Pick a petal - quilt as you go

[Michelle G.]

I know it seems early to discuss this but I am thinking of the free motion quilting for my 'Pick a Petal' quilt already. After wrestling with the last 2 quilts of the month, I have decided to quilt as you go for this one. So I need to make a plan now. I can see that the original is hand-quilted, which is charming but looks like hard work. So far I have just been ditching it. Am I the only one attempting to quilt as you go? What has everybody else got in mind?

[Barbara B.]

It’s never too early to think about the quilting process. This one might be a good candidate for QAYG. The center with the first borders of blocks makes a good start. The log cabin borders can be next. Finally the outer borders of blocks, including the fan block borders, could be done separately.
I have only done a couple quilts QAYG, the first years ago where the seams on the back were sewn by hand. There are easier ways to do it, all by machine.
Type Quilt As You Go into the SEARCH box to find several shows here that feature this process.

[Michelle G.]

Thank you for your input. I was going to sew the front facing seams then cut the batting to size and use batting tape (so you don’t get the big bump ). I was going to hand sew the back seam but I saw a process where you use ‘steam a seam’ on the back and then just free motion over the seam to blend it in.

[LORI M.]

I’ve been thinking about the quilting too. I think mine will be a hybrid version. I’m planning on machine quilting the middle with the first round of blocks. Then I’ll hand quilt (probably big dtitch quilt) the log cabin blocks with the applique. Then machine stitch the last border. I’m only adding one row of blocks after rhe log cabin blocks. Big quilts are too much for me to handle. Mine won’t really be quilt as you go. I tried that with another bigger quilt, and it wasn’t the funnest to put together when things got bigger! I’m thinking of starting with the whole backing, pinning for the basting as usual, then doing the middle first, probably adding some light machine quilting in the log cabin blocks to stabilize them. After the hand quilting is done, I’ll machine quilt the last row. Hopefully it works like I’m envisioning it!

[Michelle G.]

Thank you Lori, when I started this quilt, I really didn’t have much of a plan in place (lol),which is standard for me! I let things evolve with minimal organisation. So it’s really nice to hear from others.