RIBBONS AND STARS Posted on 31 Jan 09:14 , 0 comments
Don't you just love it when faced with a quilt top that stops you in your tracks when trying to develop a quilting design plan? Any number of things can cause you to scratch your head in bewilderment. One of the most common roadblocks is an odd-shaped space. Strong lines on the diagonal also can cause a quilter to shiver in her boots.
Cyndi posed a design dilemma to our Stater group recently. She had pieced a quilt top using a pattern called RIBBONS AND STARS from her good friend with the Noble Patchwork Company and was looking for suggestions for custom quilting. I was very intrigued by the twisting lines created from the piecing and the odd shaped background areas.
First impression ... twisting feather lines and background fill but those designs are quite predictable. Is there something else that would cause the viewers at a quilt show to stop and take a second look as they walk the aisles?
I used Electric Quilt 6 to develop a mock-up of the quilt. The paper piecing lines are quite strong and can be used as a design element to keep the ribbons flowing across the quilt top. Using stitch-in-the-ditch in the paper piecing lines will also help to eliminate the odd shape background areas by allowing the setting triangles to stand alone.
In my art classes we always talked about balance and unity pulling all of the elements together in a visual piece. When you can use quilting designs that are from the same collection in a variety of sizes and shapes the quilt top will pull together as one cohesive visual unit. Using the block pattern from the Willow Collection in the outer border and the small tilted center squares of the pieced blocks is a start in the right direction. Use the triangle from the same collection and it all starts to come together.
All that is left is the four LeMoyne star blocks. Keep things simple. Avoid adding another design element by choosing a block design introducing a whole new concept or idea. Something curvy to help smooth out the linear angular aspect of the stars ... use continuous curve quilting to accent the piecing of the block.
And last but not least, especially for a show quilt, define the framing border with more stitch-in-the ditch.
You can see a larger picture with detailed quilting notes by clicking HERE.