Well, working at crafting anyway! I've been working hard on a project for the Purse Palooza, and I finally got back to my Bottled Rainbows blocks. I've "finished" 3 so far and have 2 more ready to set up.
This is petal, lime and lagoon in Kona. Now, I have a question. I wanted mine to be a little different cause I know of at least a few people in my quilting guild doing this quilt who are doing theirs with more design in the actual placement of the scraps. I'm not good at that so I was thinking about going back and doing some FMQ (sort of) on some of the bigger scraps that need a little help staying down anyway. So I started with lagoon.
Some extra stitching around white randrops...
some extra squares...
and a Pac-man like path through one of the fabrics. Here's my issue. Because I did it in the color of the block, you can't see it. You have to be right on the block to see the extra stitching. My question is this...is it worth it to do extra stitching if you can't even see it? Also, should I have done the center stitching in white so it would stand out more? I'm just not sure it's even worth it to do, though it will help with holding the larger pieces down in the long run.
My other idea was to actually stitch in between the scraps with the blue thread, almost like it was meandering through the piece, but I'm not sure I like that either. There's not much room on some blocks. Yet ANOTHER idea was to wait until they are all put together and free motion some vines or something in a rainbow variegated thread onto the solids, letting it meander throughout the quilt top, only on the solid colors. I don't know. Not sure what I think about that either. I need help. :)
6 comments:
I love your idea of doing some selective FMQ throughout, Melinda. I agree with you though, that it's probably not worth it if you can't see it. What about using white thread instead or something else that has more contrast?
I like the idea of the extra stitching, especially since it will help them stay down but I do agree that a different thread would work better. Nicer to see your hard work instead of making it disappear.
SO cute!!!!
Look again. When you stitch on a quilted item you may not be able to readily see the stitching. The color of the thread can blend into the fabric. However, the wadding will be compressed where the stitching is. Light your quilt from the side and have a look. The light should reveal the quilting in the shadows made by the compressed batt. Do you like the dimension that the stitching adds?
Your rainbow blocks are looking great!! I just finished my 12 blocks and sandwiched the quilt and then got stuck with how to quilt it. Same issues as you... I wanted the quilting to show, but with some many colors ... it was hard to get the contrast. I went with off white thread... and am actually quilting it upside down.. tracing the design on the backing -- flowers (I'll have progress pictures up tomorrow). It's a fun pattern, looking forward to seeing what you do with it.
I'm working on my BR blocks too...stayed up way too late last night sewing away on them but had fun!
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