knlsmith Posted March 18, 2013 Report Share Posted March 18, 2013 Hello, I am an APQS wannabe owner. I look at the forum a lot and love reading about everyone. I have been quilting for a couple years and just started officially quilting for hire January 1 this year. But I have this quilt that a local shop wants me to do to use for a sample at shows and in their shop. I want to finish it perfectly because they are going to use my name and help me get more clients. They want something traditional and not an all over pattern. I want to keep it simple because I don't want to take away from the quilt. I want to stitch in the ditch the friendship stars and then I am stuck. My think my problem is that the backing is the same light cream/tan that is in the top with very little pattern. I am not worried about the borders because they will be decided by what I do in the rest of the quilt. I sure would appreciate some help from the experience talent here. I can pretty much quilt anything, just need direction. This quilt is very important because they called me and asked me to do this for them. It is a great opportunity for getting my work out there. And that will get me closer to getting an APQS machine. Oh almost forgot, I will be using QD cotton batting. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
nanbrug Posted March 18, 2013 Report Share Posted March 18, 2013 I would think the red stars are something you would want to pop so what about background fill in the beige and twist CC in star. I don't know for the blue yet maybe someone will chime in. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
knlsmith Posted March 18, 2013 Author Report Share Posted March 18, 2013 Yup, the blue has me. I had thought about feathers in the blue, I do the bump bump feathers, and blue thread would show the back tracking on the back too much, IMHO. And then SID the cream logs maybe. Should I just use light thread to match the back? I will be using Glide poly. I have about 30 colors on hand to choose from. I also have some GLide Essence, but haven't had a chance to try it on my machine yet. Excuse my ignorance, but what does "twist CC in star" mean? Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
meg Posted March 18, 2013 Report Share Posted March 18, 2013 Yup, the blue has me. I had thought about feathers in the blue, I do the bump bump feathers, and blue thread would show the back tracking on the back too much, IMHO. And then SID the cream logs maybe. Should I just use light thread to match the back? I will be using Glide poly. I have about 30 colors on hand to choose from. I also have some GLide Essence, but haven't had a chance to try it on my machine yet. Excuse my ignorance, but what does "twist CC in star" mean? I think it means terry twist. I would use red thread there. I like your feather idea for the blue area. Then you could feather the border. Or breadboard it...that's always a good choice. Why can't you use thin cream thread on the back and blue on top? I'd fill the cream behind the stars more dense so the stars will pop. IMHO....Most people LOVE feathers so its good to have them on a quilt you are 'advertising' with. Id love to see it quilted so please try and post pics of your finished work. Here's a the same tired terry twist pic I have used so many times before. Of course, you would make the path around the whole star. Terry twist. by quiltymeg, on Flickr Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
ffq-lar Posted March 18, 2013 Report Share Posted March 18, 2013 I see a couple of ways to break down the blocks for quilting. The blue diagonal is perfect for the flowing feathers you're proposing. And yes, to minimize the backtrack on the back you can match your bobbin thread color to the backer as long as your tension is pretty good. The Friendship Star blocks can be broken down to a nine patch (the star itself and the background neutrals). Then you have half-log cabins for the rest of the neutral diagonal. You may treat the half log cabin with feathers--mark an arc and feather each side in each separate half log cabin. You can have the feathers go in the opposite direction of the blue feathers, or in the same direction. That is, blue feathers going up the top and neutral feathers going down--or both in the same direction. Another option in the neutrals (and what I would probably do) is a medium filler over all the neutral diagonal. Leave the red log cabin centers unquilted--just SID those. And then CC the friendship stars. That's simple but effective quilting that allows the colors and the piecing to shine. You can concentrate on perfect feathers--use a shade darker blue thread so the quilting shows and do some drawing to get a graceful spine for the feathers. I use a length of paper to trace the graceful curve I want and then flip it and mark the spine as I go. CC's are continuous stitching that feature an arc that travels from one seam intersection to the next. I'll see if I can find a photo example. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
knlsmith Posted March 18, 2013 Author Report Share Posted March 18, 2013 I'm loading up a little sandwich to try the blue on top n cream on bottom. I've done it before, but not such a drastic contrast. I guess I just have to quit being so nervous and give it a try. I will let you know. I love the ideas so far. REALLY helping. Keep 'em coming. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Enchanted Quilting Posted March 19, 2013 Report Share Posted March 19, 2013 I concur with Linda's ideas...feathers in the blue would be awesome. A fun filler in the cream will help your friendship stars "pop" This is a great quilt...very eye-catching! Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Quilting Heidi Posted March 19, 2013 Report Share Posted March 19, 2013 I like the combination of feathers in the blue (like Linda) and using a denser fill in the white (like Meg) to make those star's pop. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
knlsmith Posted March 19, 2013 Author Report Share Posted March 19, 2013 So I loaded a warm up sandwich and played with my tension. My tension has always been good, but I set it so the bottom was a little looser. I have just the teeniest pokies and I am thinking after the quilt has rested they will probably be almost invisible. I did call my client this morning and talked to her. She was so sweet. Thankfully she understands the mechanics of quilting. I explained to her that even though my tension is just right, with the high contrast of navy and red with the cream that tiny pokies are almost inevitable. She said she wasn't worried about pokies at all and that she trusts me. LOL I always worry more than necessary. Hopefully as I have more experience with customers I will learn what is truly expected of a longarmer. I just have to relax. Thank you all so much for the suggestions. I will be doing navy feathers in the blue, red SID on the stars, and whatever background speaks to me with cream around the stars. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
nanbrug Posted March 19, 2013 Report Share Posted March 19, 2013 Meg sorry I meant Terry Twist it just didn't come out right. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
lisae Posted March 19, 2013 Report Share Posted March 19, 2013 I think it's going to be beautiful! I love the idea of feathers in the blue and a background fill in the cream...and that's exactly what I would do it I were quilting it. Can't wait to see the finished quilt! Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Bekah Posted March 19, 2013 Report Share Posted March 19, 2013 I don't have anything else to add but just wanted to jump in and tell you that you will do a great job. What a terrific way to get your business to grow. Anxiously awaiting pictures. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
knlsmith Posted March 28, 2013 Author Report Share Posted March 28, 2013 Woo Hoo! Delivered it today and she loved it! Thank you for being a sounding board and helping my brain freeze! Glide thread: used red, navy, and a cream on top and cream in the bobbin throughout. Quilter's Dream cotton. All freehand. No rulers. I had almost no pokies! Happy Dance! Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
ffq-lar Posted March 29, 2013 Report Share Posted March 29, 2013 Great job! Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Quilting Heidi Posted March 29, 2013 Report Share Posted March 29, 2013 It came out beautiful. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
whitepinesquilter Posted March 29, 2013 Report Share Posted March 29, 2013 Love how this came together - I love the feathers through the blue blocks, gives such a look of movement to me. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
quiltedsunflower Posted March 29, 2013 Report Share Posted March 29, 2013 Love it. Your feathers are great! Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
LisaC Posted March 29, 2013 Report Share Posted March 29, 2013 Outstanding! Great job! Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
knlsmith Posted March 29, 2013 Author Report Share Posted March 29, 2013 Thank you all so much! Had a private class with Karen McTavish and she really helped me get over my lack of confidence with feathers. It's so funny, every time one would get a little fat I could here her telling me to wip it up. LOL Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
oireachtas Posted March 29, 2013 Report Share Posted March 29, 2013 Lucky you. How I would love a private class with Karen. She is awesome. Claire Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Recommended Posts
Archived
This topic is now archived and is closed to further replies.