FMQ meander question
03-13-2011, 11:43 PM
#1
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Join Date: Mar 2011
Location: South Yorkshire UK
Posts: 1,145
After spending lots of time talking about FMQ, reading about FMQ, even practising FMQ, I'm about to take a deep breath and actually put a quilt on the sewing machine :-)
I'm just going to do a simple meander, but I need to ask an obvious question - where do I start?! Do I begin at the edge of the quilt and work across and down - or not?
I'm just going to do a simple meander, but I need to ask an obvious question - where do I start?! Do I begin at the edge of the quilt and work across and down - or not?
03-14-2011, 01:43 AM
#5
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Join Date: Dec 2010
Location: Northern California mountains
Posts: 12,538
In hand quilting or quilting on a regular machine, the general rule is inside to outside. on a LA, the general rule is from one corner across and back by rows to the far corner. Like all rules, there are exceptions.
I do quite a bit of FMQ. Sometimes, the quilt seems to call for some non-FMQ gridwork. For example, on the NYB quilt I posted earlier this evening, I think I probably will do SITD along the block edges, then use FMQ within the blocks and on the borders. The advantage to this technique is that large areas are 'controlled' before I begin the FMQ.
Since I often use different colors in quilting different areas, I used to do all of one color, then all of another. This led to some serious difficulties.
BTW, my guild owns a LA, but I am now too disabled to stand and use it, so I generally do all my work on my Janome, even king-sized. Once in a while I have a guild sister do a meander in some parts, leaving the more interesting parts for me.
I do quite a bit of FMQ. Sometimes, the quilt seems to call for some non-FMQ gridwork. For example, on the NYB quilt I posted earlier this evening, I think I probably will do SITD along the block edges, then use FMQ within the blocks and on the borders. The advantage to this technique is that large areas are 'controlled' before I begin the FMQ.
Since I often use different colors in quilting different areas, I used to do all of one color, then all of another. This led to some serious difficulties.
BTW, my guild owns a LA, but I am now too disabled to stand and use it, so I generally do all my work on my Janome, even king-sized. Once in a while I have a guild sister do a meander in some parts, leaving the more interesting parts for me.
03-14-2011, 01:45 AM
#6
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Join Date: Aug 2010
Location: Kentucky
Posts: 4,091
What kind of Janome are you using for those big quilts?
Originally Posted by QM
In hand quilting or quilting on a regular machine, the general rule is inside to outside. on a LA, the general rule is from one corner across and back by rows to the far corner. Like all rules, there are exceptions.
I do quite a bit of FMQ. Sometimes, the quilt seems to call for some non-FMQ gridwork. For example, on the NYB quilt I posted earlier this evening, I think I probably will do SITD along the block edges, then use FMQ within the blocks and on the borders. The advantage to this technique is that large areas are 'controlled' before I begin the FMQ.
Since I often use different colors in quilting different areas, I used to do all of one color, then all of another. This led to some serious difficulties.
BTW, my guild owns a LA, but I am now too disabled to stand and use it, so I generally do all my work on my Janome, even king-sized. Once in a while I have a guild sister do a meander in some parts, leaving the more interesting parts for me.
I do quite a bit of FMQ. Sometimes, the quilt seems to call for some non-FMQ gridwork. For example, on the NYB quilt I posted earlier this evening, I think I probably will do SITD along the block edges, then use FMQ within the blocks and on the borders. The advantage to this technique is that large areas are 'controlled' before I begin the FMQ.
Since I often use different colors in quilting different areas, I used to do all of one color, then all of another. This led to some serious difficulties.
BTW, my guild owns a LA, but I am now too disabled to stand and use it, so I generally do all my work on my Janome, even king-sized. Once in a while I have a guild sister do a meander in some parts, leaving the more interesting parts for me.
03-14-2011, 02:33 AM
#8
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Join Date: Dec 2007
Location: Newfoundland Canada
Posts: 1,695
People have told you to start in the middle but not the reason... When you start in the middle you are quilting out any bumps, irregular spots or puckers as you go. I know, I know you don't have any of those in your work, but believe me if you were to quilt to the middle, you'd have one ugly mess in the center!
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