I sewed them together by machine this time and it worked a charm. Refer back to last week's post for the tute link.
Now the quilting.
I used this pretty fabric my friend Mary gave me thinking I could flip the table topper and get a really different look.
I CAN, but it complicates the quilting.
If I machine quilt it from this side and accent the flowers, it won't define the hexies on top. I think it will look odd on the flower side to accent the hexie shape on top.
Complicating the whole thing is I kind of want to hand quilt it since I haven't done that in a long time.
Opinions??
What color thread will work on both sides, maybe lime green.
Yep, something neutral like lime.
This is where the runner will live, replacing the winter one... until I get the dining room table cleared off.
Until then I thought you might like to see some gratuitous yellow studio shots. I love yellow and it brightens up a space.
22 comments:
I would have hand quilted it, one inch from the outer edges of every hexie. If you machinw quilt it all over, all the fantastic fabrics will be sort of hidden. Good luck anyway.
Well, there's still time as it hasn't been quilted at all yet!
LeeAnna
Very nice! Enjoy World Wide Quilting Day!
Hi LeeAnna,
Neutral...Lime Green! Now you're talking! I think you missed my bright green wall fase a few years ago! Yellow is beautiful!
Love seeing your treadle sewing machine in the pict! What a treasure that one is!
Have to think about the quilting!
take care,
Joanne
Which side do you consider to be the star? To me, the hexies were more work so I would quilt from that side and let the stitching fall where it may on the back (flowers). Since you love yellow, chances are you'll use it hexie side up more often . . .
Well, I'm going to try to think "outside the box" here ---- I'd use bright yellow thread - which would work with BOTH sides (or even bright RED) - and instead of actually hand-quilting it, I'd think more about perhaps .....hang in there with me a moment......using a buttonhole embroidery stitch around the whole thing! It would work with both sides, it would do the work that a quilting stitch would do, it would flatter both the hexes AND the backing fabric, and hey - I think it would look cool too! IMHO, of course! You would of course, use embroidery floss, perhaps 3 strands, it is hard to say - you'd have to figure that out by holding it against the fabric itself. Just an idea, but it came to me and since you asked for ideas, I thought I'd share my wacko idea. VERY pretty runner and I love yellow too!
I love the yellow hexes! if that were my piece i might hand stitch that quarter inch around just inside each or if i was machining i might do a spiral stitch of some kind inside each piece .lime thread sounds tasty to me too!
I think I would quilt around each hexie so as not to cover up all the scrappy goodness. The back is almost as good as the front - a two fer!
Tough choice. The quilting decision is what always holds me up. Great little runner though.
I noticed one comment talked about using a buttonhole embroidery stitch. I've seen some pretty wonderful quilting done with embroidery stitches to make it look like a crazy quilt. Lime green would definitely add that pop of colour. Yellow could work too depending on the shade. Have fun deciding. I'm sure we've all just muddied your decision making.
This idea might be too boring. Outline the flowers, then turn it over and outline the hexies where the flowers aren't.
Love the bright neutral! Go Big Green.
I like Ann's idea of quilting around the flower petals and sections from the back, then outlining the remaining hexis to emphasize them. A soft yellow thread would probably blend in to the front and create hexagons on the back. You could do spiraled hexagons inside each hexagon or even do straight lines in different directions, so that each hexagon would be distinct from the ones around it. If you really want to bring the hexis out through quilting, you could even vary the thread color in each hexagon.
This is what I was thinking too. Thanks for the sunshiny yellow tour of your studio!:)
well, that's a thought. Do both! Quilt the hexies from the front, then turn it over and quilt a simple flower outline from the back. I want to do it by hand this time for some reason... thanks y'all!!!
I could have gone any of the mentioned ways especially if I was doing it by machine, and loved the idea of the red threads. I think red for flower shapes, and lime for hexies! Great!LeeAnna
nice job on the hexies, top thread on the finished project is always a hard decision, maybe yellow? but don't listen to me , my blocks are crying cause I've abandoned them lol! I do liek to hand stitch as it's "supposed" to sooth the soul, mainly because it reminds me of hubbys grandmother & my Aunt who always painlessly hand quilted all their finished quilts
Helen
Lime would be good, but have you thought about a red-orange?
I would machine quilt it, and use a blending colour for each side (or a contrast). My first thought on seeing this was something in the centre of each hexie - a tiny flower? A hexie outline? As you are thinking of hand quilting it, why not try a variegated thread which goes from a gold through to a red. There are a few new embroidery threads around which have a glorious sheen to them and lots of lovely colours. Do you have a shop which specializes in embroidery somewhere close by?
I do all my quilting with a sewing machine. When I see hand quilted items, I appreciate all the work.
I wish I could help you with the no-reply thing. My friend has google + and struggles with no-reply issues.
I think the idea of quilting the flowers first and the hexie in the rest of the space is great! I would use yellow thread that would blend in with the scrappyness of the front and match the flowers fabric quite well! Looking forward to see how you will quilt it!! thanks for sharing!!
How large are those hexies? Maybe you can hand quilt straight lines from one end to the other longways. It looks like nine lines of stitching if you line up with the points and centers of the hexies. Big stitch in several different colors including the always fabulous lime green and maybe a little orange would be cute.
Love lime green as a neutral. Have fun with the hand quilting.
Well, I think your idea to hand quilt and lime green thread are a good idea, then I think quilting from either side would complement the other. If you quilt the flowers on the back it would like nice on the front, as would quilting around the hexies on the front look good on the back.
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