I have read some interesting points about the meander design lately. Many people find it quite boring and I have been a bit amazed to read that some people think it is difficult to achieve on a DSM. I reckon almost any design can be done on a DSM, depending how much practice and determination you want to put in. I agree that meandering or stippling is not a beginner design...far from it. You need to be able to speed up and slow down while at the same time concentrating on where you are going to produce a consistently visually pleasing design. Not a simple feat by any means, however with practice it can be done.
I like my overall meander at about 1/2" scale which requires some concentration as you have to keep your hands a little bit farther apart when quilting. As I have been FMQ for a while, I have no problems with the design...even if I loose concentration I usually can wiggle my way out of spots. Boring...yes, but I like the texture the stipple produces over an entire quilt. The quilt top, while quilted allover, still has that soft fluffy feel to it. And bonus...it is a really fast design...I manage a good quarter of the quilt in one sitting, so when I just want to finish off a quilt this is my go to design.
The other point is that you have to look at the quilt top itself. I saw a Plus quilt at the Machine Quilting Festival the other day that had feathers quilted allover...while it looked nice and soft (as the feathers were big) you could not actually see the great feather work done due to the scrappy nature of the quilt. Similarly, I thought initially that I might do swirls allover, but again this would not really be seen due to the design, hence I opted for the meander which was ultimately faster to do.
Maybe if I do another one, I might try the swirl to see the difference in texture.
Anyway, here is a cute picture of the resident cat while I was trying to slip stitch the binding in place:
Linking up to WIP Wednesday at Freshly Pieced and Let's Bee Social Linky Party
Karin
What a crazy co-incidence! I've just started a plus quilt this week, and I think we might have been at the same place this weekend.... the AMQF Quilt Show? It was very inspirational :)
ReplyDeleteYour plus quilt turned out beautifully and the meander was a perfect design choice, Karin. Congratulations on a gorgeous finish!
ReplyDeletePets first, quilts second. that's what i tell myself when the dog is asleep on my stash box! I find the stipple lovely and fast and it's my go to FM stitch. slowly trying to learn more!
ReplyDeleteA beautiful finish. I really liked your perspective on meandering. I have heard people saying that they don't like it at all lately. But it does have its place.
ReplyDeleteI really like your quilt, love how those colors work together. Good thing I never knew that meandering was difficult, because that is what I started out with and the only thing I can do to this day. I could care less if others don't like it! : )
ReplyDeleteI do like a meandered plus quilt, it's a great quilting design for that pattern. I'm currently working on concentric circles for a plus quilt. It gives a nice contrast.
ReplyDeleteI see I'm not the only one that stops work while the cats sleep!!
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