those are beautiful pineapple blocks....you are going to be a great quilter one day. You have talent.

Love the fabric you chose for the borders. I'd keep the quilting reasonably simple so it doesn't detract from the pineapples. Like others, SID for the pineapples but I'd suggest piano key stitching for the borders to direct the eye toward the center design. You are working on a bit of a close deadline so it needs to go fairly fast.

As usual, the ladies here have come up with wonderful ideas. I just wanted to say how gorgeous your table runner is. Your daughter will treasure this forever. Thanks for sharing with us.

I like Mad Quilter's idea. It's not too much quilting but would be beautiful. That is one beautiful piece.

This is not a practice piece. Practise on something you won't mind ruining. Having to be too good for what you know will stifle your creativity, it seems to me. Give it to a pro.

I much prefer the quilting over the piecing. We would make a good quilting team jackiequilts4fun
http://www.quiltingboard.com/images/...er-offline.pngI love Bree123 s idea however I agree with sewbizgirl that the pineapple piecing is so gorgeous I wouldn't quilt over it. I do like Bree's idea for the border and would consider doing that. Perhaps SITD for the pineapples.

I would do all this with a walking foot. On a regular sewing machine Free motion quilting straight lines is challenging. If you want to FMQ a simple meander in the borders is a better bet though I prefer Bree's border idea.

Bree I am going to start posting my tops to get your suggestions for quilting. You are obviously a master at this.
Can't wait to see the finished piece!


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Where are you located?
Maybe I should just send this to you to quilt for me!!!
What would you charge me?
Could you do it?

I started marking it last night with chalk to do some straight line quilting.
I didn't have the right thread, though.
Thought I'd stop for that today.

Ladies, if I sent this out for meandering quilting on the border what would that cost?
I do know a couple of ladies who do it.
I could do the SID & bind it myself.

Anything that had a different design in one area versus another is considered CUSTOM quilting. Doing meandering just on the borders would be custom. On top of that, you'd want to ask the LA'er:
1) Would she accept a quilt that was already partially quilted (assuming you are going to SID or otherwise straight line quilt the pineapples -- they need something to secure them or the quilt will come apart over time with laundering and/or batting will shift and bunch)?
2) Is there a minimum charge for her to do work?
3) What do you need to do to prep your quilt for LA'ing?
4) How long would it take to complete the job?
5) And, of course, make sure you get everything in writing: type/color/weight/brand of thread, description/sketch of design, cost, delivery date, what happens in case of a cost overrun, type of batting & whether you're providing batting or LA'er is, whether binding is going to be made/attached at all, and if so, how?

Cost varies by geographic area. By me (Chicago suburbs), custom quilting typically runs $0.05 - 0.06 per square inch (take length x width of your runner and then multiply it by 0.05). So a 20x50" runner would be around $50. The LA'ers by me have a minimum charge of $45 so I'd probably just have them do the straight line (SID) quilting & something in the borders -- why not pick a really lovely design if you're paying for it to be professionally quilted -- since it's going to end up somewhere around the minimum charge anyways?

FYI ... members can get kicked off the site for promoting their quilting services in threads (other than a link to their website in their signature). Your best bet is to get recommendations from those who have used their services here & can provide you a link to their business, allowing you to contact them directly rather than through QB. We have, sadly, lost some really incredible members this way in the past so it's best to just conduct any business off-site, imho. That said, although I quilt all my own quilts, I know I've seen some really incredible professional quilters here on QB!!!

I prefer to do minimal quilting and not 'confuse' the piecing. On this, my first thought is to do a wavy line thru the center of the first, third and fifth strip in the block. And maybe a small flower or circle in the very center. I would do a large more floral line down the borders. Whether you self bind or use a separate binding is your choice (remember, it is your runner, you get to make the rules!). But, I would tend to do the blue-silver rather than the aqua. I really like your colors and really, really like that you used a small white frame for the blocks.

The fabric you have chosen is gorgeous and bearisgray pointed out that you had matched the border strips, which I had failed to notice, but fantastic design element. I might do SID every other strip on the quilt blocks, then maybe a cable or cross hatching in the border, but there are lots of options. I am afraid I am a SID and straight line machine quilter, haven't gotten my big girl panties in other types of quilting, but I'm trying to get brave enough to just go for it.

I think your piece is gorgeous! If you are nervous about quilting it, find a long arm person and have her do it. Practice and learn on a piece that doesn't matter so much emotionally. Either way your daughter is going to love it.

Very good advice, sewbizgirl!

Your runner is beautiful! Love the print you decided to use for the border! If you use one of the fabrics you mentioned for the backing -- the aqua print or the grayish silver print -- for the backing, then I would turn it to the front as the binding. Not sure which fabric you mean that's in the pineapple, but that mottled silvery lilac that is the lower right hand triangle of the block that encloses the center square would look smashing, I think.

Whatever you do, it will look stunning.

Sorry, no recommendations on the quilting. I'm a novice in that department myself.

If you were close by (San Diego) I would have you come over and practice the walking foot quilting and then you could quilt this beautiful pineapple quilt. I just taught two of my friends how to walking foot quilt and FMQ a few weekends ago. (See the hen party post). I don't quilt or teach for money. Have too many projects of my own to finish up and not sure I'm good enough anyway. I wish I lived closer! Well actually I wish you lived closer, can't beat the 75 degree beautiful weather here.

Consider practicing for an hour or so with your walking foot and getting a feel for whether its doable. I really do think you could use your walking foot and with a bit of practice before hand do a very good job on this. The quilt will be beautiful no matter what you decide.