I absolutely love the middle one - it will look so beautiful!! You would have to have it quilted, though, whereas the tied one would be quilted once you have tied the ties. But I think if you're willing to have it quilted by a long arm quilter, then go for the middle one.

I just love stories like this, this is what family is about! Very nice.

I personally like the South Seas Squares

Quilt number 1 is by far the the easiest, if you can sew straight seams. You will need to be really careful that the seams are uniform. Reject #3. It isn't ragged edge enough to look good.

I like the looks of the second quilt best. Good luck whatever you do. froggyintexas

I like the 2nd one, it looks great and you might actually get it done by Christmas. Most bed quilts take a looooong time to make, so keep it simple. If you can't manage it right now for Christmas giving, then do a table topper. Or think about 'farming out' the top quilting (finding a pro with a long arm machine), that will help speed things up a bit, but it can be pricey.
Good luck!
Regards,
MaryAnna

Good luck finding a longarmer that isn't fully booked already!! If they aren't I wouldn't take them any quilts because they must not be very good to not already be booked!

Ohmisslizzie do you have a friend that could quilt with you? Someone who could help guide you through this?? all the advise I have read is great. When I first started quilting a new, now dear friend showed me how. She directed me to do a small wall hanging. That was five years ago and it is still hanging on my wall. I love it. Wish we could get together and work together. Then it would not take so long to sew or tie.

Living in the Shendoah Valley of Virginia,
Katrina

Good point ScissorQueen! Yes, good longarm quilters are always pretty well booked, so you should have already taken the quilt to her by now in order to get it back by Christmas.
Kind Regards,
MaryAnna

The best longarmer in my area is booked a full year in advance! Most of the rest are booked at least 6 months in advance.

go through quilting magazines at the newsstand and read the directions.
Quick Quilts mag. may have something you like. If you do jelly roll quilts which are rolls of 2 1/2 strips, this would be the easiest. And it goes togetherv quickly. You pick your own material. ConnectingThreads.com has material for reasonable prices.
Good luck
Marla

On the mark again Scissor Queen! I agree the best longarm quilters are booked in advance. In my area there are 3 that I know of, and they are booked 3-6 months in advance. During this time of year you can forget it. I usually do my own top quilting; however I can't manage a queen/king size quilt. I'm reading up on quilting a bed sized quilt at home by doing it in sections.
Have you tried that yet? I was just curious as to how well it comes out. Longarmers are expensive and the bigger the project, the bigger the $$$. What are they charging in your area? In my area it starts (lap quilt, wall hanging, crib quilt) at $150.00, for basic single design, the more designs the more you pay, and of course you provide all materials. It really gets painful at the king size level.
Kind Regards,
MaryAnna

Yes I've been thinking about it and I want to do the sashing myself and this is probably too much to take on to finish by christmas as I have 4 kids and i am making most of my family members blankets, pajamas etc...I just won't have time to get it all done, and I don't want to rush through hers - I want to have the time to really focus and not feel pressured, I did find a tutorial for a small quilt that I am going to be making 3 of before christmas- but it is much easier than the queen sized one I was talking about, I will use similar prints for 1 of them but use different prints for the other two, when I finish them I will post pics even though they are little ones (well Im making them larger than the instructions 50 x50), I will attach a link so you can see and let me know what you think!! Thanks for all the advice - you are all sooo wonderful!
http://www.modernorganicfabrics.com/...tle-quilt.html

Well this sounds like something you can finish in time for Christmas!
And I think the bright and lively colors look fantastic!
Regards,
MaryAnna

I like the second one, it is very pretty. She has some very pretty patterns. Sometimes she does tutorials of quilts on her blog. I thought I saved at least one, but couldn't find them.

I like the quilt you just gave the link for. It is do-able by Christmas, especially when you plan to make more. It will be easier to handle to quilt as well. Good plan to wait to make a big bed quilt so that you can take your time. I sent you a PM.

WOW !!!! Now why didn't I think of that....I have wanted a large quilt with stripes fully across and pondered on the logistics of doing this....thinking seams staggered on all stripes. WOW !!! My plans can now proceed.

I LOVE the stripped quilt best in the three patterns.