Thoughts on quilting this and thread to use

[Quilta93]

I made this quilt in 2004. It's paper pieced and about 12-1/2" by 16-1/2" and hand quilted in the ditch. I was asked if I would be able to make a large wall hanging for the religious ed room at our church. I'm going outside my comfort zone and I decided to Make this about 63" by 90".

I'm thing of quilting a wood grain design in the cross, and SID in all the ditches. Since the pieces get wider at the edges of the quilt, I was thinking of quilting straight lines out from the points of the orange and yellow. My questions are:

1) Do you have any better ideas or additional ideas?

2) How close should the lines be when the stitching gets to the edges of the quilt?

3) Would monopoly thread be a good thread to use, so my mistakes won't show so much?

Thanks for any ideas you can help me with.

Deb.

[Zora]

I would not cross those stitching lines with rays. If you are going to quilt straight lines, I would keep them parallel to one of the seams and a quarter inch apart, section by section. Plan which seam to parallel by chalking some lines in each section. It is going to give you a rays effect. I would use Superior SoFine in a matching color. It is much easier to use than invisible. Alternatively, you could stitch wavy lines freehand radiating out within your sections, or something like a flame stitch to fill the whole area without regard to the seams. If you are worried about your skills, the wavy lines are more forgiving than straight lines and ruler work.

[loraquilts]

Deb,

Beautiful quilt.  I agree that wood grain on the cross would be good.  As for the flames, I would probably put swirls or something similar in them to make them more active, but one or two echoes around SID would work as well.  You could even do something inside the flames and then echo a couple of times outside of them and do SID on the outside of the piecing.  Outside of the echoes, I would probably put a very small stipple or pebble.  This should make the cross and flames pop. 

 

As for the monopoly thread, I've never heard of it.  Now you've got my curiosity burning ..... researching the internet is soon to follow.

[Cagey]

Deb:

 

First, I do not believe you will make any mistakes.  Quilting is an art form, so any quilting you stitch is part of your art work.  Artists are their own worst critics.  You have shared your work and it's lovely, so take a deep breath and quilt your heart out.

 

I like the idea of the woodgrain in the cross.  I have used this pattern/design in quilt and you might find it helpful; http://theinboxjaunt.com/2014/11/18/woodgrain-a-free-motion-quilt-tutorial/   I thought Leah Day had something like it too, but I could not find it on her site.

 

If you want your stitching to show less, I would suggest matching the fabric.  I think invisible thread many actually show up more on the blue than matching thread would.  

 

Please let us see your quilt who it is finished.  

 

Cagey

[Quilta93]

Thank you so much for your suggestions. I finished drawing out the foundation pieces and started sewing a couple. I ordered some thread to match the fabric and plan to do some practice quilting. I'm getting excited about this project.

Thank you Cagey for the link on the wood grain tutorial.

Deb.

[AnnP]

Deb,

Beautiful quilt.  I agree that wood grain on the cross would be good.  As for the flames, I would probably put swirls or something similar in them to make them more active, but one or two echoes around SID would work as well.  You could even do something inside the flames and then echo a couple of times outside of them and do SID on the outside of the piecing.  Outside of the echoes, I would probably put a very small stipple or pebble.  This should make the cross and flames pop. 

 

As for the monopoly thread, I've never heard of it.  Now you've got my curiosity burning ..... researching the internet is soon to follow.

I think she means monofilament.

[dbams]

Monopoly is Superior Threads brand of invisible thread.