Cedar

I've gotten my quilt layed out and pinned (unless I decide to change it again) and I'm thinking that I definitely do not want to tie it like I've done before. What would be really ideal would be stitched branch shapes to make the concept more than just blending colors.

I've never stitched a quilt and it ended up being full sized so its probobly not the best idea to decide to learn to free motion quilt on this project (although I'm typically good at sewing curves). I used to do alot of embroidery so I'm thinking hand quilting is the way to go.

So what are the rules? How much space between seams is too much from a practical standpoint? How much can my quilting be drawing with thread?

DJ

No rules! It sounds like you have a good idea of how you'd like it to look, you just need to decide on a technique. Space between quilting is limited by the batting. Some batting will allow you to space stitching further apart. Do you think some of the big stitch hand quilting would look good? I don't think I could FMQ something that large on my domestic machine. If you're going to hand quilt, you might pick a batting that is recommended as easy to hand quilt.

crafty pat

Some of the prettiest quilts I have seen the quilter did beautiful artsy quilting. It is your quilt so go with what you feel right with and you will find that you have beautiful quilts that are your own designs.

Doggramma

No rules at all! And if your quilt is well basted and you have support behind/to the left of your machine, you will be able to manuver it for quilting. I've done quilts bigger than that on my regular machine (before I got my bigger machine). I think your idea sounds awesome. You should go for it!

Doggramma

Sorry I missed the hand part! Easier yet!

wolph33

I would practice on a few small items/plain fabrics to get a feel for quilting before starting on your quilt.have fun

PaperPrincess

Well, there is one rule! The batting dictates the farthest apart your quilting lines can be. Some batting will support 10" between quilting, some 3 or 4 inches so it makes a big difference. Look at the packaging your batting came in, or go online and look it up.

NJ Quilter

A wonderfully complete and concise answer to your question. I would only add, if you're thinking of doing 'branch shapes', look into some of the various color choices you have for hand quilting thread as well. Determine if you want your branches to be noticed or not (I would think you would) and how 'earthy' looking you want to go. I love using various colored threads - even in a single quilt - to highlight or lowlight my quilting.

GrannieAnnie

Let your batting determine your minimum spacing. Outside of that--------------be free, go wild, experiment.

Cedar

Thank you! This is exactly what I was looking for. I knew that I didn't see spaced out designs very often for a reason, and I don't think I've ever seen anything quite like what I'm envisioning before. I think it work to have some areas with a leaf motif spaced 6-8" apart and some areas with branches a little closer -- or would individual motifs be too small for some reason? Is there a good batting for hand stitching and wide spacing? I havent chosen backing or batting yet, I just needed to figure out if this idea would work because I would want to adjust the layout otherwise. I do have two fabric stores nearby claiming to be the biggest in the nation so I should be able to get what I need if it exhists. Also what is a good resource to help me understand the differences between hand quilting and embroidery (other than the obvious)?