So what is a quilter to do? I think that choosing a quilting design has turned into a quest of sorts. When reading Pathways to Better Quilting by Sally Terry, I was reminded of a set of panto-graph patterns that I purchased several years ago when I bought the original HandiQuilter frame system for a domestic machine. These simple, repetitive designs are the go-to for the home quilter. Of course, many long-arm quilters use such patterns as well. Finding the most appropriate pattern for a particular quilt requires a study of the pieced design. I think that a design with curves would work well for piecing that is essentially nothing but hard and straight lines.
The first pattern, the clam shell, is much like that. I started marking the Jelly Roll Marathon Quilt with a stencil I had on hand but the shells are much too small. I have done a larger version of the clam shell using a saucer, I called it the Corelle method, for the obvious reason! This quilt was hand quilted using the "Corelle" template. One of my favorite projects.
the Corelle Clamshell pattern |
an almost visible |
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