Ethel A

Do you consider the size of the quilt? If so, do you quilt only smaller quilts or do you 'not care' and will quilt really large quilts?

Do you handquilt your hand-appliqued quilts but not the ones that were rotary-pieced?

What helps you decide which ones will be handquilted and which ones will not?

mic-pa

My decision to hand quilt is based on who the quilt is for, wether it is Heirloom or just a quilt the child (or person) will drag around and be washed frequently. How often it will be used. I enjoy the process of making them and then giving them away and there is not enough time in my lifetime to hand quilt every one I do. So I think it is an individual decision. Marge

liblueeyes

I hand quilt all my quilts from very small to very large, appliqued , machine pieced etc. I do however change how I quilt for those quilts that will get a lot of love I use a perle cotton to quilt and use a bigger stitch. Wallhangings I may use less elaborate hand quilting. Some of my wallhangings have minimal quilting and some I got carried away. I don't machine quilt - more because I find it difficult. Good luck on choosing a way to quilt your projects. Just know that whatever you choose it will be just right for you !
Deb

marsye

How much time do you have? :wink:

sew cornie

I second this. I've even tied baby quilts for those that have taken less effort to put together. And if it's likely to get washed very frequently, I'll use a sheet of flannel in place of the batting. I've found it easier to machine quilt this way too. I'm much better at hand than machine quilting so if it's something that I've put much much effort into and don't want to flub, I stick with hand quilting.

liblueeyes

Well, not a whole lot...... but I enter in the State Fair every year - and I can go to town when there is a deadline : ) IF I had a better machine I might be enticed to machine quilt but my "cheap" machine just can't do it!

thismomquilts

I always hand quilt - no matter the size - I have no quilting machine and sending them away is too costly.

Up North

I love to hand quilt. Love the look and the heirloom quality
it gives the quilt, size doesn't matter. Now mind you I have only done 4 so far so could change my mind. 2 baby quilts a full and a king size. I love the process of it, Machine quilting I can "buy" hand quilting I can "do".

mpspeedy

I love handquilting. It is something I can do while watching TV, listening to music or talking with friends. It relaxs me. I have been doing a lot of simple machine quilting using decorative stitches for the Linus Project. I also usually machine quilt items for other people who are not quilters. I just finished my 18th Linus quilt this month on my machine and my neck is stiff. I will be putting heat on it before I can sleep. I presently only have one small 24" by 23" white on white wholecloth piece to handquilt. I take it to our little Bee that meets everyother week and quilt while we chat. I need to put together a quilt top so that I can get something on my frame now that cooler weather seems to be here. I learned long ago to work under a time pressure. It is a curse in a way. My idenity mpspeedy describes how I do things. Many years ago I was a lab tech. We recieved shipments of speciams several times a day. It was always a rush to complete each shipment as we did not know what the next one would bring. I rarely have UFOs around unless I am getting a few projects together to take to my annual quilt retreat.

QuiltMania

Right now I only hand quilt things that will be for me. I did hand quilt one small quilt for each of my 2 boys. The next ones they get will be machine quilted.