patriciaponder

Your quilt is absolutely stunning! I recently handquilted my first grid pattern on a small throw and liked the way it turned out. The stars will pop up if you quilt around them which would be beautiful.

My grid was 1" that I drew off with ruler. It was easy stitching ... all straight lines.

patriciaponder

Oh, the yellow blob in the middle is actually a free standing lace butterfly that is three dimensional. The pic looks like I dropped something on it! lol

I stitched straight lines in the corners around the machine embroidery instead of the grid.

purrfectquilts

That is a beautiful quilt and will be enhanced by your hand quilting. It will need to be quilted evenly so that when washed, it continues to look nice. Searching on the internet brings you tons of patterns that you can enlarge or trace to fit your spaces. Also, the library has books that you can copy the page you want. Or stencils. I keep several books in my own library of just quilting designs. These are reduced or enlarged to fit my spaces. Good luck!

patriciaponder

Karen, this is beautifully done! How do you mark your quilts? I have tried several methods and haven't found one that I can use on every project.

karenm36

Thanks! That's a million dollar question isn't it?! This had me stumped as I tried several things including a special mechanical pencil with ceramic type lead that's supposed to erase off easily...well it didn't. Even stayed when I tried to gently remove it with mild soap and water...the markings are still somewhat visible and now I have a water stain on the back...not good! Hope it washes out when I complete my quilt and I wash it then.

So after interviewing LOTS of women who do this a lot more than me, I settled on a fine point water erasable fabric marking pen. I can see the lines well but they are not too overpowering being that it's a fine point. Best of all, as soon as I'm done with the motif I'm working on I spritz some water on it...and bingo...it's gone! And since it doesn't need scrubbing to remove it...it has dried quickly leaving no water stain.

Hope this helps! Karen

karenm36

Patricia, this is beautiful!!!

patriciaponder

Thanks. It won a blue ribbon at our county fair ... don't know if there were other entries in same category. lol This is a present for my only daughter-in-law ... her favorite flower and color.

I used an air erase marking pen and marked the lines that I thought I could quilt before the lines automatically erased. Worked for this project.

I have the pounce and two of their stencils and that works also.

I bought a stencil maker and use a wash away pen and that works for the areas that I want a specific size or design. So far I've made the calla lily and it didn't make it into this quilt but perhaps the next one.

So you see I can't make up my mind!!! lol

rosiew55

That is very beautiful! Maybe CraftyBear has an idea! She is a genius:)

ruthieg

I agree with the idea to outline the stars. I prefer 1/4 inch away from the ditch as it makes the star pop. Then in the large blocks to put another motif. Easily drawn on with a stencil ;and washable marker. Even if the big square is simple, it will look good (great). It is well worth the time to make the quilting as elegant as the quilt is.

smitty

those big squares just cry out for some beautiful design in hand quilting ! maybe decide to take more time & make it a real beauty. I so envy anyone who can hand quilt ! you will never regret the time you spend on it, but if you make it real plain, you will always think "I should have done more !".