Quilting the quilt
 

I see lots of quilters asking for ideas on how to quilt their quilt. For me this is one of the most difficult things about quilting. I quilt on my domestic machine, I do mostly quilts for Hospice, and I've been at it long enough to have acquired some skill. BUT, I have the most difficult time deciding, should I meander the whole thing, should I use a few stencils, STD,????? What helps your decide? Do you have any "go to" resources that help?

I have page savers (those sleeves you put in binders.) They're clear. You can take your stencils and mark a design on them then lay them on top of the area and see if the meander or stripe or pantograph will work. Works for me. You can with most wipe it off with alcohol.

I have lots of books that help with ideas. I also look for pictures on the internet of how other quilters have quilted a similar top. It's still hard, but I think practice is the key.

Thanks, Tartan, for the info on Lori Kennedy's site. I can't wait to try some of them. I just got a Tiara, so I'm in the process of learning to FMQ, but choosing a pattern is the hardest part for me.

I just got a couple Angela Walters books and her designs are expanding what I do since I pretty much just "wing it." I'm now moving beyond meandering or swirling. Thinking about what to quilt is hard for me too. Lately I'm discovering that SID can be a good thing for partitioning off parts (I rarely did this before). And I'm using different designs for the partitions. I've attached a recent sample. I've been working in a more modern style which isn't to everyone's taste.

Sometimes, the quilt will tell you what is best. But if I am stuck, I just start pulling out my huge collections of stencils and see what looks best. I quilt on my old Bernina 1530.

I think I will stick to hand quilting.....

Lori, that quilt is beautiful! I am just now doing my first modern quilt - for a young woman I work with. She wants only soft gray and white, and modern seemed the only way to go. I'm going to keep a copy of your quilt to hopefully inspire me when I quilt it....love how you did it.

For ideas, check out Pinterest --- there are some great ideas on there for machine quilting...I'm sure you'll find the perfect way to do it just from looking at the posts.

I like Leah Day's site http://freemotionquilting.blogspot.c...5-designs.html because it breaks down different FMQ designs by skill level.

I also watched a YouTube video with Heather Thomas that suggested making a little Quilt Pattern Binder where you quilt 15x15" blocks & then run grommets in one side & connect them with binder rings.

And finally, like Tartan's tablecloth idea, I take some clear plastic (plastic wrap, cut up Ziplock bags or whatever I had around) and draw my possible designs on them with a Sharpie. Once I think I have an idea, I sketch it out with a purple marker.

When all else fails, I ask other quilters, but mostly I avoid that since I haven't mastered very many stitches yet.