unquilted sashing & borders
 

Hello to all you helpful folks out there! I have been lurking on this board for quite a while as I worked on my first two quilts, and have gleaned quite a bit of knowledge from you all. Hopefully you can help me with my next quandary:

I just finished binding my first completed quilt ever. It is hand-pieced, hand-quilted, and 42 inches square. I used 8-inch churn dash blocks separated by 2-inch wide sashing, and 2 inch wide borders. Since I wanted to get it done while my baby was still a baby ;), I only quilted in the white spaces of each block. I used Warm & Natural, which says that up to 10" quilting space is ok.

[ATTACH=CONFIG]425715[/ATTACH]

Now I am afraid that I made a mistake leaving the sashing & borders unquilted, since they are 42 inches long. What do you think? How does the 10 inch thing apply to long, narrow strips? And if I do need to add some more quilting, can I do it without removing the binding?

Hi, and welcome to the board. The quilting suggestions mean in all directions, so 10" north-south & east-west. I would want to put some quilting in the sashing and border. How about just a square where the cornerstone would be, (where the 2 sashes intersect each other) and where the sash intersects the border.

Abbie: Thanks for asking the question, always been a little unsure how the ten inch measurement applied. Hope to sww many more of your posts.

Welcome to the best group you'll ever encounter :)

You can go ahead and add some quilting even though the binding is on. We won't tell. :D You've done beautiful work with the quilting.

I quilt these areas just because the overall look is more appealing to my eye than leaving them plain. The sashings *are* a part of the piecing design, after all. I use a narrow stencil and draw on my design, often some kind of "chain" like this these from The Stencil Company.
( http://quiltingstencils.com/viewallborders.aspx )

Jan in VA

Thank you for the suggestions! I think I will probably add some quilted "cornerstones" just to be safe. When I finally finish my next top, I am looking forward to trying more interesting quilting designs like the stencils.

I did not quilt one of my borders which was 5 inches wide...totally regretted not quilting it...it makes it baggy. Good luck what ever you decide. It looks great!

I think from a technical perspective your quilting is sufficient. But I also agree w/Jan...I think quilting the sashing would add visual appeal. Or even just the cornerstones. Kind of makes it a bit more visually 'cohesive'. You've done a great job on your first quilt. Keep it up!

You've done a lovely job on your first quilt. Definitely add some quilting in the sashing - as Jan says, it does add to the design and will make the batting more secure.