Okay, that was a bit of a lie...it's me that needs you.
This morning I basted my long forgotten Cameo Giant Star. Don't even ask me when I made this quilt top but it's been languishing in a cupboard and today its number was called.
I pin basted it and then quickly decided that perhaps I should hand quilt it. I make no bones of how I don't enjoy machine quilting and so I plan to hand quilt it using perle. I love seeing those colourful chunky stitches and I love hand quilting.
I'm not looking for help on technique but rather what colours you would suggest. In the patterned sections, would you use a contrast thread or a similar tone? Would you quilt in straight lines across the quilt or in sections?
Whether you hand quilt or not, I would love to hear from you!
21 comments:
It's going to be beautiful, A! I am not an experienced hand quilter, so I tend to choose coordinating perle. I love what Susan and Sarah make with contrasting perle, too! I'm just not that brave ;)
the choice comes down to how much you want it to stand out? It would be stunning on the blue in a contrast .. the patterned areas are rather busy so they are likely to be dominant .. personally I would do straight in the patterned star areas and a contrast of a pattern in the solid areas x depends also on how much work you want to put into it now that it has "matured" xx
Such a beautiful quilt! Although this is probably not very helpful I think you have to let it sit somewhere you can see it all the time and wait for it to 'tell' you! I think your use of colour is amazing, and I know that it will look fantastic.
Yeah hand quilting! Whatever you do will look awesome. I would probably straight line in coral or navy. If you want some expert help ask Helen!
I am the last one to ask about hand quilting - I know nothing!!
I bet you will make it look fantastic whatever you go with!
I'd do a similar colour on the patterned areas, and quilt it with the design rather than straight lines I think. A contrast would be lovely on the blue though. Whatever you do, I'm sure it will look good.
I love this giant star! I'm not a keen hand quilter so not much use to you. But the bright colours in the fabrics could definitely carry bright, contrasting colours in perle. Good luck! Jxo
It's beautiful Annabella. What about a navy thread in the print sections and a variety of colours which echo the print fabrics in the navy section. I think the contrast would be really fun. If you went down that route I think echoing the star shape in the navy sections would look fab.
I agree with adrianne about navy in the star and contrasting colours in the navy solid. That would be stunning and the bright threads will not be competing on your star but accentuating it out in the solid. Most of my hand quilting experience has been straight lines echoing original patterns so I can't suggest much else. Have fun whatever you decide.
I agree with adrianne about navy in the star and contrasting colours in the navy solid. That would be stunning and the bright threads will not be competing on your star but accentuating it out in the solid. Most of my hand quilting experience has been straight lines echoing original patterns so I can't suggest much else. Have fun whatever you decide.
I think I would go contrasting, and follow the shape of the diamonds from centres to points to make the lone star shape stand out more?
I like Adrianne's idea of colours. I would follow the shape of the star - not sure how far apart - it depends on how much work you want and how soft you want the finished quilt.
Not that I'm an expert either!
I would go for the same colour in the star and variegated in the navy section... I would make the start stand out, so quilt around it...
Personally I would go for one colour thread in navy. Somehow I imagine smaller stars coming out of the big one and flooding into the dark blue background.
I’m curious to see what you decide!
I would definitely contrast stitch on the solid bits. Picking out colours from the pattern bits. Maybe use the same colour as the solid to stitch the patterned bits?
I am just about finished hand quilting a queen sized quilt. I too was entranced with the perle cotton idea. I used varigated colors in the white areas of my quilt block pulling those colors from the material in the colored sections. I can tell you that I'll probably never use this much perle cotton ever again. It is cramping my hands and my neck. You exert your muscles pulling the thread through with each stitch and pulling the knot through to initiate the line of quilting. Since your quilt doesn't have small blocks, but is one large block. I would use regular thread throughout. I'd probably use a dark red to quilt the navy area just so that you have some contrast. Then I would use my perle cotton to make little stars (like asteriks) throughout the navy area. This way you'll enhance your big star with little stars in the "sky" so to speak. I too love the looked the look of those definitive perle stitches, but I won't ever use it in large quantities again in a quilt. It's just too hard on my hands and shoulders. I have about 30 years of hand quilting experience. I, like you, love the look and feel of hand quilting. I used a #8 perle to do mine. Your quilt is beautiful and will be lovely no matter what you chose to do.
It looks like you have some good suggestions already. Canadian abroad would be a helpful resource to answer this question too
I would use contrasting colours (why making the effort of hand quilting when it isn't going to be seen?). Make the star stand out by following the contours outside it, and maybe follow the diamond shapes inside. To avoid problems, use a very light wadding and a sharp, tapered needle. Don't make the knot too big to pull through (I wind 2x with the thicker thread, instead of 3x with normal quilting thread), and sometimes it is worth pulling through from the back instead from pulling through the front fabric. I have happily quilted several quilts with perle, and because of the thicker thread you can make bigger stitches, and fly through it quicker, too. I'm sure it will look great whatever you decide!
Hmm, as the woman that would only hand quilt at the point of a cattle prod, I look forward to seeing what advice you take from others :oD
Love this giant star in AB fabrics, Annabella! The colours are so luscious.
My 2 cents on the quilting... quilt each section of the star in a different colour (to contrast) and echo quilt each shape. For the background, keep the thread the same colour as the background and echo quilt (will add texture and keep focus on the star).
That all said, I really think you can't go wrong, however you decide to hand quilt this beauty. Can't wait to see what you decide. Happy stitching!
It's going to look amazing whatever you do!!
Post a Comment