Special quilt

Mary,
Please notice that the photo of your quilt is now hidden. Above you should see 2 photos. You may recognize this quilt, it is Janean's. The reason for the two photos of the same border is because the cream thread is hard to see in the light photo; but it shows up very well in the no-flash photo. Each swag is about 3" wide so they can be layered to cover different sized borders. Maybe only two swags on the narrow side borders but 3 swags on the wider top/bottom borders.

Then the 9-patches would be filled with different sized spirals. Using the spirals means that stitch-in-the-ditch is not necessary because the corners will be secured by the spirals.

The white blocks will have (you must choose one)
--Wavy lines between 'entries' or
--Scallops around the block about an inch away from the blue stitched lines

We didn't discuss the thread color. (you must choose one)
I think that a parchment (off-white) would look good in both styles of blocks. Or.....
You might also like a variegated thread. The soft touch is a King Tut cotton thread in light blue tones (see left photo). Or if you want some sparkle, there is the Rainbows color named Panache (photo on the right) which is variegated dark blue, yellow, medium blue and gold.

Call and leave a messge with the thread color and your choice (scallop or wavy line) for the white blocks. And if the swags are what you want for the borders.

Sarah's Song

Hi Lori,

Take a look at some of these ideas. If none of these are what you envision, we'll try some other ideas until we find one that you like. Let me say first, that this quilt has well-defined blocks and a cohesive color scheme. A regimented design such as big zigzag, cross-hatching or Baptist Fans would both harden and detract from the clean design of this quilt and would not do it justice. I think it would look good with feathers, formal or playful but definitely something rounded.

I'm thinking turquoise thread. I have about 6 or 7 different shades of turquoise. Because of the contrast between the dark and the light fabrics, I would feel better if you decide which thread you prefer. The thread is going to show, either in the dark or the light. I can bring all the blue candidates and the quilt to the quilt shop sometime on Saturday if that works for you. We can decide on the borders after we figure out the design for the field.



I have four suggestions for allover quilting. I am leaning toward the Waterworld or Spiral Path. The circles seem to give an element of contrast to the squares in the blocks. The cost for any of these is
$131.21 (includes batting, thread and tax)

Left is Spiral Path; On the right is Tulip Festival











Waterworld on the left. Featheration on the right.











Custom Quilting:
These designs are custom with placement of the motifs inside the blocks and setting triangles. I agree with you that a simple design rather than several motifs is the best approach for this quilt. I propose two designs alternating between the two block designs pictured below. The feathers here are more playful but I believe that formal feathers in a wreath design with a different alternating motif would also look good. The fun feathers would go in the light blue and the spirals swirls would go in the blue on blue block. Each separate block would have to stitched in the ditch (SID) to prevent unwanted puffiness in the corners that would detract from the design. I didn't have a chance to get a photo of the formal feather wreath. If you are intersted, please let me know. This type of design would be $172.93 (including batt, thread and tax).

Fun feathers on the left: Swirls on the right

Chinese Lanterns

Hey Jody,
How about putting these dragons in the top and bottom borders of your Chinese Lanterns quilt? There are 3 photos; the dragon, the dragon head, and the dragon breath. They can be resized to fit your border; maybe one on the top left border facing right; and another on the bottom right border facing left; like dueling dragons.