Beginner Friendly Designs Longarm Quilting

 This week, I'm sharing a quilt that I quilted with some beginner-friendly longarm designs.  Julie and I decided to quilt this Lookout Quilt using custom designs that won't break the bank.

YouTube Video

I really did struggle with a background filler that I thought would work, that for once wasn't pebbles (hahaha).  Julie had the nicest fireside backing on this quilt, and I wanted to keep the texture nice and soft for the child this quilt was intended for.  So I opted for more open designs. 

This is the original design that I thought would look good, but ultimately, it really just didn't look the way I wanted it to, so I had to pick out my first idea and try another.  I tried stipple.  I love stipple, but I didn't like how it looked next to all the points on the trees. 

So I picked that out.  The third time is the charm, right! I decided to go with some free form derpy looking swirls.  These are like cartoony swirls; there is no rhyme or reason to them, just a basic swirl with some variable spacing when required.  And I finally liked how it was going to look.

Although the quilting isn't too obvious on the scrappy background, I'm happy I took the time to really get the design looking good.  I also incorporated some back and forth lines (a wide spaced matchstick) and some wavy lines too.   The takeaway from this quilt and video is that the designs don't always have to be high-skill and complex to achieve a fantastic-looking quilt.  One thing that I've learned is that we all seem to really dislike our own swirls (yes, even me), but once you take a step back, they look great!   Jump into quilting something this week that you can finish quickly and enjoy.

Sam 

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