icolorize Posted May 30, 2007 Report Share Posted May 30, 2007 I need to plan out a autograph quilt pattern for a June 8th wedding...need the pieces cut by the 6th. It's for my niece and her soon to be husband. Originally, I volunteered with the thought that maybe 100 guests had been invited. I have now been informed that between 300-400 might attend! I would like to keep the finished quilt to a lap size or smaller and in a "pretty" pattern that would look good if hung on a wall....but the number of autograph patches needed is limiting my creativity. I have a lap-sized idea that would allow maybe 150 names on the front and a nice center embroidery, but I don't want to have to sew an entire quilt top to find out whether or not I will like it. I need to determine the blocks so that the right sized autograph patches will be available for guests to sign. Can I do the layout with EQ6 by next week? (I am computer literate, but have not used "quilt" software ). What is the learning curve for EQ6? Is it worth purchasing? What are the smallest autograph patches recommended? (3'x2', 4.5"x1.75",...) Allbrands has EQ6 on sale for $129...3 days to ship...I could order it today. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
mrsbishwit Posted May 31, 2007 Report Share Posted May 31, 2007 I would say that when I first got my EQ program it took me an hour to be comfortable with it and to navigate through all of the libaries. If you stick to the basic autogragh blocks that come with the program located in the Block libraries than it shouldn't take you long to put together a layout and figure out the finish size. I love the the EQ6 program, the manuel is so easy to follow. Joann Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
ffq-lar Posted May 31, 2007 Report Share Posted May 31, 2007 Here's an idea for you if you don't know exactly what size to make the autograph blocks--since you may have hundreds of blocks and they may need to be very small, iron larger pieces of the autograph fabric to freezer paper and use your water-soluble pens to mark off small rectangles for name placement. Hand them out with instructions to keep the writing inside the lines. Or make sure you mark the areas and include maybe a half inch around for cutting and sewing. You could get lots on one sheet and cut them apart later. Perhaps you could put two or three names in each block. That's a big project with that many guests but it is sure to be treasured forever! Linda R Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
raquelbirch Posted May 31, 2007 Report Share Posted May 31, 2007 Bette For my daughters wedding I did a center collage of pictures of the two of them. Then the outside blocks were solid white and the guests signed the finished quilt during the reception. This way I did not have to worry about people signing in to the seam allowance or forgetting to send the pieces back to me. It made a nice center piece on a table and people said they loved signing it. It now hangs over their bed Raquel Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
icolorize Posted May 31, 2007 Author Report Share Posted May 31, 2007 I was under the impression that it was better (though a lot more work) to piece the quilt AFTER the blocks were signed. That way none of the many quests could get ink smears or tough stains on other areas of the pieced quilt top. Raquel, did you have any signing issues with your finished quilt? Were there a lot of autographs needed on yours or was the party reasonably small? Completing a topper prior to the wedding would be a lot easier because I could use quick piecing methods. Maybe an option could be to piece individual blocks together to perhaps make the guests' signing areas more obvious. That would allow fast assembly line piecing. How would you recommend protecting the seam allowance edges around each block? Also, what ink pens are recommended for permanence? Is there a tip width that is usually chosen? Can I successfully use colored inks (like green)? It would be nice to have this go reasonably smoothly, but I'm guessing that there might be some folks who aren't pleased with their initial autographs. I had planned to have some extra patches available for those oops people. Extra patch options wouldn't be possible on a completed topper...but my work would be done! I sent for the EQ6 software. It seems like a valuable tool to have. Hopefully, it will be easy to put my own block designs into a grid. The actual application of my blocks into a design is where the learning curve could become an issue. I might just have one day to figure it all out and get the patches cut. Wish me luck! Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
mrsbishwit Posted May 31, 2007 Report Share Posted May 31, 2007 Last summer I did an autogragh quilt for my Grandmother's 90th b-day. My aunt, uncles, and dad hosted a b-day party for her back in Indiana where they all live, I wasn't able to go because of other commintments so I suggested to do this quilt, my aunt had the guest (150 of them) sign 6 1/2" Muslin squares. The guest were told to sign in the middle, write a brief message etc..but of course you get people that do write in the seam allowances and that cross things out, and that smudge the ink. The pens we used were the fabric markers that need to be heat set in order to be able to wash the quilt at a later time. The quilt ended up being a king size quilt . Joann Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
mrsbishwit Posted May 31, 2007 Report Share Posted May 31, 2007 Heres another pic Joann Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
The Crafty Unicorn Posted May 31, 2007 Report Share Posted May 31, 2007 When our postmaster moved to Florida a few years ago I made a signature quilt for her. I did a center applique and had folks in town sign on paper which I scanned onto printable fabric. That way no one had to worry about mistakes. I used the signatures as the center of a friendship star block. As it got bigger and bigger, I realized I could have put signature blocks in the corner of the star blocks too. This picture is just the beginning... It got another row all the way around and some also on the back! Almost everyone in town signed and managed to keep the secret for over a month. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
raquelbirch Posted May 31, 2007 Report Share Posted May 31, 2007 Bette I use fabric mate super fine fabric pens. You can buy them at http://www.dharmatrading.com/html/eng/1692-AA.shtml They do not require heat setting. Over 100 people signed the quilt. There was no smudging from the pens. I guess people were really careful since they could see it was a finished quilt. I set a little framed sign on the table with the quiilt and several pens asking people to sign the quilt and write any messages or advice that they would like to, right on the quilt. We used it in place of a sign in book. Hope this helps Raquel Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
icolorize Posted May 31, 2007 Author Report Share Posted May 31, 2007 Great quilt, JoAnn! I bet everyone was impressed! My signature blocks are planned at 1/3 the size you gave everyone...I hope that won't be too small to write on. I really don't want to make anything over lap size. WOW! Great autograph quilts! Coffee Quilter's cute Moose quilt looks similar to the size I want to sew. What a thoughtful parting gift! I like that she also placed autographs on the quilt's backing. I am planning to use my quilt's backing for "over flow" too. A framed 30"x30" (+-) muslin square with a wedding-type of embroidery placed in it's center would add additionall freeform signature signing space for those who didn't get on the front. What batting material does anyone suggest? I an considering Warm and White. Would that be a suitable weight for a lap/ wall hanging quilt or is something else a better choice for my needs? Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
ffq-lar Posted May 31, 2007 Report Share Posted May 31, 2007 What a great idea to use the backing for signatures! The entire quilt could be done with only signatures and good wishes on the back and perhaps the wedding info embroidered in the center of the front surrounded with pieced blocks. It would be a wonderful bed cover or topper with all the good wishes keeping the new couple warm. Linda Rech Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
icolorize Posted June 11, 2007 Author Report Share Posted June 11, 2007 I cut four different sized autograph patches and ironed oversized freezer paper on the backside of every patch (149 + maybe 50 extra for goofs). I used a black permanent marker on the freezer paper side to mark off the seam allowance areas. A schematic "map" showed where each patch would be placed in the pattern. Arrows with number counts pointed towards each different autograph patch. The larger squares were listed as reserved for family and attendants. Separate, xtra large envelopes held each size. Envelope upper areas were marked with writing guides (black lines spaced 1/2" apart) for those who needed or wanted "see-thru" straight line writing help. Drawings showed what patches were inside and the total amount to be signed. A "spare" envelope contained extra patch exchanges if anyone wanted to redo a patch. An extra 24 "ribbon" signatures would be in the border. Half of the border patches were cut to mirror the opposite side. I placed an up arrow on each ribbon, trapezoid patch (also described on the envelope). Half of the trapezoids were numbered with an "X" behind the number. The spares were marked with either a "x" or a "XX". a seam border, and an up arrow to distinguish the mirrored cuts from each other. A 30" square backing was ironed onto freezer paper for stability. I ironed 2" wide freezer paper strips around the square's perimeter and wrote on the framing to inform guests that this would be on a quilt back...etc. A fabric pen was attached to the backing square. I thought that I had everything covered! Months earlier, the couple had agreed to make a list of the 149 people whose names they wanted signed on the quilt's front. After driving for hours through a severe storm, I got the envelopes there prior to the groom's dinner. I handed a fabric pen and all of the envelopes and instructions (both oral and written on the envelopes) to my normally,extremely capable niece, the bride. She would delegate signature completion responsibility to other people. It was done! The next time I would be looking at those envelopes would be after the reception! Well...the backing was signed just fine. However, after the reception, I received most of the envelopes with no signatures! The groom's dinner did get signatures, but, with only one exception, the signatures were all written on the freezer paper side, not on the fabric!:( In retrospect, the main problem was that I wanted the bride and groom to choose which of the 300-400 guests would be signing on the quilt's front. Otherwise, I would have gladly gone from table to table to get signatures during the reception. The envelopes will now be at the gift opening. Hopefully, most of the fabric patches will now be signed when everything gets mailed back to me. In the future, I will take my chances and fully assemble a quilt prior to an event. It would be much easier both for assembly. Verification that signatures have been collected would be easier too. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
The Crafty Unicorn Posted June 12, 2007 Report Share Posted June 12, 2007 Don't give-up yet. It's a little tedious, but if you have a scanner, you can scan the signatures from the freezer paper and print them onto fabric and then proceed as planed. That's how I did the postmaster's quilt. that way I didn't have to worry about proper pens and sending out replacements for "goofs". I used the "Printed Treasures" from EQ- Once it is printed, soaked and dried, it feels and sews pretty much like regular fabric. Another plus to the scanning is, you can edit-out any "oopsies", smudges or missing seam allowances. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
icolorize Posted June 13, 2007 Author Report Share Posted June 13, 2007 Thanks for the scanning idea Leslie, but I failed to explain that only 7-8 out of 149 patches were signed. The one that was written on the fabric side had only the bride and groom's names written at the upper corner of a patch...nothing else. I don't think that it would be worth all of the work. Having only a few signatures would defeat the whole idea. Good news...the bride's parents plan to seek out local guests to have them sign some of the patches. Also, there will be some other parties for them where some of the groom's attending guests will also be asked to sign. I'm hopeful that a good percentage of the patches will ultimately get signed and then returned to me for sewing the topper! What I get back will determine whether artistic changes will be needed or if I will piece it together as I had originally planned. It will all work out, eventually...maybe just differently...maybe better. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
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