Thursday, February 11, 2010

Playing with Quilting

Log Cabin Block  (See also: 7 February 2010)

Log Cabin blocks are often assembled so that similar colors form bands.
What if I fill those bands with continuous quilting?

What if I try echo quilting along the edge of the light bands using a contrasting thread color and at the same time fill the dark band with a series of subtle connecting crosses?

Is it just me or does this look jittery to you too?

What if I try something a little more flowing?

This is  calmer.  It reminds me  of vines.  There are a lot of different vine stencils on the market that you can use in just this situation.

9 comments:

  1. More good ideas. SOmeone told me that quilting sets the mood of the quilt, which is something I'd not thought about before. If the quilt was for a teen, they might like jittery! Or if the fabric was all musical themes... I am now thinking I need to make another log cabin quilt. You have sparked some ideas. Thanks

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  2. Wayne,

    I like your approach to the Log Cabin and I can appreciate it from a fellow male quilter. If you want to try some other new patterns, check out www.LujeanQuilt.com

    My mother and I started a new online Quilting community, LujeanQuilt.com and we would love to have you check it out and review it on your blog.

    At LujeanQuilt.com you can talk with other quilters or learn new patterns for projects and borders. The site is fun and most importantly FREE!

    We would appreciate you taking the time to give the site a look!

    This site is built on YOUR input and we look forward to hearing it!

    Have fun! Enjoy! And happy quilting!

    Thanks!

    Adam

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  3. Elsie

    The idea that quilting sets the mood of a quilt is interesting, I'll have to give it some thought.

    I do know that quilting is often a very neglected part of many quilts. I know that, like many quilters, I often don't think about quilting until a quilt is made and ready to be quilted. At that point it easy to do whatever rather than what's best.

    The quilting should be worked out in the design stage. It should be a carefully considered part of the design. Ideally the piecing and the quilting work together to create something that is greater than what either one alone is.

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  4. Adam

    I would no more think of calling my self a male quilter than I would of calling myself a male scrabble player. Quilting is about sewing bits of fabric together with batting in between. What gender the person doing the sewing happens to be is of no consequence.

    Good luck with your site.

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  5. You know, I came looking for ideas for a border of a quilt I was working and you gave me ideas but none "fit." Eventually, I settled on a spiral out from the center of the log cabin block to the edging of each block. It created an very neat visual effect and worked for the quilt I'm binding right now. It won't work for all quilts but if you want to keep playing, try that design and let me know how you like it! I'll be posting my completed photos on my blog in a couple days.

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  6. Becky

    I look forward to seeing how you quilt your Log cabin spiral. I'll be checking your blog. So don't disappoint me.

    A spiral is a natural for a Log Cabin block; a Log Cabin block is a kind of square spiral made with fabric. The stitched spiral and the fabric spiral should complement each other wonderfully.

    I wonder if it would make a difference if the two spirals wound in opposite directions?

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  7. I supppose two in opposite directions might be really neat. I'm so "young" in my quilting I still have a ton to learn and never even thought about the log cabin that way. To me, it was always just strips. Ah well, no one ever accused me of being artistic and they are as surprised as I am with my budding creativity in the quilt realm. -wink-

    I'm binding my quilt tonight and tom. am so pictures will be up tom. evening or Sunday at the latest.

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  8. Becky

    I'm willing to accuse you of being creative. I accuse everyone of being creative. Everyone has an artistic side; some are just afraid to express it.

    If you had been able to find the answer to your problem in my blog that would have been nice. But I think it's great that you were able to discover the spiral solution on your own.

    My goal in starting this blog wasn't to provide answers but to provide inspiration by showing how simple it is to find answers if you go look for them.

    It sounds to me like you are enjoying the thrill of discovery. Nice isn't it?

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  9. yes it is nice, thank you. I think you are succeeding in your goal, the idea in my coming here is always to get "ideas" so things can flow. It's new to me but a method which makes me very grateful for the internet and blogs. :D

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