DISCLAIMER: I am a self-professed zealot when it comes to stitch-in-the-ditch (sid for short). I occasionally will do custom quilting without it, but honestly, I have to grit my teeth.
When you finish reading this post, if you click on one of the pics it will open up a photo strip where you can see the pics more clearly.
This is my half-hexagon quilt, which has happily turned out really well, considering how sick and tired I was of all the blue and beige. In this first pic I have not done the sid, simply dropped in the bubble motifs. Yeah, it looks ok. Fine, in fact. It's a little hard to tell that those bubbles are a motif, though. They just look like a bunch of bubbles.
In this second pic I have outlined the hexies and added in the ghosts that run into the large separator strips joining the patchwork. When I compare this to the first pic, the patchwork that I worked so diligently on just looks more...crisp. And now those bubbles LOOK like a motif inside the hexies.
Now - look at the back of the quilt. The sid has MADE the hexies. Without that sid this would just look like a mass of bubbles. It would have been a total waste of time dropping in the motifs - I'd have achieved the same effect with an edge-to-edge design. But now? Nice...
Here's a pic of the whole thing.
A little closer.
The back. Leftover hexies appliqued for a bit of interest. And really, what else was I going to do with them?
I'm not the only one who loves s.i.d. So does Anita Zobens of Cottonmill Threadworks. See her blog post HERE.
When you finish reading this post, if you click on one of the pics it will open up a photo strip where you can see the pics more clearly.
This is my half-hexagon quilt, which has happily turned out really well, considering how sick and tired I was of all the blue and beige. In this first pic I have not done the sid, simply dropped in the bubble motifs. Yeah, it looks ok. Fine, in fact. It's a little hard to tell that those bubbles are a motif, though. They just look like a bunch of bubbles.
In this second pic I have outlined the hexies and added in the ghosts that run into the large separator strips joining the patchwork. When I compare this to the first pic, the patchwork that I worked so diligently on just looks more...crisp. And now those bubbles LOOK like a motif inside the hexies.
Now - look at the back of the quilt. The sid has MADE the hexies. Without that sid this would just look like a mass of bubbles. It would have been a total waste of time dropping in the motifs - I'd have achieved the same effect with an edge-to-edge design. But now? Nice...
A little closer.
The back. Leftover hexies appliqued for a bit of interest. And really, what else was I going to do with them?
I agree with you. SID makes all the difference. I also happen to enjoy doing it. I love my rulers!
ReplyDeleteI like doing it too. Especially on a sampler quilt it gives me a chance to 'talk' to the quilt.
DeleteHelen Mary, this is SO lovely! Love your IQ patterns. Can you tell me which digital patterns you used? I have a hexagon quilt coming up soon, and I might just have to borrow your ideas! And I agree, the SID makes the quilt look better!
ReplyDeleteMichelle, you are a no-reply blogger so I can't get this to you directly. Hopefully you will see this.
ReplyDeleteThe motif in the block is Hex Bubbles by Kraker Quilting.
The background quilting is a modified panto: Coils and Ovals Border L01902 by It's a Quilt Thing. I changed the ovals to circles.
The stitch-in-the-ditch quilting just makes the bubbles stand out and the quilt to sign.
ReplyDeleteMaureen B.
Totally agree on SID, I use it all the time too.
ReplyDeleteI agree about the SID....to me it gives it a "tailored" look. It took me 3 years to get over my fear of stitching in the ditch and try it, but now it's hard NOT to do it!
ReplyDelete