dpendleton

I finished my grandson's quilt top! It's "Pinwheel Pals" from American Patchwork and Quilting magazine (2018). I made the twin bed size.

My grandson *loves* the "Little Blue Truck" series, and the minute I saw this printed fabric Go-Go by Kate Mawdsley I had to have it.


Now I'm getting ready to quilt it and I doing it as a flimsy with "Cuddle" minky backing (primary blue).

I straight stitch with my walking foot. The patches are 8" square. I'm thinking of keeping the gaps maximum 4".

Do you think I should do diagonal diamonds? Parallel diagonal lines?

The centers of the pinwheels are a bit bulky (I learned how to spin my seams! but still...) and the seams where four patches meet are also bulky. So stitching over those multiple times might be a challenge.

What do you guys recommend?

I have to finish this in time for his birthday, LOL.

eparys

OK - First - the quilt is absolutely adorable!! Do you do swirls?? If not, I would do diagonal; lines in both directions,

Your Grandson will love it!!

ElaineCovid

The quilt is adorable and I'm sure your grandson will love it ...
As for quilting, what about doing a kind of "plaid" type of straight lines, top/bottom and left/right, avoiding the bulky seam areas, concentrating on the more open spaces?

QuiltE

Totally Agree! ... adorable!
I'm like you @eparys and see gentle curves.

@dpendleton ... what I am suggesting, you can do via straight stitching, and give the pinwheels the effect of some movement. I would stitch on the blue or green pinwheel blades, so that it is curved on each blade and they are all spinning in the same direction. KWIM? as I fear this is clear as mud!! The nice thing is you could stitch across the whole diagonal line of those blades with one line of stitching, and no breaks. You could easily mark the curves with a thin chalk pencil.

Depending on what batting you use, and maybe with the minky you are not using any batting ... then that would determine if you need any quilting in the printed blocks. If so, then I would just do an X-effect, again, you're able to stitch diagonally, all the way across.

?About Minky? ... Is there is any min/max quilting spacing required for it?
I have no idea, and am curious as to whether it matters?
Hope someone can let me know on that, as I want to do a minky backed quilt for myself!

aashley333

Cute quilt! I use a spiral ruler to create movement in the kaleidoscope circles. Currently quilting one. It's hard to see in photo.

QuiltE

Yes! that's the idea of what I am talking about.
What I have used for DSM quilting is the edge of a cup/saucer/plate/WHY to mark with chalk ... consistent, and easy enough to line up with the two end points.
@aashley333 ... please don't tease and show me the full quilt!!
Pretty Please?? 😊

dpendleton

Equilt, do you mean like this? Because I *love* it!

eparys

Love what you drew,dpendleton, BUT my big concern is there is nothing in the focus fabric. Depending on the batting, the distance between quilting lines may be way too far apart. You may need to put something in that focus square.

dpendleton

Excellent point! I am doing a flimsy (no batting) as we're in a warm climate. However, I do see the issue with the focus fabric being bland.

Hmmm....

QuiltE

Yes! that's the idea that I was suggesting re the pinwheel curves.

Your inside square stitching would be great. I like that variance to the curves in the other part. One disadvantage is that you would need to cut threads after every block. Plus you're always going to be turning the quilt to do the 4-sides of the square. Nothing wrong with all of that. All depends on what you like/want to do!

Another idea, you could do the same curves in the print squares, to keep the movement going. Originally, I suggested just going with jumbo cross hatch, but I think the straight lines would compete with the curves. Your square design is separate and different and would work better than the jumbo cross hatch.

Another option would be to SITD for all squares, and go with the curves for the pinwheels. Then leave the print squares open with no quilting. That would let them be a pit poofy, for a variance to the other and I'm thinking create a bit of interest for a kid.

As I mentioned before, you'd be best to find out if the minky needs to be "nailed down" closer than your 8" to determine what you must do. Better to find out now, than be disappointed later.

Good Luck! and look forward to seeing your finished Pinwheel Pals!