Thursday, September 13, 2012

Opinions requested for border quilting

Here is what the outer border looks like:





I have two candidates for quilting this border: one is meandering feathers, the other is a combinations of elements (curved cross-hatching, ovals between the coral points and piano keys outside the ovals).

Both designs replicate elements found in the interior of the quilt, so they aren't "designs in a vacuum".

To help me make up my mind, I sewed a same-size, sample border using the same fabrics as in the quilt.  For me, both designs have the same difficulty level, i.e. one is not significantly easier or more difficult than the other.  The feathers are free-motioned after the spine has been chalked in.  The cross-hatched design involves a number of templates but is mostly continuous thread designs (there are few starts and stops).

I'm still in a quandry.  I like both of them. :-)

Sooooooooooooooooooo ... I would appreciate some outside opinions, please!   If you are so inclined, I would appreciate it if you would leave a comment saying if *you* like one design over the other or if you like them both.  There is no right or wrong answer; it's just your personal preference.

Please disregard the discrepancy in colors ... I had to photostitch the blocks together and the lighting was different.  Also, I didn't have a fabric corner for the cross-hatching design; instead I drew it  so you could see what it is supposed to look like. :-)

Here's the feathers:


And here is the curved cross-hatching design:


Thanks so much for your opinion!  :-)

7 comments:

  1. IMHO I like the second option. I am not much of a feather person.
    I like the balance the second offers.

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  2. I really like the look of the first option. Hopefully you will get lots of input.

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  3. Both have their merits, I like the look of feathers, but I think in this case I prefer the second option, it's just a bit different from what is usually done and there is more to look at.

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  4. Feathers for me 100%! The other one is ok - nice but ok compared to the feathers. The feathers have movement, and makes your eyes travel, where as the second is more static to my eye.

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  5. ding, ding, ding!! And we have a winner, folks!

    Feathers it is! :-)

    Oh, and just to let you know what tipped the balance, Angie Branco is my niece, the intended recipient. :-) She likes the feathers; she gets the feathers. :-)

    Most excellent; now I can continue with the quilting. :-)

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