The more I fret about quilting, the more I try to "match" it to the fabric prints. So I considered tracing those large circles, small daisies, and wavy lines. Too constrained. Too many thread changes. The spiral looks cleaner and more effective.
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| Propeller baby quilt |
The only problem was the center of the spiral. It's very hard to turn the quilt smoothly in such a tiny radius. I have used FMQ in the center and switched to the walking foot when the circle was larger but it's hard to enough keep the spacing the same with one foot. It's almost impossible with two different feet. Marking a spiral wasn't a good option this time because my marking pens blended into the print.
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| Original spiral quilting in the center is not well aligned |
I resewed it by simply following the printed design of the center. The spiraling starts at the edge of the center circle. The lines still have some irregularities but those are much less obvious.
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| Center is quilted by following the print with a walking foot |
Then I pulled fabric for the binding. Lots and lots of fabrics. Red, blue, light blue, grey, white, striped. You name it; I tried it. Most were too harsh. The pale grey striped border called for a light- colored binding. Here are three of my final ideas. The black at the bottom made a very severe line as did all those strong blues and reds. I liked the grey and yellow but preferred the soft blue with orange-red flowers... even though it looks like a 30's reproduction print. It ties to the center better.
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| Binding choices for Propeller baby quilt |
The back is a soft twill-like weave in baby pink that was a bit wider than normal so it didn't need piecing. I wish I knew the name of the weave. It drapes beautifully; not a bit stiff like my idea of twill.
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| Binding detail of Propeller baby quilt |
One more detail photo. Without realizing it, Propeller baby quilt is a small exercise in scale change, too. Woo-hoo; invitation met - even if it is a bit late.
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| Propeller baby quilt detail |
Previous posts:
Quilt Details
Size: 44" x 44"
Designs: Airplane Propellers and Flying Geese
Batting: Mountain Mist 100% cotton
Thread: Gutterman 50 wt cotton, grey on front, pink on back
Quilting: SID and Spiral with walking foot
Size: 44" x 44"
Designs: Airplane Propellers and Flying Geese
Batting: Mountain Mist 100% cotton
Thread: Gutterman 50 wt cotton, grey on front, pink on back
Quilting: SID and Spiral with walking foot
Enjoy the day, Ann
36 comments:
Your Propeller quilt is a beauty! 😍Great spiral design quilting, and good idea for the center 😉
Congratulations for getting this one finished; it turned out wonderful! The light binding looks perfect on this quilt. I still must try spiral quilting.
What a great quilt! Love how you've quilted it (gotta try this some time). Those flying geese added to the mix really work well with it, and your fabrics are to die for.
this is amazing--your quilting came out so well--I like the wind currents idea a lot--nice work --beautiful
colors in this--
congrats on a finish and figuring it out....sometimes i think that is the hardest part...;000
hugs, Julierose
Although wrapping a baby up is a great use for this quilt, I think it is more likely to become wall art. It is just beautiful, and I can imagine it giving great pleasure for years and years on someone's living room or bedroom wall. Maybe after many years, it would be taken down to wrap the original owner's first grandchild. I'm so glad you shared the photos and process.
I love hearing about the decision making process. When we see a finished quilt we think, of course it has a spiral or a circle, or concentric lines, not that the maker had to make decisions along the way! It is interesting to look at as are all your quilts, with a lot of movement. A baby sure would like to focus on each pattern.
I had forgotten about this one! It's beautiful. So joyful and fun looking. LOVE the value change in the flying geese and how it adds even more movement throughout the quilt! This is such a 'you' quilt, just wonderful. I am loving your spiral stitching too, no matter how imperfect it may look to you.
Super finish!
Your spiral quilting is the perfect touch for this wonderful quilt. It would
make a fabulous wall hanging where it could be seen without baby drool all over it, not that I have anything against baby's quilts, but this one is really special!
The spiral quilting is perfect for the propeller blocks---really recreates the movement of propellers!!
Wow I love this little quilt!! Great fabrics, movement and quilting. The circles are a perfect choice. Congratulations on a stunning finish Ann.
I like everything about this one...the block, the fabrics, the colors, the quilting...Congrats on the spectacular finish.
I always struggle as to how to quilt and what color thread to use so like to see how others make the decisions.
I am with you on the debate over how to quilt a finished top -- I spend WAAAAY too much time pondering when, like your propellers, the answer is really quite simple (I just try to make it too complicated). LOVELY finish -- some very lucky baby (and its parents) will be thrilled with this quilt.
A great quilt! I love the additional flying geese, and your overall colour combo. I'm seeing quite a few similer ideas lately, but with straight lines not curved, (Susan from patchworknplay has been busy making her 'boston common' blocks and there's a popular pattern called 'tussie mussie' by christine vlasic that is very similer too).
Carefully chosen fabrics, a gorgeous pattern, perfectly executed and the quilting could not be more appropriate. A spectacular finish!!! How I'd love to get my hands on your scraps :-)
Congratulations, fabulous finish. Great piecing, quilting and contrast.
I like reading your thoughts on your choices, inspiring.
The binding fabric opens the whole design.
What a relief to get this one finished. Hanging it for so long added some creases and stretched areas which were tricky to resolve. Spiral quilting is fun; just make sure you don’t pull on the bias.
How kind of you, Marie. I enjoyed making the top. It’s always fun to mix fabrics with abandon.
Thank you for writing, Frédérique. I hope you use the idea and information I. Your quilting some time.
I agree that choosing a quilting design is the most difficult part. The older I get the more I lean to simple designs.
That’s a delightful idea, Juliana. I’ll have to think about who might want a wall quilt.
This is why I prefer blogging. We makers like to discuss our thoughts, efforts, and results. Wouldn’t it be wonderful to talk with one of the masters about why they chose a certain color, lighting, or brushstroke? It certainly adds to my understanding to read why you used a certain technique.
It’s always good to hear from you. What did you think of the monster light show a few nights ago? Did it get to Denver? It was amazing to the south.
I had almost forgotten it, too. Or I psyched myself out about the quilting since I kept making the designs more and more intricate. I do like these simpler repetitive designs these days.
Thanks, Pamela.
Thanks for writing. You all make me think it needs a home on someone’s wall. I just know I’d like to see it myself occasionally and that colors my thoughts on the recipient.
Thanks, Mel. I wanted to do something intricate like you but this was what worked for me.
Thanks, Maureen. Making the top was delightful but it took a while to decide on quilting,
Thanks, Cathy. It's always interesting how others handle those decisions. Grey was the best choice to cover all those fabrics.
We are so alike, Julie. I can drive myself crazy with the quilting.
It is interesting to see block design progressions. I looked at the blogs you mentioned and they are some I should follow. What fun. Thanks.
You are so kind, Preeti. Most of these scraps are gone. They go to the scrap bag and then to Coin (or other) quilts. You have beautiful fabrics yourself which must mean we have similar taste.
Thanks for writing, Janie. Reading each others' thoughts is the best part of blogging. Thanks for confirming the binding; most are darker but this needed something light. If I knew it would bea wall quilt I would have faced it rather than bound it.
perfect choice for quilting that quilt.
Thanks.
I have always loved your propeller blocks. Two of your choices ring true for me: I find I am often drawn to lighter bindings now, whereas once I tended to use darker fabrics. I like how they expand the feel of the quilt (if that makes sense?) I also think that on the whole the simpler quilting options work best for those of us who use lots and lots of fabrics in our work, pulling everything together rather than adding an extra, disparate element.
Light bindings seem to work for some of my newer quilts, especially like yours when they make the edge open and free. After years trying to make fancy FMQ, I am realizing it will never show on the busy prints I like. And I like prints most. Parallel-style quilting (echo, etc) show up on prints but not much else. As you point out, the fancy stitching looks disparate rather than unifying.
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