Medallion Quilt Assemblage Question

Whow that's a beauty. I see what you mean.Can you assemble the medallion and add on the singles either side and then treat it the usual way. I don't know if that would work or not! Please disregard this if it doesn't make sense!!lol

It's a lovely pattern, Joan. As it is made up of square blocks, would it not be possible not only to put it together in sections, but to quilt it in sections, too? There are methods of doing 'quilt as you go' without having sashing. . In message , joan8904 in Bellevue Nebraska writes

Medallion-style would work, but once you get a bit away from the center, you still have to assemble some rows before you can attach them to a side.

My favorite method of attack when blocks have to turn a certain way is to lay everything out on the design wall. Then run a safety pin through all adjacent sides. (No need to match seam points, it's just to indicate which sides go together.) Then carry the whole messy pile over to the machine, keeping a firm grip on the 1st two squares to be stitched (otherwise they will disappear). It looks like complete chaos, but actually works very well once you start stitching. Do all the seams along each row as if you were chain piecing, removing the safety pin from each pair as you go. Don't cut between the blocks. When you have sewn all the seams in one direction, you will have a lot of rows of blocks joined together by the thread chains (and the faithful safety pins). Then sew the other direction. You can decide which way your seams will go and press before doing the other direction. Roberta in D

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That is a gorgeous quilt. I would love to see your layout with 144 blocks. I would probably assemble the center, then consider each "border" and assemble them, with careful attention to direction of the blocks for each one, and label each border as I go. Very important. On the other hand, if a border got turned around, it might just create a variation, and be usable. I don't have a design wall big enough for the whole thing, but I could handle a border at a time, I think. Then it would be very like a medallion quilt, a center to which you are adding borders. Remember, what ever you do, you will be handling a lot of fabric at some point.

Pati, >

My favourite assembly method is to lay all the blocks out on the floor, and play with them until they look right. Then starting on the right top corner, flip the right block onto the one to the left, and continue to the bottom of the row. Now pick up the pairs, starting at the top, and stacking each pair of blocks under the one before. Pin these together at the top right hand corner (where you will start sewing). Now for the remainder of the rows, stack them, right sides up, with the top block remaining on the top of the stack. I use pins to designate the rows. The first single row gets 2 pins in the top right corner, the second gets 3, etc. until you have stacks of all the rows. Sew the first row of pairs together, leaving a short thread chain between each pair. I usually leave a thread tail at the beginning, so I'll always know where to start if I don't finish all at once. When the first set of pairs is together, unpin the next row (2 pins), keeping them in the correct position. Beginning at the top, open each pair of blocks, and sew the next one in the stack (now you have rows of 3 blocks). Continue in this manner until the whole top is stitched together. Press the seams in alternating directions (odd rows to the right, and even rows to the left). Now sew the remaining seams, making sure to match, keeping the seams in opposing directions. I make everything, up to a king size quilt using this method. Hope this is clear!

-- Susan in Kingston ON back to quilting, as usual

"joan8904 in Bellevue Nebraska" wrote in messagenews: snipped-for-privacy@b40g2000prd.googlegroups.com...>

I wouldn't count that as a medallion quilt, I can kind of see why you might, but it doesn't really have the number of borders that a true medallion quilt would have.

Anyway, I'd lay it out, then pair two blocks, stack across the rows and pin on the side of the stitch line, so you have a stack with a marker that tells you which side you intended to stitch on! Do the same with all the other rows and you'll have a nice stack of rows to stitch as and when, then press alternate ways and stitch the rows in pairs and join the pairs together and repeat until done.

Anne

If you set it out on a design wall or the floor, you can then just pick the blocks up in pairs and join them. Then they can go into rows, or squares of four and then 'double' rows. If you have it all laid out in EQ5, you just have to have the quilt open on the screen and double check it before you sew, assuming your computer is near the sewing machine. I think that would probably be easier than trying to do it medallion style. It would be for me anyway. :-)

Good luck. It's a great looking quilt.

I know I'm answering myself here. The original message was posted yesterday at 11:40 am. Message, where have you been?

Meanwhile, I've figured out that I should have assembled the quilt in quarter sections, rather than around the center. But having started, I will persist.

joan

And that's basically what I've done. This quilt will be ~110x110" so I don't have a wall (or a floor) big enough to lay it all out. I've done the center and are now adding rows along the sides. And if a block got turned the wrong way, I'm not sure that I could find it, much less a casual observer. I'm really eager to get this top done!

joan

's mine. I think you might be able to lay them out and take a digital picture of the layout to keep track of the blocks as you assemble them in smaller units. Between the picture and perhaps labeling the blocks, you can get it sewn without "too" many problems. Good luck!Can't wait to see it!

Gorgeous quilt, Kathyl!!

Is that silk?

Yes, it's dupioni silk. Not yet quilted though. Can't quite decide what to do on it!

I'm not surprised! It's a beauty and no mistake. . In message , KJ writes

Lovely! Is the fabric underneath what you plan to use for backing? Roberta in D

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Well, there it is in all its unquilted beauty! :> Because of the angle you can't really see the swirlies, but they are there. And, after all that, I do have one row that is not oriented properly. After much debate, I left it. It still makes patterns, just different ones.

BTW, it's called Van Gogh because that is the effect (affect?) that they wanted. Originally, they asked for blue and saffron colors for a 'summer' quilt. That color range got expaned a bit. I'm going to use a flannel batting and have it machine quilted at Country Sampler in Papillion.

I'm glad it's done.

joan p=2Es. Tell us all about Paducah! (I was very sad this year to not be go>

Here's mine. =A0I think you might be able to lay them out and take a digi=tal

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It's gorgeous! I love unquilted beauty! Paducah was wonderful. The weather was very cooperative despite threats of rain. It stayed cloudy and comfortable during the days. I did think of you and your mom at one point that week. I know that's why you got to the show. I also thought about your brother the cardiologist and thought if I had another episode like I had last May....I could request him! (Long story that I haven't shared online....but it felt like I KNEW someone at the hospital if needed!) After popping over to the IQA show the week before, it was fun to see how different the quilts are. Not better, not worse, just a bit different. There are probably more traditional quilts at Paducah, but there are also innovative art quilts. In my opinion, there is a wider range of techniques at the AQS show. The big winner was Sharon Schamber....she won last year too. She won a second place in a different category this year also.

I had a full day's class with her the morning after her win was announced. She was still thrilled. Her quilt isn't one that knocked my socks off personally, but the execution of each minute detail was supurb. I very much enjoyed my machine applique class with her. I'm trying to figure out what I can make using her technique. I also too two longarm beginner classes. I felt like a bull in a china shop. I may never be a longarm quilter, but after those classes, it''s easier to write the check to a really good one!!!This year the classrooms were provided with sewing machines if the class needed one. Though it was a bit dicey to learn a new machine in a short amount of time, it certainly made the small classrooms much roomier without all the sewing cases and paraphanalia lying around. The teacher could move around a lot easier. It also made the hallways a lot easier to negotiate because very few machines were being pulled. There is one small elevator that connects the floors between the classrooms in the Expo center area and it was always a traffic backup in that area. That was much better this year. It gives more space to those with wheelchairs who need it. (Why they don't put in another elevator or even an escalator right there is a mystery.)

Gorgeous!

This is definitely going on my "To Do" List

Thank you for your impressions of the AQS show. Paducah is so pretty this time of the year, too. Almost rivals the quilts!

Glad to hear they came up with some way to ease the congestion at the show and Expo center. Quilters and their 'stuff' can take up a lot of square footage!

Yes, if you ever need a cardiologist in Paducah, please do ask for Dr. Talley. Not that he's looking for new business, but he's supposedly one of the best. However, avoid him if at all possible! :>

I always found the show very inspiring and quite daunting personally. I have won ribbons at shows in the past, but the quilts at the AQS show are beyond ... well, just beyond anything I can ever imagine doing. In addition to absolutely lacking the skills and artistic vision, I just wouldn't want to devote THAT much time to a single project. I have my 'to do' list and love checking things off!

joan