100 Quilts for Kids Quilt Along: Quilting Tips

This is the 5th Installment in the 100 Quilts for Kids Quilt Along! All of the posts can be found here:

July 15: Quilt Along Introduction + GiveawayJuly 19: Materials + Cutting InstructionsJuly 26: Foundation Piecing the BlocksAugust 9: Assembling the Quilt TopAugust 16: Quilting TipsAugust 23: Quilting Tips from a Pro: Guest Post by Angela WaltersToday: Finishing the quilt

So, if you are like me, how do you move past that "hanging on a hanger in the basement for X number of months" stage? (Besides sending them out to have someone else quilt them!) Any tips out there?  Here are some that work for me:

Deadlines: Having a deadline helps cut the procrastination: i.e. someone is having a baby, I am hosting a Quilt Along, or I'm driving to Great Falls National Park this week and wouldn't it be cool to take a quilt picture or two there?

I finished the Quilt Along quilt! I think it turned out pretty fun. I'll take some close-ups of the quilting, but i tried a little bit of everything :) Straight lines along the top, bottom, and right. Wavy lanes along the left side. Leaves in the middle X. And a whole bunch of stuff in the colored strings. I figured it was a good time to practice my quilting. I think this design would look lovely using close together straight lines, or X quilting starting in the center and radiating out. I just didn't have the patience on Monday. Maybe on a smaller quilt?

But back to the question at hand: Tips for the actual quilting of the quilt...

Inspiration Galleries: It is simple to start a gallery of favorites on Flickr, or start a  favorite quilting ideas board on Pinterest.  Wow. There is some serious talent out there! When I'm stumped at what type of design I should use, or want to try something new, I browse my galleries.

[click on any of the links below to see more information about the featured quilt. If your quilt is featured and you would rather it not be, just leave me a comment and I'll remove it]

1. What a Bunch of Squares - detail, 2. Zig Zag Baby Quilt, 3. Quilting - Sneak Peak, 4. Quilting, 5. "Stormy Seas" quilt front, 6. FTLOS2 Completed, 7. sunshine quilt 029, 8. neon chevron quilt., 9. IMG_8424

Online Tutorials: There are some really easy to follow online tutorials for a variety of quilting patterns and styles. I wrote an entire post on it last year. Check it out! 

Have fun with it: You might notice that my 100 Quilts Quilt Along quilt looks a bit... smaller than last time. I started quilting it Monday night and was hating every bit of it. I decided there was no reason the quilt needed to be as big as it was, so I cut it down a bit, and had a lot more fun.

Consult the experts: There are beautiful blogs and books devoting to the actual quilting of the quilt. Angela's Free Motion Quilting with Angela Walters changed my life. No joke. I have bought three copies of the book so far. I prop it open next to me when I sew.  I have actually ENJOYED quilting quilts lately, and I have been doing a ton of it. I hate stippling, and just assumed I wouldn't care for free motion quilting of any sort. That couldn't be farther from the truth, and it's so much easier to wrangle quilts with my machine using the more intricate design. [Not a staged photo. I actually propped the book open to the flower section when I was sewing. My flowers need... work.]

Stay loose: Take a break every half hour. Put on a movie you have seen a million times or your favorite music. Wear gloves (I love my Grabaroo's Gloves ...worth every penny and so much better than gardening gloves).