Nautical Row Quilt Border/Quilting Help Needed!

16 years ago

Help! My quilt quild sponsored a row robin this past year. Six of us spent two months each planning, designing, and constructing a row based on a theme chosen by each of the quilters. I chose a Nautical theme. I began by making a row of paper-pieced boats on water that included prairie-point waves. That got passed on five times...and the following photo shows you the quilt I got back to keep! (I had NO idea what the ladies were doing with my Nautical quilt...we weren't allowed to tell each other what we were doing; therefore, it was VERY exciting to "unveil" the quilt tops at our last meeting. If you are interested, I'll post the other five quilt tops which included everything from Oriental to Halloween.)

My "help" plea is the following: What kind of border would you suggest? How do I quilt this??? (I usually piece...I send my quilts off to be professionally quilted with a long-arm machine.) HELP!!!

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Comments (12)

kelly4905
16 years ago
That is *beautiful*! You must be very happy with it!

As for a border: how about using the colors/fabrics and piecing a border to match all the way around. At the bottom, use the same/similar 'sand' fabric, then the blue batik, then the two blues of your original row, etc.

I'll try to find a pic of something like what I'm trying to describe, since I've made it clear as mud.

k
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csackett
16 years ago
I agree on the border. I think quilted swirls like water ripples and then in the clouds it would look like swirling wind. How lucky you are!
Carolyn
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Once something starts bugging you it is hard to "just let it go" -- I got REAL GOOD and taking things apart when I did my kaleidoscope quilt. (Even literally put darts in a couple blocks to get it to match right!) I noticed you have the four corners of blocks in the center perfectly matched -- the little muslin squares. I would let that intersection go as far askew as I needed to to get the black parts lined up. Since the muslin is roughly the same color it's really "one square" in the center -- IMO, matching it's points is not important. Where as the black/white intersections jump out at you. I would get those black squares matched up and sewn together. (Taking at least the one in like I suggested above) THEN, if I had a significant difference in size between the top and bottom muslin pieces in the center, I'd take the one that is larger and tighten its seam up -- Go up higher - maybe right below where the black starts and resew the seam angling inward ever so slightly so that by the time I reach the bottom my seam allowance is more than 1/4 inch -- I've sewn at an angle. Too extreme an angle and it won't lie flat but I think you can get away with enough to take up the slack. And once it's quilted who will know?! Clear as mud?!
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Kim, If you pin each row together, matching all the seams from one row to another and pinning in place, then sewing rows in alternating directions isn't really an issue. When sewing small squares together, it isn't an issue at all. I have found over time, that working with long rows can become cumbersome. I know work in smaller grids. For example, if I have a quilt with 12 squares across and 12 squares down, rather than sewing a row of 12 together, I will sew 3 together, then the 3 on the next row down, and the 3 on the 3rd row down. Then I'd make those into a 9-patch 'block'. After I make 'blocks', I'd start sewing those larger units together. By doing it this way, there are fewer squares to maintain order to, and less likelihood of turning a row in the wrong direction. Also, a design wall helps, too. Please share photos! We love to see what everyone is working on. Hope this helps. [Btw, the alternating direction of sewing that you refer to is way more important when you are quilting the 3 layers together.]
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I always think of Lindaoh when I hear row quilts. Her group made a row quilt when I first started seriously reading this quilt forum. Your group makes such nice and generous quilts! The Guild I belong to is very large and very generous. There is always on going projects for donation throughout the year. Last year (or maybe the year before) we made 50 quilts for older boys in the hospital. They were rows - fabric provided, or made from your stash - we turned in a sewn row of our design, and someone else would add another row - these quilts turned out amazing! I started a row using Star Wars fabric as the focus that Kay sent me when she was cleaning out her stash! It was fun to see what people made with the different fabrics, and easy to find time to sew a row or 2 to contribute. It was a good experience for me.
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kelly4905
16 years ago
There's an avatar about 2/3s the way down ("Extreme Quilter") on the link that is generally the idea I was trying to convey.

I like Carolyn's quilting suggestion, too.

k

Here is a link that might be useful: avatar
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scraphappy
16 years ago
Hi Kelly! That looks like an interesting forum, BTW. I agree with the idea of quilting waves, and then clouds. I'd think your quilter could do that easily. I also would continue the color of each row out into the border. I have to say your group did an awesome job on that! That's just fun to look at - would look great on a wall as art.
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rosajoe_gw
16 years ago
No suggestion, I think the above ones were great.
Beautiful quilt!!!!
Rosa
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coalaska
16 years ago
Incredible! I want to join your guild:). Did you have a pattern for your boats and waves? They are the best I've seen.

Cheryl
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teresa_nc7
16 years ago
I agree on the borders echoing the areas of the quilt, but I would stagger them just a bit - have the sand borders go up the sides of the ocean at different lengths on each side, have the rock fabric go up and beyond the rock areas, etc.

Or, take the easier way and put a dark red thin border first then a dark blue or mottled blue/white border.

Our round robin group did row quilts once and they are so much fun.
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bozogardener
16 years ago
The above ideas are great-I just wanted to say that I would love to see what the other five quilts looked like!

Tamie
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bee0hio
16 years ago
Wow that's a great quilt. Fantastic job! I will say that the fabric on either side of the mariner's compass @ the top doesn't seem to fit, imo. I think she would've done better with maybe just more sky on either side. The mariner's compass is not easy to do & it looks as if she did a great job on it. I've never done a round robbin quilt, but I'm sure it's not easy to come up with something that meshes with other's ideas.

As to the border, if you wanted to keep it simple you could just border it with a narrow "frame" of dark brown or black (?navy)& bind it in the same also.

I too would love to see the other quilts!
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judy333
Original Author
16 years ago
THANK YOU for all your feedback! I love the idea of continuing the picture in the border. Unfortunately, I don't have extra fabric...therefore, I'll have to talk to the ladies who did those rows to see if they still have fabric. I absolutely love this quilt top! (Yes, Beeohio, I agree with you on the fabric selection of the mariner's compass...but because it was a row robin, I'm keeping it the way she made it as a true row robin quilt. The nice thing about the fabric she chose is that it's kind of like a topper to introduce the actual scene which appears below it.)

In answer to the question of the boat/waves pattern, I designed the waves myself - simply adding random praire points to rows of blue strips. (There are several websites that teach this technique.) As for the sailboats, this came from paper-piecing kit (no fabric; just directions and foundations) entitled "Sunday on the Bay" by Joyce A. Schneider, copyright 1994. The back of the instruction book includes the following address and phone number: The Golden Unicorn, Innc., 106 Shady Nook Avenue, Catonsville, MD 21228; 410-788-2377. As far as ordering this, I can't find the pattern online anywhere via google. One of the ships I had to modify because too many pieces of fabric came to the same point and it was extremely bulky.

I just love the large row that includes the lighthouse. The picture can be accessed here: www.lenzula.com/pattern/index.php It was part of a block of the month program. Check out this site because it has free downloads of this year's block-of-the-month which you can access the actual paper-piecing patterns! This year is a German town on a river scene. I love it so far!!! (Sept/Oct/Nov/Dec haven't yet been posted).

Judy in Massachusetts
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mallaround
16 years ago
you did an absolutely wonderful job on your quilt. This is the type quilting that I want to do. I hate just sewing blocks together. This quilt is beatiful.

Jill
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fran1523
16 years ago
What a delightful quilt. I have no suggestions but think it will be beautiful no matter how you finish it.
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Nautical Row Quilt Border/Quilting Help Needed!

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Nautical Row Quilt Border/Quilting Help Needed!

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