Choosing the Quilt Pattern

We have just started the PMQ Village Green which will be my 7^th PMQ to take part in. I started with the Fall 2019 PMQ Cosmos and have loved every single one. There are a lot of choices to make when working on a PMQ. What colorway to get, what size to get, extra borders or no extra borders, and backing fabric. However, the last and sometimes the hardest choice to make is what quilting pattern to use. This decision for me can be a very hard one and it is easy to get decision paralysis because there are so many choices. Thankfully I have an amazing quilter who has helped me though the process. I also like to bring my aesthetic into the decision making.

Quilting has so many choices to choose from it can be hard, but it helps to start off by narrowing down your choices. The first choice that I go to is do I want an edge-to-edge digital design or someone to custom quilt. Most of the time I go with an edge-to-edge digital design as this brings down the cost. Custom quilting can look amazing, but it can also cost difficultly more depending on your quilter, for good reason. Quilters put a lot of time and effort into the job they are doing, and they deserve the price they charge for custom quilting. I like the ease and all over design mostly because it looks great and keeps the cost down. There are also so many digital designs out there to choose from. Either route you go you are going to get an amazing design.

Now that I have chosen to go with an edge-to-edge digital design it’s time to choose what that design is. A lot of the time for the PMQ I take inspiration from the name of the quilt. For example “Are You Game” from Fall 2020 when finished looked like a board game. I wanted a design that really reflected the boardgame feel of the quilt, so I selected a design that looked like game pieces. When it was completed, I could not have been happier with the results, I really feel that quilting design set off the quilt. For the Spring 2021 quilt Sparkle and Shine the quilting design wasn’t as easy to pick. All the colorways were gem and mineral themed. The final design of the quilt, though stunning, didn’t lend itself to a specific quilting design. So, I didn’t heavily on the theme name. I decided to incorporate sparkles into the quilting design and thought about how gems and minerals can sparkle. I ended up going with a quilting pattern that had what I saw is bling stars incorporated into it. So far Olympia has left me stumped and I have yet to get that one quilted, but I will get there soon enough.

Another decision that you have to make when choosing quilting designs is the color of the thread. A lot of times can be a very complicated choice especially if your quilt contains many colors. Do you want a design that stands out or design that play second fiddle to the design layout of the quilt? There is no right or wrong answer, it is all up to you and what you want the overall look of the quilt to be. For the Spring 2022 Sew Sweet I picked a quilting design that literally has love written all over it. This quilt is special to me because it reminds me of the special time, I got to spend with Sew Becca and wanted to keep that special time as a memory. I also wanted that design to stand out from the quilt, so I chose a turquoise thread to really pop against the pink fabric in the quit. In other areas the turquoise blends in and almost disappears. I really like that effect and it is very successful for this quilt. Remember when choosing a thread for the quilt to audition a few different threads. Unroll some of the thread and lay it across several sections of the quilt to see how that thread plays with the colors and design. Sometimes the thread you think will least likely be a match can end up being a winner. You never know until you try!

No matter what choices you make just remember to have fun and enjoy the journey. As I like to remind everyone the quilt police don’t exist and won’t arrest you for any decisions you end up making. Trust your gut and enjoy the hunt for what design works best for your quilt. Don’t be afraid to think outside the box and come up with something that makes you happy. It’s not always about what looks the best, sometimes it’s about what makes you smile.