need ideas please

[Susanne]

Seeing as how I want to finish the quilt I was making for my son and his
wife, started 4 years ago, this month, I need some help with 2 things.

First is what to do with the other side of it. I don't like to make it all
one colour. I'd like to make it interesting too but not too much work if you
know what I mean.

The quilt is an Around the World quilt done in soft pastels of the rainbow.

Secondly, How whould I quilt it? I could stitch in the ditch but maybe some
of you would have a better suggestion. Just know that I'm not the best or
most experienced machine quilter!

Susanne

[KCK]

Susanne,

For the backing, perhaps you could find a print that compliments the
pastel fabrics on the top?

What size are the squares you're working with? Stitch in ditch (SID)
is certainly one way to quilt it if the squares are small enough to
fall within the appropriate quilting distance for the batting you're
using. However, SID can be a bother if your intersections are not
really good (you'll have to keep repositioning the needle to keep the
stitches in the irregular ditches.

I think that a diagonal grid would be very appropriate for that
pattern, so consider using a "neutral" thread (perhaps cream or a
predominate soft color that looks good lying on the other colors) and
just criss-cross the quilt with a grid. I did that on my first two
quilts and it was very easy to accomplish and it looked good too (on
those particular quilts). If your squares are larger, you could
combine the SID with a diagonal grid (either full or half grid --only
one direction).

--

KCK ( in Texas)
Take out the DOG before sending email

"Susanne" <msma...@shaw.ca> wrote in message
news:qI%58.2934$Jq.5...@news2.calgary.shaw.ca...

[Ms. Piglet]

You could do stripes (BIG stripes, like a foot and a half wide), or a very
large square-in-a-square....

But if you find a print you really like, it doesn't matter how wild it is,
and you don't have to piece it to keep it from being boring.

I used to really obsess about the back having to "go with" the top, and then
one day I figured out that you pretty much have one side up *or* the other,
not both simultaneously. Since then, I've mostly worried about "going with"
the binding rather than the top. <g>

--pig

On 1/30/02 5:53 PM, <msma...@shaw.ca> opined:

[Polly E]

Susanne - here's what I do. I find a sheet to use for the backing and buy a
matching sheet set to go with it. Turned back, it gives the bed such a "come
hither" look - just gorgeous but a wicked influence for those who suffer
from severe nap attacks. The first time I did this, the price of the sheet
set made my knees wobble but another relative of the bride was tickled to
present the bride with the matching sheet set. Polly E

[Susanne]

Now that could be a problem! Our quilting shop closed last summer and our
fabric shop closed new years day. I may have to mail order fabric. I kind of
wanted to piece the back a bit just not a design that has to be quilted in a
certain way or one that would be time consuming to make. I want to get this
quilt done so I can go on to the next!

I have some light metallic thread that sort of takes on the colour of the
fabric under it. That might make it shine a little more. The squares are 3'
and there are 13 different fabrics in this quilt.

Diagonal sounds different but do you mean to make the rows every 3" or every
1 1/2"?

Susanne
"KCK" <kck...@DOGswbell.net> wrote in message
news:1H068.7116$aQ7.2564081725@newssvr11.news.prodigy.com...

[Susanne]

Yes I know what you mean. Having used 13 fabrics, all of them pastel, is
making the choice of binding hard to decide too.
I'm not sure I understand square-in-a-square. Is there a picture of it
somewhere?

susanne

"Ms. Piglet" <lis...@earthlink.net> wrote in message
news:B87E13C4.69DD%lis...@earthlink.net...

[KCK]

"Susanne" <msma...@shaw.ca> wrote in message

news:%o368.3191$cy1....@news1.calgary.shaw.ca...

> I have some light metallic thread that sort of takes on the colour
of the
> fabric under it. That might make it shine a little more. The squares
are 3'
> and there are 13 different fabrics in this quilt.
> Diagonal sounds different but do you mean to make the rows every 3"
or every
> 1 1/2"?

Actually, it will be every 2 inches if you stitch a line diagonally
across every square, but yes, that's what I meant. You'd end up with
an entire grid of 2 inch squares (diagonally) on the quilt. I think
that is pretty good coverage if you use an appropriate batting, but
I'm not sure it the metallic thread will be strong enough that far
apart, so I'd ask someone who uses metallic to advise.

[KCK]

Susanne,

One more thing about the thread (you mentioned that your local stores
have both closed), especially if you decide to use a specialty thread:
make sure you have enough before you begin. When I last grid-quilted
every 2 inches on a 40x60 inch quilt, I used approximately 175-200
meters of top thread and an equal amount for the bobbin.

By the way, I like Polly's sheet idea for the backing.

--

KCK ( in Texas)
Take out the DOG before sending email

"Susanne" <msma...@shaw.ca> wrote in message

news:%o368.3191$cy1....@news1.calgary.shaw.ca...

[Susanne]

Wow. What a fantastic idea! I never thought of doing that. I guess I could
buy an extra sheet as well so that she could have matching curtains too. I
knew I'd get some great ideas here. Thank you so much.

Susanne

"Polly E" <miste...@mindspring.com> wrote in message
news:a3af25$thb$1...@slb0.atl.mindspring.net...

[Susanne]

Thanks KCK. I didn't think of that. You are right. I would have run out half
way through quilting.

Susanne

PS- I love her idea too!

"KCK" <kck...@DOGswbell.net> wrote in message

news:D2468.7158$8F5.258...@newssvr11.news.prodigy.com...

[Ms. Piglet]

There's probably a better picture somewhere online, but this is what I
found....

http://www.joann.com/shop/spotlight/quilt_block_2002.jhtml

If you scroll down to block #3, you'll see some square-in-a-square work.
Essentially, it's adding triangles to the four sides of a square to make a
new square when you rotate the block (making your original square now a
"diamond", or a square standing on a point, not on a flat side.

You can, of course, keep adding new outside squares for quite a while. (Or
until it gets bigger than the garage....<g>)

On the binding: have you considered looking for a fabric that combines
several of your pastel colors (print/stripe/plaid, any of these)?

--pig

On 1/30/02 10:06 PM, <msma...@shaw.ca> opined:

[Polly E]

Pig, I made a quilt like that too - not only did it grow slightly bigger
than the garage but it weighed more than the truck. The square in a square
is such fun it's hard to put the brakes on the project. Polly

"Ms. Piglet" <lis...@earthlink.net> wrote in message

news:B87E4BA2.6A6A%lis...@earthlink.net...

[Dianne]

What neat ideas.

On a scrap quilt I did once (1/2 sq triagles) I used some of the left over
fabric for the back and some uglies I didn't like to make and just used very
large squares, rectangles, etc for the backing. A few years back I did a
little talk to elementary kids at an afterschool "Kids Club" at our church
talking about quilts. Gave them all a 6" square to keep, etc. 2 of the kids
like the back side of my scrap quilt better than the front -- I was so
surprised!

Dianne
Western PA

[Kim Fisher]

Susanne wrote:
>
> Now that could be a problem! Our quilting shop closed last summer and our
> fabric shop closed new years day. I may have to mail order fabric. I kind of
> wanted to piece the back a bit just not a design that has to be quilted in a
> certain way or one that would be time consuming to make. I want to get this
> quilt done so I can go on to the next!
>
> I have some light metallic thread that sort of takes on the colour of the
> fabric under it. That might make it shine a little more. The squares are 3'
> and there are 13 different fabrics in this quilt.

Well, I'm another one who thought of quilting through the squares
diagonally. I was also going to recommend you find a backing with the
pastel colors of the top. If you're set on piecing it though.. I like to
do this. I often piece the back on purpose. I'd think in this case maybe
stripes of color, or perhaps even very large squares, say 9" or so of
the colors of the top (if you still have more of the top fabric, this
would keep you from having to wait to mail order fabric) I just finished
a quilt last fall, a Halloween quilt for my son, and pieced the back in
black and orange, a checkerboard pattern. I really like the way it
turned out, although it was a little tricky while I was pinning it to
keep the top absolutely straight on the backing.

The thread choice sounds neat, too. Let us know how you get on with your project.

Also Kim

[Silverbells]

If you haven't decided yet, and the square in a square is of interest to
you- you could strip piece a large square to be cut up into the
appropriate size for the corner triangles or strip piece the corner
triangles and then attach to a more plain center square- this would
allow you to use up scraps of strips and make this design more
interesting. The strips dont have to be straight when you strip piece
so you dont have to worry about the quilting lines on the back so much.
With strip pieced items it is best (I think) to Machine Quilt.

On the binding- I find that I like to use a slighty darker fabric as my
binding fabric (for you that may be a medium blue or green or
whatever). I find that this kind of gives the eye an idea of where the
quilt "ends" but not so dark that you want to look at the binding more
than the design. This also helps because the edges get more "dirt" and
oils on them from use so it does not stain as easily as a lighter
color. You could use the binding fabric that you choose in some piecing
on the back. (I do not recommend using sheets to make binding fabric
out of because of the nature of sheets it would be difficult to sew
through the multiple layers.)

If you do end up using sheets as part of your fabric- I highly recommend
Machine Quilting it also.

Best of luck and let us know how it turn out!

Julie
Richmond, VA

[Susanne]

Gosh I've got so many great ideas from you girls that I never would have
thought of. I had wondered what fabric to bind the quilt with and had
thought it better to use a light colour but after reading what you said
Julie, I realized you were so right. I'll use a stronger colour in the quilt
for the binding. Either purple or navy.

I saw the square in a square and will have to give it some more thought
before I decide on which method to use.

Thanks to you all.

Susanne
"Silverbells" <jin...@vt.edu> wrote in message
news:3C597DFC...@vt.edu...

[robertaN]

There's a lovely square in a square quilt in the Jan-Feb QNM, made in the
18th century for Peter the Great.
Roberta in DK

"Susanne" <msma...@shaw.ca> wrote in message

news:%o368.3302$2x2....@news3.calgary.shaw.ca...

[Donna in Idaho]

Did you notice in that article - they said in those days they slept
sitting up with big pillows under their arms. Wonder why?
--
Donna in Idaho!
SW Idaho Project Linus Coordinator
Website: http://members.tripod.com/donnakwilts

"robertaN" <rob...@private.dk> wrote in message
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---
Donna's outgoing mail is certified Virus Free.
Checked by AVG anti-virus system (http://www.grisoft.com).
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[Ruth in Happy Camp]

That's a good idea. Look at the quilts called (I think) "Strippies." Some
have pieces blocks, set on point, as alternate strips. Some are just two
fabrics cut into wide strips--one of them a "border print."
--
Ruth in Happy Camp

"Ms. Piglet" <lis...@earthlink.net> wrote in message
news:B87E13C4.69DD%lis...@earthlink.net...

[Susanne]

I hate to sound dumb but what is QNM?

Susanne

"robertaN" <rob...@private.dk> wrote in message
news:3c5afca4$0$215$d40e...@nntp03.dk.telia.net...

[Donna in Idaho]

Quilter's Newsletter Magazine

--
Donna in Idaho!
SW Idaho Project Linus Coordinator
Website: http://members.tripod.com/donnakwilts

"Susanne" <msma...@shaw.ca> wrote in message
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