Advice from a Quilting Coach

By Diane Harris and Mary Beth Krapil

This is a followup to a recent post where I wondered how to quilt a top I made called Vintage Zigzag. It’s one of those love-hate projects because it wasn’t easy to sew (bias edges for miles), but the finished product gives me goosebumps.

So I want a solid quilting plan before I begin, and that’s where Mary Beth comes in. Mary Beth Krapil is a Handi Quilter National Educator with years of experience in machine quilting, and in teaching others how to machine quilt on a variety of machines. She has become my quilting coach!

I wondered about a different design in each of the green squares. I wondered how much quilting was necessary in the scrappy yellow strips. I wondered if I should attempt something in keeping with its vintage vibe. And Mary Beth had good advice, as I knew she would. Her thoughts are below.

Advice from My Coach

 

The first thing I thought when I heard Diane’s quilting plan was this: How many green squares is that, exactly? So I counted, and there are 33 squares. That’s a lot of designs to come up with, and it totals 53 if you want to include the green triangles! It makes me tired just thinking about it.

 

Dream Flight, a Jacqueline de Jonge design

That could be because I’m quilting a Jacqueline de Jonge Dream Flight quilt for a friend and I am trying to do different designs in the “moons.”  I’m challenged to come up with lots of variety that will work to create good texture. I’m just getting started.

I also think different designs in all the green squares will just be too busy. But that is my aesthetic showing. I like symmetry and cohesiveness; I like to tie things together with repetition. Diane is a lot more free spirited  than I am when it comes to her quilts.

On the other hand I don’t want to discourage her from doing all those designs because, what great practice that would be for someone new to longarm machine quilting! If you haven’t read previous posts, Diane just recently got an HQ Capri stationary longarm machine and is having a blast quilting up her UFO’s and learning about longarm quilting.

So, how about a compromise? Quilt the same design in every other block, and in the alternate blocks, quilt different designs. I think the same design in alternating blocks would unify the quilt but still give the opportunity for fun, creativity, and practice.

Examples

This vintage zigzag is really neither feminine or masculine. But we can sway it with the quilting.
Something on the feminine side:

Or something a little more geometric:

With the geometric choice you will get plenty of ruler work practice! And if you do the other blocks in
curvy freeform quilting, it will provide contrast, which adds interest.

Things to keep in mind

• When adding your varied designs, try to keep the density of quilting as close as possible to the
other blocks. This will help to keep the quilt flat.
• The busy colorful zigzags only need something simple because the quilting will not show very
much. I’m thinking some freeform squiggly lines. That will be quick to quilt and make up for all
the time spent on the blocks.

• If you want a place to practice feathers, these zigzags are ideal! They won’t show your bobbles
much.
• Decide how confident you are with what you quilt in the green squares. If you are feeling bold
then go with a contrasting thread so that the quilting will really show! Perhaps feeling a little more
timid? Choose a matching thread.

I can’t wait to see what you choose, Diane!