Have fun thinking about the possibilities as you mix-and-match with the point-to-point triangles or you make it simple and drop block designs in each block of the quilt top. It's fun to dream and scheme and play with the possibilities.
Design time fun playing with blocks as they come ... or tweaking, mix-and-match, or use them in a different way than intended ... the idea: have fun while creating and learning.
What's my favorite ... playing with the triangles and mixing and matching to create a whole new look ... because ... what a great way to get double-duty or more value from the quilting designs in the pattern library. That's the best!
It was a long time in coming but finally the pattern made it to publication. The piecing techniques follow the same process as outlined in my book Curves That Connect. Minimal pinning and use of the stiletto to help in matching the curved edges of the patches make this difficult looking patchwork as easy as pie! You can see detail photo and written instruction on page 72.
When you take a second look at the cutting and piecing instructions for the pattern you will notice that it works very well as a technique sampler as you explore or refine your piecing skills. Full scale templates are included with the pattern. I like to use the extra thick template plastic when making templates for patchwork patterns. Many times I will cut two of the same template piece out the plastic and stick them together with strategically placed double sided sticky tape to make the template just a little more sturdy. I will also use the smallest rotary cutter (18mm) because the blade is so small I would have to work really really hard to shave off part of my template.
The pattern also includes photos of possible quilting designs to be used once the top is pieced. I
took advantage of the secondary designs created from the patchwork to guide in the quilting design process helping to to create a look similar to a cathedral window. You have seen this collection in my catalog ... a collection of block patterns, a triangle pattern, and an E2E pattern. You can see more details about this collection HERE.
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.
I love the feature called CONCATINATION included with our Creative Studio software on our Statler quilting machines. Concatinating is a design process allowing us to create unique edge-to-edge designs using several different but related quilting patterns. We can choose an order in which we would like the patterns to be quilted across the top of the quilt and we can choose how many designs we would like to include in our "new" design.
We can use individual "tack" motifs moving them around on the "drawing pad" of Creative Studio rotating and resizing until a pleasing arrangement comes together. We can also use existing edge-to-edge designs that have common start/stop points and are the same shape. Designing for the feature has become a fun challenge for me as I create different pattern collections. I like to see if I can include at least three different edge-to-edge designs that can be put together in a random order across the quilt top without creating definite "eye-traveling" lines.
Let's look at the designs I created for the Golf Collection.
This is a mockup of 1290 created with 3 repeats. Notice how the motifs line up as they march up and down and across the quilt top.
The "marching syndrome" is even more noticable in this mockup created with a 3x3 repeat using 1291 and look at 1292 to the right. Not quite as bad, but still in evidence. Keep in mind that much of this "marching synfrome" fades into the background most of the time when placed on a quilt enhancing the quilting and fabrics used in the quilt top.
And now look how much more the eye travels in a random pattern across the quilt design when a random combination of all three patterns are used in the concatinating process. Customers will appreciate having a quilt that is as unique and personalized as when they brought their very own creation to you for the finishing touch.