Tuesday, March 9, 2010

Quilting on the long arm


I am quilting ducks today. I have been quilting this painted quilt on black fabric, for the past few days. I am at the point of questioning myself. How much quilting is too much? Adding thread to a painted whole cloth, changes the appearance dramatically. As the quilt is spread in front of you, suddenly you see too much thread. Suddenly I think, "Well, now I've ruined it!" Faces are the hardest part for me. In the past, I think that I have erred on the side of too little quilting. I am trying to be bolder in my quilting approach. I wonder if other quilters struggle with this?

I am going to show a small shot of my ducks, not the whole quilt, just a piece. Have I wrecked the face? Oppinions welcome. Now back to thread work. Yikes!!!

5 comments:

  1. Personally, I think he's quite lovely. Your feathery threadwork enhances rather than detracts from him and adds an extra layer of interest. Only you can decide if that is what you want in a given situation. But I do know what you mean about the line between enough and too much. I don't always do ALL the threadwork as quilting. If it's going to be heavy, I often do thread painting on just the top and then quilt much less heavily through all three layers.

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  2. I'm glad to have an opportunity to see your work and leave a comment! I think the thread work enhances the duck and it would look strange without it since you have a lot of quilting on the other parts. Just look at the amount of stitching on Hollis Chatelain's pieces.

    Nancy Schlegel

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  3. I think you have just the right amount of quilting on this. I looked at it up close and I think it's perfect!

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  4. Thanks for looking and for the feedback. The ducks are almost done! Judy

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  5. I used to quilt more sparsely -- but since I was entering shows & the norm at the shows seems to be 1/4 inch apart, I moved in that direction. I do quilt my faces -- but it can be daunting to do. I suggest printing out a picture & drawing an idea of quilting lines with a pencil. You can always erase them! It's a great way to try out an idea without committing yourself to thread.

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