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Monday, July 23, 2018

Adventures in Graffiti Quilting

Graffiti quilting, flow quilting, wild quilting, free motion improv quilting.  These are all names I've heard for the kind of quilting where several different motifs are blended into one quilt, and where the quilter moves from one design to the next without a set plan.


I have always admired this kind of quilting, but when it was time to actually put stitches on a quilt, I always chickened out.  That is, until last week.  I decided to try my hand at graffiti quilting on this preemie quilt for our local children's hospital, made from some of the larger chunks in my scrap jars. Before I get into the details, just FYI- this was done on my regular domestic machine, a BERNINA 550QE.

This little quilt only measures 36" square, but it took me four hours to quilt!  By comparison, my speedy self can (fairly densely) stipple an entire twin size quilt in that amount of time, so this was quite an undertaking to say the least.


Since this was my first attempt at this kind of quilting, the thread, background, and backing fabrics were specifically chosen to mask any quilting imperfections.  I opted for a tonal white fabric with little scrolls rather than my usual Kona White in the background.  On the back, I chose this black and white crosshatch, and I quilted it with my favorite 50 wt. Aurifil White thread.

Mission accomplished!  I'm pretty proud of the stitching, but it is by no means perfect.  Luckily, the thread, backing and background fabrics did their camouflage jobs and you really have to look hard to find the couple of crossovers in the quilt.


I tried to photograph the quilting in several lights to best show the stitching, and I actually think the first pic shows the stitches in contrast the best, even if it isn't the best photo of the colors in the quilt.  The photo below shows the colors best.


Though this quilt was not fast, I have to say that it really was a lot of fun.  It is something that I will definitely be doing again;  next time on a quilt I'll get to keep.

I do have a question for all of you quilty peeps about this kind of quilting though.  Where else do you use it?  Allover on a simple quilt (like this one)?  Only on quilts with lots of negative space?  Anyplace else?  I'm thinking that this would be too busy for many quilts, but I welcome your thoughts!



17 comments:

  1. Looks so great Kelly! You did a fantastic job.

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  2. It's fantastic, Kelly; I would never have guessed it was your first time doing this style of quilting! I personally really like to use it in the negative space of a quilt where it can really add texture to a quilt.

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  3. It is fabulous! I've got hearts in my eyes! I also have trouble with this kind of quilting, I end up doing the same 3 designs, and I have trouble branching out. Yours looks amazing, I would never have known it's your first time!

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  4. Well done. You did an amazing job. I'm not ready for this improv quilting -- I need plan.

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  5. Yes, go for the negative spaces for this heavy type of quilting. It will get totally lost in a busy print. Fun to just go for it, eh?

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  6. Wow, Kelly! You did an amazing job with the quilting. I would not have guessed you had not done this before. I've been too chicken to try it, but maybe on a small whole cloth practice quilt, I might! I do love the look and the texture of graffiti quilting. I would probably use it in negative spaces where I needed or wanted lots of texture to make the pieced or appliqued blocks pop.

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  7. I refer to this as Doodle Quilting. I have done it on everything from placemats to queen size quilts. And yes, it takes time but it is perfect for auditioning patterns and practice. I have done this only on a sit down long arm and now my Long arm on a frame. It is actually fun.

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  8. I'm certainly impressed. It looks fantastic! Free motion quilting still intimidates me. I like to blame it on my machine but that's only part of the reason. I have a big mental block too.

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  9. Wow! It looks great. I don't know if my brain would be able to switch up so many times, but then I'm a beginner and need lots of practice.

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  10. I think I would only use that type of quilting on a wall hanging. The stitching is too dense for it to be a "cuddler" quilt.
    First time I have seen this technique. I am kind of on the fence whether I like it or not.

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  11. I have done it all over, in the background, and in wide borders. I have two different groupings. One is closed designs where you travel stitch to move to another area. I think of closed designs like in a coloring book. Most of your motifs here are what I consider closed designs. The other grouping I do is of open designs where I echo to move to another area. Here is an example of my open designs: http://quiltkisses.blogspot.com/2017/10/framed-quilts-finished.html The open designs are much faster to quilt for me and don’t take much longer than something like hooked spirals. I think your graffiti quilting looks great!

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  12. That is really fabulous quilting and makes a great finish for that quilt.

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  13. Beautiful work!! You’re so brave and you would never know it was your first attempt!! Looks like you’ve done it for years!!

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  14. Your 1st time?! You totally ROCKED graffiti quilting!!!

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  15. Beautiful quilting job! I agree with the time, the one quilt I graffiti quilted, I went with too small and dense a quilting design and it took forever.

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  16. Fabulous wild quilting. Love it. I only try this on animal quilts that I make for my pets. I figure they won't care if it's wonky and I can't see the "slip ups" when they are lounging on it.

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Thanks so much for your comment and for visiting! I read and appreciate every single comment, and I reply to each one as soon as I can. If you don't hear back from me, you might be a no-reply blogger. :)

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