First quilts sent out, received back today!
03-07-2025, 11:22 AM
#1
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Thread Starter
Join Date: May 2013
Location: Ballwin, MO
Posts: 4,603
First quilts sent out, received back today!
I'm excited to have received the first two quilts back that I sent out for quilting, so I wanted to share.
My initial plan had been to be a hand quilter; but soon after discovering quilting, I lost my ability to sit for long periods at a time (due to back issues), so I turned to machine quilting (plus the fact that I was making far too many tops to ever hand quilt them all). After several years, machine quilting also became too difficult due to those back issues. It took awhile for me to come around to the idea of someone else finishing my quilts, but recently I abruptly realized that finished by someone else was preferable to never finished at all.
Since my energy is low and I can't drive myself around, I decided my best bet was to send my quilts out to a reputable quilting establishment in my state (to be end-to-end quilted with an allover design on a longarm machine), rather than shopping around for a local longarm quilter. They made the process very easy! I had the option of choosing my own quilting design and thread color, and whether or not I wanted the quilted top trimmed and bound.
For one of the quilts, I chose what I thought would be an appropriate design, and the thread color I thought would blend best with the many-colored top; for the other, I left both decisions to the quilter's discretion.
I'm pleased with both results, but I now find myself wondering what the quilter would have chosen had I not specified design and thread color for the one quilt, LOL. I think both quilts turned out very well, but the thread color on the quilter's discretion quilt, which I think is perfect, is darker than I would have guessed would look good, and I was very surprised to see that a straight-line design was chosen. Since I think it looks so good, I'm thinking I will always opt for quilter's discretion on choosing the best design and a thread color that will blend best with the front of the quilt.
So now I have to get to binding these quilts, which is a slow process for me because of restricted sitting time, but at this stage, I wasn't willing to pay for what hand binding would have cost. And I'm getting my next quilt ready to be sent out.
This brings me to the question of custom quilting, which isn't an option for a mail-order process. Are there types of quilts that you think/find an all-over design inappropriate or non-optimal for? I'm thinking particularly of the one sampler I have done. I haven't yet given thought to what would be best for that. For those of you who have your tops finished by someone else, is the custom option much more expensive?
My initial plan had been to be a hand quilter; but soon after discovering quilting, I lost my ability to sit for long periods at a time (due to back issues), so I turned to machine quilting (plus the fact that I was making far too many tops to ever hand quilt them all). After several years, machine quilting also became too difficult due to those back issues. It took awhile for me to come around to the idea of someone else finishing my quilts, but recently I abruptly realized that finished by someone else was preferable to never finished at all.
Since my energy is low and I can't drive myself around, I decided my best bet was to send my quilts out to a reputable quilting establishment in my state (to be end-to-end quilted with an allover design on a longarm machine), rather than shopping around for a local longarm quilter. They made the process very easy! I had the option of choosing my own quilting design and thread color, and whether or not I wanted the quilted top trimmed and bound.
For one of the quilts, I chose what I thought would be an appropriate design, and the thread color I thought would blend best with the many-colored top; for the other, I left both decisions to the quilter's discretion.
I'm pleased with both results, but I now find myself wondering what the quilter would have chosen had I not specified design and thread color for the one quilt, LOL. I think both quilts turned out very well, but the thread color on the quilter's discretion quilt, which I think is perfect, is darker than I would have guessed would look good, and I was very surprised to see that a straight-line design was chosen. Since I think it looks so good, I'm thinking I will always opt for quilter's discretion on choosing the best design and a thread color that will blend best with the front of the quilt.
So now I have to get to binding these quilts, which is a slow process for me because of restricted sitting time, but at this stage, I wasn't willing to pay for what hand binding would have cost. And I'm getting my next quilt ready to be sent out.
This brings me to the question of custom quilting, which isn't an option for a mail-order process. Are there types of quilts that you think/find an all-over design inappropriate or non-optimal for? I'm thinking particularly of the one sampler I have done. I haven't yet given thought to what would be best for that. For those of you who have your tops finished by someone else, is the custom option much more expensive?
Last edited by joe'smom; 03-07-2025 at 11:24 AM.
03-08-2025, 04:59 AM
#2
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Join Date: Sep 2010
Location: Delaware
Posts: 1,620
I can empathize with your sitting for long periods of time due to back issues. I find it difficult to sit or stand for more than 20 minutes due to back pain. So I chip away at the quilting fun buy cutting a short time and the. Sewing for a short time. I keep my ironing board a walk away from either station so I am forced to move. We do what we hve to in order to keep doing what we enjoy.
As for the quilting, I think an all,over design would not work for a hand appliqué top. I do a lot of wool appliqué work and would not want the quilting design to go over the wool pieces. And I think it would detract from a regular applied quilt. But depending on the design and how close the quilting is done, an all over design would work well on most pieced quilts.
This is course just my opinion and I am certainly no expert. If it means the quilting gets finished, then sending it to a LA works for me.
As for the quilting, I think an all,over design would not work for a hand appliqué top. I do a lot of wool appliqué work and would not want the quilting design to go over the wool pieces. And I think it would detract from a regular applied quilt. But depending on the design and how close the quilting is done, an all over design would work well on most pieced quilts.
This is course just my opinion and I am certainly no expert. If it means the quilting gets finished, then sending it to a LA works for me.
03-08-2025, 05:09 AM
#3
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Join Date: Apr 2008
Location: Northern KY
Posts: 2,041
As a longarmer, I love custom but I know edge to edge is fine for most quilts. I always encourage custom on quilts with applique because stitching over the applique doesn't always turn out well. Ditto for quilts with embroidery. Sampler quilts are great with custom but can also be just fine with E2E.
03-08-2025, 05:41 AM
#5
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Join Date: Jul 2010
Location: Ontario, Canada
Posts: 3,970
Sewgood, YES custom quilting can be very much more expensive. Doing an edge to edge pantograph is pretty much just following the lines on the paper with a laser. But custom quilting means the person is guiding the machine completely. No guidelines, no pattern. It takes a lot more time.
Often, professional long-armers will have set prices for various pantographs. They know approximately how long the stitching will take and charge accordingly. However, if they are asked to do a custom piece, the set price could be by the hour. It is best to ask about rates and get some sort of ballpark figure before agreeing to custom work. (How do I know this? I have a friend who didn't ask and was shocked when the final bill came in. It was more than double what she was used to paying for edge to edge quilting. And it was too late to negotiate)
Often, professional long-armers will have set prices for various pantographs. They know approximately how long the stitching will take and charge accordingly. However, if they are asked to do a custom piece, the set price could be by the hour. It is best to ask about rates and get some sort of ballpark figure before agreeing to custom work. (How do I know this? I have a friend who didn't ask and was shocked when the final bill came in. It was more than double what she was used to paying for edge to edge quilting. And it was too late to negotiate)
03-08-2025, 05:52 AM
#6
Super Member
Join Date: Sep 2011
Location: Carroll, Iowa
Posts: 3,979
I quilt my own and I love custom quilting more so thatn E2E, don't ask me why but its just the way it is. Now that I have so many quilt tops to finish up, I might turn to doing more E2E on the body section but still do something different on the sashings and borders just to jazz it up a bit. I have a modern quilt to do next and having trouble trying to find a modern type quilt pattern to use on it. They're also for men so don't want any flowers or curly Qs so I might have to search to my favorite quilt pattern sites and see what I can find there.
I used to hand sew my bindings to the back but with so many quilts to get done, I've gone to using a decorative stitch on them.
I used to hand sew my bindings to the back but with so many quilts to get done, I've gone to using a decorative stitch on them.
03-08-2025, 07:24 AM
#7
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Join Date: May 2011
Location: SW Washington USA
Posts: 4,885
Caution, based only on my own experience re: custom quilting. When you wash the quilt much of that is lost and just becomes light and shadow which is what quilting is.
re: edge to edge/pantographs I know my taste and meandering curly quilting isn't me. I love geometrics; circles, squares, bricks, diamonds etc. They still show up as light and shadows in my busy quilts so I end up with the best of all worlds.
I would dearly love to see before and after wash on fancy custom quilting work
re: edge to edge/pantographs I know my taste and meandering curly quilting isn't me. I love geometrics; circles, squares, bricks, diamonds etc. They still show up as light and shadows in my busy quilts so I end up with the best of all worlds.
I would dearly love to see before and after wash on fancy custom quilting work
03-08-2025, 01:26 PM
#9
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Join Date: Jan 2009
Location: Reno, Nv
Posts: 16,884
Here is my suggestion to you. Take a little time to read up on quilting. That makes you understand the possibilities of the finished quilt. I have this book by Christine Maraccini called Machine Quilting solutions. It has many subjects beside the actual designs. It covers in one place how to read a quilt and to get all the information you are talking about here. For example, on page 12 of the book it talks about the end use of the quilt and how much use it will get. She categorizes the quilts as Draggers, Keepsake and showstoppers. if you know how the quilt will be used it affects to amount of quilting needed to finish it properly. That really helped me in choosing the quilt design and density. Why go through all this you may ask? Because educating yourself about a decision for your quilt helps both you and the long arm quilter. I want you to get the quilt back with exactly what you want. You see? There are books at the library you could check out to educate yourself on this phase of the quilting process.
Snooze talks about using an embroidery stitch to finish the binding off. I know there is a video about that at Bernina.com. No you don't have to own a bernina to go there and watch videos and download the instructions. It is easier than you think to get all of the info you need, just don't give up now.
Snooze talks about using an embroidery stitch to finish the binding off. I know there is a video about that at Bernina.com. No you don't have to own a bernina to go there and watch videos and download the instructions. It is easier than you think to get all of the info you need, just don't give up now.
