Kassaundra

With this method you can't, but there are other methods where you can join quilted columns. I did it w/ my Allieteire w/o sashing and am doing it w/ Provence w/ the pieced sashing. There are many methods of QAYG, just depends on the finished look you want.

annette1952

I have made 2 quilts using this method. It doesn't matter what size your blocks are. Just sew them into a column. You can even do it by a row instead of a column. Make sure you do leave enough backing & batting on the left side when you start out so you have something to hold onto while quilting. I really liked her method & I didn't have any problems.

busy fingers

I am currently doing a QAYG without any sashings and sewing the rows together as I go rather than joining up individual blocks. I watched a video on you-tube which showed me exactly what I hoped could be done but did not know how.

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=L_b9WjeP0mU

SuzzyQ

I’m doing a method of QAYG I got from a book by the Sewing with Nancy lady. There is no handwork.
Basically you sew your top together in strips – no more than 18 inches wide. I usually have 4 -6 strips. Layout and take a picture to refer to later.
Cut your backing into pieces about 2 inches larger all around than your strips.
Take the middle strip/one of the middle strips and sandwich it as you would normally – top, batting, backing. Zigzag around the outside and trim. Quilt as desired. I find it helps to think about how you will do this so the bulk of the quilt is usually away from the machine.
Take the next strip and lay it face down on the first part of the quilt and pin, matching as required. Pinheads are OUT.
Flip the strip and lay the backing, face down – remember you are sewing RIGHT sides together. Pin backing with pin heads out and pins about 6 inches apart.
Lay the quilt batting on the back and pin about one pin per block.
Turn this sandwich over and carefully sew a 1/4” seam through all layers, pulling pins as needed. You may have to stretch gently to prevent puckering.
Remove pins – here you may trim the batt that is in the seam allowance - and pull this strip FIRMLY away from the first sandwiched and quilted strip. Pull backing tautly, hold and pull front firmly away from seam and PIN. The idea is to not have a pucker/fold in the backing or top. You are pinning at the seam first then pin all around the strip. Zigzag, trim and quilt.
Repeat using all the strips.
You add borders the same way. When quilting you have to think ahead so you can keep the bulk of the quilt to the left of the needle.
If you have sashing, it is added to the blocks while assembling the strips.
You can also use the backing to create sashing ala “Cotton Theory”.
This results with seams being "feelable"... but no one has every complained and it is very durable.

minibarn

Thanks for that info SuzzyQ, I will have to go back and read your post a few times to make sure I understand exactly what you are saying.

I finally got to watch the videos, had to go to the library, so I think I have a pretty good idea of how to do it. Now I just have to get my FMQ to an acceptable level then I can do this.

Someone mentioned about using the batting tape or basting spray, and I think either would work fine but of course I haven't done this method yet.

Thanks everyone.

sewbizgirl

There are so many ways to QAYG! Try a few methods until you find a favorite. QAYG is supposed to make it easier to quilt, without the entire weight of a quilt to maneuver. Since this method JOINS and then QUILTS, you end up with a lot of quilt attached while you are quilting the blocks. For that reason, I won't be trying it, but I wouldn't be opposed to quilting each column separately and then joining.

Have you seen the tute I posted here on the board? It shows you how to join individual blocks that you have sandwiched and quilted, using a skinny sashing.

http://www.quiltingboard.com/tutoria...l-t283918.html

minibarn

Sewbizgirl- thanks for the link. I am sureIi have looked at your tute in the past but should revisit it. And, you are right I should try a few methods to see which I prefer, as well as the fact that the quilt may dictate that also.

SuzzyQ

The wonderful thing about QAYG is that it means the quilt just needs binding once it all assembled. You have broken it down to a series of easy to manage steps. You piece or assemble your blocks then put together the binding and backing. Quilt a bit then repeat. I find it less overwhelming and it lets me complete quilts not tops.

copycat

I just finished a quilt using candiedfabrics tutorial on QAYG in rows. I loved it!

I did 2 things differently. I didn't use fusible batting. My batting was 80%cotton, 20% poly I purchased at a quilt show (I don't recall the brand name) but similar to Warm and Natural batting. After butting the batting edge up to the seam allowance edge as seen in her video or photo tutorial, I lifted the batting and spray basted the backing fabric along the seam line and pressed down on the batting with my hands. Once the 2 edges that met were tacked down good, I finished spray basting the rest of the batting to the backing. No iron was necessary to flatten the batting.
I went ahead and spray basted the top of the batting so the front of the quilt would also be basted and ready to quilt.

Second thing I did differently was I joined 2 rows of the quilt top at a time (see the photo on my design wall) before making my row quilt sandwiches. The tutorial shows quilting 1 row or column at a time and then joining the quilted rows. Making a 2 row quilt sandwhich meant less quilted rows to join.

I did fairly close meandering that you can see in the 2nd photo. No worries about shrinking blocks. After joining my quilted rows, I squared up the quilt. As with every quilt, you loose a bit of the length and width from the quilting process. I barely lost 1/4" from the length and the width after squaring up the quilt before binding.

annette1952

For myself, the column QAYG isn't as hard to quilt as trying to quilt one big quilt. As you add the columns they are always to your left so you aren't trying to wrestle the whole quilt under the harp. Only the width of your column is under the harp. You just need to have the left part of your quilt supported to prevent drag as you add columns. It really is a neat way of quilting. I like to try different ways & so far this one is my favorite & easiest for me . I'm always open to trying new techniques that doesn't require hand sewing. I never was good at hand sewing. Have fun!