Quilt as Desired???
 

I hate that phrase...Quilt as Desired. I want inspiration for my FMQ! I want to see closeups of the quilting design, sketches of the design like they do in BH&G American Patchwork & Quilting magazine, resources for patterns. Many times I end up drawing up my own design based on finished quilts I see on Pinterest or Google.

These are sites I love to browse through.

http://www.quiltingcreations.com/

http://www.digitechpatterns.com/

http://stitchhappy.com/Stitch%20Happy%20Digital/

Please share the sites you go to for your inspiration! The method doesn't matter to me. Even though I'm quilting on a domestic machine (Juki TL2010q) in a table, I still love to browse thru the digital designs and pantographs for ideas too. :)

I like to browse this site for inspiration http://forum.apqs.com/index.php?/forum/46-pictures/ there are some very talented quilters on there. I also really like Leah day's site The Free Motion Quilting Project and have learned so much there.
I am learning to quilt on my sweet 16 sit down machine.

I think what you have listed is a great arsenal of ideas....

Thanks for the link!

Usually, the quilt speaks to me on how it wants to be quilted. I don't have a LAQ so when I see an all over design, I start to think on how the hand quilters of the early 20th century would quilt the quilt. That is my inspiration beside photos of quilts on Google.

I took a FMQ class with Cindy Needham and really enjoyed her style. Followed her website and blog and recently she came up with 2 stencils that are all you need to design your FMQ block. She has an excellent digital book(s) to go along with these. Check her out.

Surprised that "quilt as desired" is a problem for anyone. Isn't making a quilt your own a main goal of most quilters?

Sure I want to make it my own...but not everyone can mentally envision how the quilting will look. I think my problem is that I might have an idea of what I want, but not sure how to execute it. For instance, I am trying to figure out what I want to do with my current quilt. I think I want a flower in the 16-patch block, but not sure how to tie it in with the 4-square/star sashing blocks. Plus I sometimes get stumped on what path to get from one place to another.

[ATTACH=CONFIG]505372[/ATTACH]

'\ wow have never heard of these! Great! will they work on a sit down?

I found this post very informative. It explains how this member finds the pattern she is going to quilt in the quilt pattern. It's interesting. The link to the thread is here: http://www.quiltingboard.com/tutoria...f-t243306.html

Well, then why not just say "piece as desired" and not offer any pattern at all?

I just spent a couple of hours browsing these sites. Lots of great quilting designs. I should have been quilting!!!!
Thanks for the inspiration

Thanks for sharing with us.

On the pic you showed...for example.......I do a lot of " planning" on scribble paper....I go to goodwill, but school notebooks cheap and those become my albums of ideas.......or practice sheets....on some quilts one cannot do a continuous pattern all the time....your 16patch could have a flower, or whatever, and then something else in the sashes...maybe traveling from one to the other in one of the seams. But, a lot of the times I will do each element, tie off and move on...sort of like a stop lite....just to look, check for lint.....or just admire your progress......I also use a magna doodle, another goodwill find, for doodles.....just my way....

I loved the links given for quilting designs. While I usually send my quilts out to be done, I'm starting to do smaller items that I can do on my home machine. These links were a God-send to me!!!

I usually cut a piece of paper the size of the block where I want the design. In your case, I would do the 16-patch and another paper with the sashing 4-square plus the other rectangular block. Then I use a pencil to try out designs. Like Maureen NJ, I recommend Cindy Needham's websites. If you search for Cindy Needham Ultimate Stencil, you will find a Free 27 page handbook for download that has two pages of diagrams you can print which gives guide lines to help you draw. She also has videos to show how to use the diagrams.

I do draw out my designs...I bought a roll of Exam Table paper from the medical supply store for $5 a few years ago. Still have a ton left. It's very economical to use. I just like to see examples of how certain patterns transform a quilt. Things that you wouldn't expect can sometimes totally transform a quilt. That Cindy Needham stencil looks interesting, I'll have to watch the videos. I did sign up for one of her Craftsy classes. I need to go back to that. So much to do, so little time. :)