Moving Toward a New Project

    Well, we've hand stitched a sampler and discussed the various elements of working quilting into the spaces of our quilts. It's time to move forward. I learned quilting before I learned piecing. My early whole cloth quilts were the canvas my quilt stitches were honed on, but the quilting journey didn't end there..and neither will ours.
   

    The next few weeks will find us in set up mode. I will share pictures of some of my sewing spaces as it has changed over the past few years. We don't need an elaborate studio or even an entire room to piece or quilt, however, we do need some key elements and a little planning.
    From there our journey will take us to piecing a simple quilt top using color and creativity. Hopefully you will join me for a Fence Rail picnic quilt from either a colorful jelly roll fabric pack or some pieces you choose yourself.
     When our quilt top comes together our online classroom will find us exploring quilt finishing as we baste, quilt and bind our way to completion. One class will show simple machine quilting and another will work a hand quilt design. The finishing touches are nearly finished as I complete the sample and work an outline.
       I hope you will join me in the classroom gaining confidence as we walk step by step together through an entire quilt..readily available for questions and online assistance. We'll share each others' progress and encourage one another on the way. I'm so excited! See you next week!

Looking at the Border

    A quilt is a beautiful work of art pieced in love and worked in fiber. The borders of a quilt offer a dose of stability as well as a finishing framework showcasing our creativity and hard work. Once a quilt top is complete, choosing a design leads us to the question..what about the borders?

 

    If we decide to 'edge-to-edge' quilt a design, then our borders are simply ignored, allowing the stitched motif to spill over from one edge of the quilt to the other. Stitch lines are invalid and the quilting assumes a life of it's own. One option to this is a partial edge-to-edge design where the design flows within the main area of the quilt stopping at the border area. This gives us freedom to pursue some unique framework stitching for our quilt. In the Dresden quilt above the main quilt area is quilted edge to edge with a cross hatch design. The leafy outer border was given a trailing leaf design offering contrasting texture as well as a muted design element.

      Often a border dictates its own design. The Holly Lane quilt, above, is bordered with pieced leaves and berries. Outlining the existing motif enhanced the design while leaving soft texture and body for the bed size quilt. Quilts with obvious design elements, such as flowers, leaves, or even geometric image, can easily be outlined for a border that adds beauty and texture without distracting from the main design.

    Here we have a quilt with plenty of design element, except in the border area. The main piecing has stars and triangles dancing about with plenty of color and texture, yet the borders sport solid, plain fabric. When I consider this quilt, two thoughts come to mind..1. continue the theme: allow the stars/triangles to be stitched along the border to include them in the design..this will hide the obvious plainness of the fabric. 2. soften the blow: add some curve or circular stitching to the border softening the sharp angles in the main design. Adding another border would work as well.

      Framing our quilt with borders leaves a clean finish to our central design. I generally try to contrast my outer frame quilting with the inner quilting..for example, if the inner quilt design has plenty of lines or sharp angles, my border quilting will generally be softer curves and rounded shapes. Some standard designs for quilting borders are feathers, gables, fans, and spirals. Any design can be a border design: repeating hearts, leafy vines, even our cross hatch. Remember, when filling our quilt spaces, we are only limited by our own imaginations..grab your thimble and let's stitch something beautiful!

Care and Consideration of Quilts

    Hand made quilts are a beautiful treasure for any home adding welcome comfort and style. Vintage quilts are an even more exquisite attraction, often delicate and priceless, while modern quilts are constructed of hearty fibers and color fast fabrics making them more sturdy for daily wear. These priceless possessions need careful care and consideration to keep them in mint condition for generations to come.Let's consider the needs of vintage, hand quilted, and machine finished quilts.

    A vintage quilt is often a family heirloom hand pieced and hand quilted with cotton fabrics and natural cotton or wool batting. When I work with vintage quilts, restoring or finishing, I often recommend these beautiful quilts be kept out of direct light preserving their color and fabric as long as possible. For these delicate quilts it is best not to wash them if at all possible. Occasional airing in filtered sunlight gives them a much needed lift and keeps them sufficiently well cared for. If more cleaning is needed, I test an area before spot cleaning with gentle soap and water. Only if absolutely necessary do I hand wash a vintage quilts..in cool water, by hand, in a bath tub. Once allowed to drain, I never wring or twist them..instead folding and pressing water out before hanging them to dry.

    Hand quilted quilts may have modern, sturdy fabrics and batting giving them a bit more stability and strength. Once again, the first recommendation is simply airing them..and spot clean if needed; their fabrics are sturdy, their threads may be less so. When a hand quilted piece leaves my home, it has been gently washed in a delicate cycle and air dried in filtered light or tossed in a delicate, low heat dryer. Hand quilted quilts can be gently washed, but only on occasion, as their threads can snap and break leaving the quilt in need of repair.

    Machine finished quilts are the modern marvel. Sturdy fabric, synthetic batting, and a strong dose of dense quilting give these quilts serious durability. My machine quilts never leave my house without a run through the gentle cycle of the wash and a toss in the low heat dryer. While I still recommend only washing when absolutely necessary, a machine finished quilt will usually stand up to more use and wear then our traditional hand finished ones.

    When I work with any quilt..my own, or a client's..my motto is 'less is best'. The less stress we put on the fabric the better off we are... and the older the fabric, the more delicate we need to be. Sadly, our busy life styles leave us little time for hand washing and airing quilts bringing us to the need/demand for the modern machine made ones. Are the less wonderful? No way..still made with love and invested in by someone special.

     If you have tips or advice about caring for quilts, please share with us...or if you have questions, shoot me a message or comment.



   

Filling Blank Space

   Every quilter defines blank space differently..this quilter believes a blank space is any space that causes my mind to draw a blank. Sometimes the hardest part of quilting is choosing the 'right design for the space.' I confess, I do not quilt like other quilters do, so blank spaces don't scare me. As for 'the right design', every design is a right design..the only limitation is your own imagination.

   A doodler at heart, I am prone to draw the quilt spaces and scribble this and that until something just screams YES. While I love to fill and fiddle with various designs on paper, I know that what works on the paper doesn't always translate well on the fabric. Sometimes, less is more. For example, I played with several designs for the blue block baby quilt pictured above. In the end simply outlining the blocks and sawtooth gave me the illusion my heart desired- tumbling blocks.

   Filler designs range from flowers, to pebbles, to loopty-loops..geometric shapes or echoed outlines. Machine quilters often fill with stipples or wiggly lines, but that isn't easily done by hand. Only once did I hand quilt stippling..then and there I swore never to do it again. When we consider filling a space in a block we must consider the whole of the quilt..maintaining gauge and tension consistently. 

   In this week's video we take a look at some finished sampler quilts to see how different fillers enhance the space and add some 'space filler designs' to our sampler.

    Quilting is a personal experience..and expression of our individual taste and temperament. Bear in mind, there are no wrong designs..no wrong motifs...no limits to what we can design, create or stitch. Explore quilts this week and take the time to really see the heart of the quilter in the way they used the spaces and translate that into your own work. Let's go quilt something beautiful!