I just got my Juki and GQM frame last month. I made a practice free-motion quilt, which came out great, and two more quilts, one for a fundraiser for a crippled Italian Greyhound, which will be raffled off this coming week (First 2 pics)

I made this 1930's print quilt for me, 5 years ago, and put it aside until I got my frame. So I want to quilt it. I am feeling pretty good about random free motion quilting, but I don't have any idea how to get a design on the quilt and then quilt it. I'm overwhelmed by the options, I think. I want to create a design to quilt in the white areas, that will be consistent. Someone suggested paper, but how to get all that paper on the quilt before rolling it? And does it not mess up? What do you experts do? This quilt is really special to me, and I want it to be as perfect as I can make it.

very pretty, what is the pattern for the last one?

Thanks

Maybe you could try different drawings on a white board until you find one you like? Then practice on a muslin sandwich on the frame until you are comfortable putting it on your special quilt.

I have no problem coming up with the design. My question is how to mark it on the quilt for quilting? It's a big quilt, and I'm guessing you mark before you put it on the frame?

Not sure the pattern name. It was in a quilt magazine. (I know, not a lot of help, i must have 100 of them.)

I watched a video that Greenfairy did where she just marked the area with a disappearing marker just before she actually quilted it. If you know what you want to do, do you have a template? Can you get soem template plastic or cardstock and make one? Then you could just mark it before you quilt it as you go along. I could be way off on this, as I've never LA before!

The whole disappearing marker thing makes me nervous. Where does one get a disappearing marker, and how do you use it? I have some chalk, So I guess I could do a template and chalk it right before I quilt. i had this vision that people marked their whole quilt before putting it on the frame. Is that not so?

I am in the same boat with you! I just got a short arm that I have set up, but not used.

A friend of mine has a long arm machine and she lays a perforated paper on the top, and then uses a pounce chalk to mark the quilt the chalk just brushes off.

To make the template, trace the shape you are interested in on freezer paper, mark it and then use an unthreaded needle on your regular machine to follow the design and perforate the paper for your template. Then you can just move the template to each area of the quilt and use the same one over and over. If you do this, each of your quilts will have a uniform look, but each will have an original design for the quilting.

This is how I am planning on tackeling my situation.

Pam- Thank you! What I was looking for was pretty basic- this is what you do. And you nailed it. I am going to try this. You have to go for it. Once you do the first one and get through the kinks of how it works, it is totally addictive!

I did the whole cloth one and loved it- I traced around the flowers and then meandered in the solid areas. It gave me a lot of confidence. I used a pretty sheet, with another sheet on the back, and just appliqued the little framed dog on it. Give it a shot.

I did the whole cloth one and loved it- I traced around the flowers and then meandered in the solid areas. It gave me a lot of confidence. I used a pretty sheet, with another sheet on the back, and just appliqued the little framed dog on it. Give it a shot.


I am getting readyfor the Paducah show, taking classes and in a couple of them I need a quilt top, so been sewing on a Mariner's Compass to finish that off. I am also behind schedule on an art quilt. I need to get that done, I am holding the whole group up. I am quiting that now on my domestic machine. It is almost all sky and I am quilitng in meanering feathers to represent clouds. I hope to have that one done in a couple of days.

Depends. Are you going to do a free-motion design on your 30s quilt (beautiful, btw)? I picked up this tip from a quilting teacher. Have a piece of clear plexiglass cut to a size useful for you (I have an 18x24 piece). Spread your quilt out on a table and put the plexi on top of it. Draw in your designs on the plexi using one of those dry-erase markers. You can then audition several patterns or free-motion designs and not have sewn a single stitch (that would need to be taken out because you don't like it!!). I wrapped the edges of the plexi w/ blue painters tape to protect my hands from sharp edges, and also so I don't accidentally go over the edge and on to the quilt w/ the marker. This has helped me quite a bit. You can also trace a quilting pattern from a book and then lay the plexi on the quilt to see if it fits where you want to put it. Have fun!!