I made a quilt top over the weekend, need to border it yet, I used the extra square and made a lapquilt of 48x48 square, need to do a border on this as well, the large one will go to Dianna to be stitched... the lap one, I am not sure how to finish it.. should I machine quilt it in the ditch, is that hard to do? there is alot of squares to it... so do i do all of them? never machine stitched before... I was even thinking on knotting it with buttons... HELP!

Smile, I did the buttons with knots on a bedisze quilt and it took forever, or so I thought. Then when I put it on the bed my puppy thought the buttons were just for her and better that a doggie bone. I do like the look of the buttons in the squares corners and the knots on the back. I mostly quilt in the ditch and am just now getting so that I seldom "jump the ditch". I do all my own quilting. Whatever suits me at the time.

Size of the squares would make a difference as to how you might quilt it. Also the pattern. So perhaps showing a picture might be a good idea, if you want input.

Like everything, SID takes some practice, but it's not the end of the world if some of the stitches wind up outside the ditch. I would go for it, maybe even try some meandering too, and consider it practice for future quilts.

If you're doing SID, a walking foot makes the quilt feed much more easily and evenly. Show us your project when you're done!

Honestly, stitching in the ditch is probably not the thing to do if you have never quilted before. If you go off to one side or the other, it can be very noticeable.

A LA quilter taught me an easy way to do quilting that doesn't require precision and comes out really nice. She said to draw diagonal lines at 3" intervals and then sew a wavy line over each diagonal line. Draw diagonal lines going the other way and do more wavy stitches over that.

I drew some diagonal lines in black in the picture below to give you an idea of how it's done. Behind those black lines, you can see the wavy stitching. This is so incredibly easy and no one will ever know if you stayed exactly on the line!

And like the others have said, a walking foot is an absolute must.

oh? ... interesting....... thanks ya'll

Great pics .... curious what the pattern is called?
I see "Wine Glasses"! :)

It's a bottle. I took a class at a quilt shop on Cape Cod for it, but the shop has closed now. Let me Google and see if I can come up with anything. This is not an easy pattern to make - it has lots of easing that has to be done to go around those curves. I swore I would never make one again, but I did because it is so unique.

It's a bottle. I took a class at a quilt shop on Cape Cod for it, but the shop has closed now. Let me Google and see if I can come up with anything. This is not an easy pattern to make - it has lots of easing that has to be done to go around those curves. I swore I would never make one again, but I did because it is so unique.[/quote]

Would love the pattern as well. It is very pretty.

Great! .... wine bottles and the glasses! :)
One step better than Mug Rugs. I'll leave it to someone creative to come up with a rhyming couplet for these!!! :)

Same concept as Apple Core pattern ... I was thinking it looked like it might even be easier than it? I appreciate your surfing to see if you can find it!! :)

Well Google wasn't very helpful - it thought I meant baby bottle type stuff.

I have the acrylic template and directions at home. The directions have a website name on them, but I don't have that here at work. Will have to post it from home.

Oh no, not easier at all. With apple core, you have one concave and one convex piece to put together. With the bottle pattern, you have two of each. Not trying to discourage anyone from doing this pattern, but it is a tough one. :?

I sometimes SITD with a decorative stitch and variegated thread. The decorative stitch will cover a multitude of errors and adds interest to the top.

ha !! yeah I see them as well.. ok, knock it off... hee hee

Thanks! I'm up for hte challenge ... not one to have imbibed before starting!! Or maybe that'd make it easier? :)

Instead of SID why don't you sew 1/4" seam just inside or outside of the ditch......or both. Love that look.

The website name on the pattern is www.comequiltwithme.com and it is called bottle quilt there. The pattern shows a black, red and white quilt on the front.

Here's another picture with a ruler on top of it. This one really shows the quilting design. Just pretend I drew a line next to the ruler. That drawn line is what you sew a wavy line over. The drawn line sort of keeps you in line so that it's somewhat even when you're done.

Thanks, I'm getting ready to try this on a scrapy quilt.