Saturday, March 5, 2011

Agony Aunt - Karen

Today we're back with another installment of our Agony Aunt series. Don't know what Agony Aunt is? Don't worry, neither did I. From Wikipedia:
"An advice column is a column in a magazine or newspaper written by an advice columnist (colloquially known in British English as an agony aunt, or agony uncle if the columnist is a male). The image presented was originally of an older woman providing comforting advice and maternal wisdom, hence the name "aunt". An advice columnist can also be someone who gives advice to people who send in problems to the newspaper."


Today's question comes to us from Karen Linton (@savinggrc on Twitter). Karen scored the quilt top pictured above for only $15. What a steal! But now the burden for quilting it has fallen upon her shoulders. She would like your advice, dear readers, on how she should quilt this beauty.

Oh, but there's a catch -- the middle piece on each bow tie is three dimensional, meaning it's raised in a way that you can put your fingers underneath but not all the way through. You can see this a little bit better in the image below.


So who's up for the challenge? How would you advice Karen to best quilt this quilt? Have you quilted something similar to this? If so, be sure to share pictures -- we'd love to see them!

16 comments:

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  2. I haven't quilted anything quite like that. However, I have thought about it. I would say "Stitch in the Ditch" but be doubly sure not to catch any of the raised centers.

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  3. I "kinda" agree with Gene Black. I would stitch just outside the ditch on each square within the blocks being sure not to catch the 3D centers.

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  4. depending on how's much she wants to invest into quilting this quilt, I'd do some free motion quilting on the bow ties. Moving from the raised center piece outward, add some quilted "folds" , like a "real" bow tie would look when tied. If needed, you then could do some straight quilting stitched from top to bottom (or side to side) in the ditch.

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  5. I'm sure I'm in the minority here, but I would quilt right over those crazy 3D pieces. So, if it were me, I'd quilt diagonal lines.

    BUT.

    Stitch in the ditch is an excellent way to preserve the unique dimensional quality of these blocks. You could also do a free motion fill in the background of each block, leaving the "bowtie" part alone. That would extra emphasize the 3D part!

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  6. I agree with the Jennifer's second suggestion. In the Ditch for a traditional look - fill in the background only (not the ties) if you feel it needs more.

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  7. I just did a couple of charity quilts that had praire points in them. I used water soluble thread and stitched them down then changed bobbins back to normal thread and did a pantograph. After it was done it washed it and all the water soluble allowed the points to come back to life! It's a little time consuming, but it worked.

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  8. Have you ever stitched in the ditch on a quilt this size? It's a real pain in the butt. I'd stipple a loose meandering pattern over the whole thing,avoiding the bowtie centers.

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  9. I agree with Katie, all over quilting avoiding the raised centers would make them stand out. I made a small cot quilt like this once, only with stuffed centers, and the stippling really made the little "pillows" stand out from the rest. Here's a (very blurry) photo: http://www.flickr.com/photos/mathea/118236835/in/set-72057594048153052/

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  10. With that many different and colorful fabrics and the 3D issue, I'd stitch in the ditch around all the bow ties.

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  11. Granted I only hand quilt but I would echo quilt around each white portion. Then I would quilt around the outside only of each bow-end before finishing with three-to-four lines that come away from the knot portion (like you would see with a real bow tie).

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  12. I agree with Gene. Stitch in the ditch.

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  13. i'm with jennifer...i'd do diagonal straight lines in the opposite direction of the bowties. but maybe i'd not through the center of the bowtie, but instead do a diagonal line on either side of it (so 2 total per block).

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  14. How about a 'link' or 'chain' design in the white areas? You could loop up (or sew a wave pattern) one way & then back to complete the link.

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  15. Hows about you do a continuous curve around the squares (avoiding the 3D bit). Its easier than SID and would add some nice texture to the quilt. (The curvy bits would form a cross between 2 blocks ... if you're with me??)

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  16. I have made several wall hangings using this very pattern and I did echo quilting around each bow tie block. Check it out here at http://www.scrappypiece.blogspot.com

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