Need ideas for King size bed quilt....

I've been through ALL the books I can find but I just can't pick out a
pattern to do a bed quilt... I'm horrible at imagining how something will
look when it's big and the little blocks they have in books... i just can't
imagine them together making a huge bed quilt pattern..

soo...... anyone out there have pictures of king size bed quilts they've
done that can give me some ideas? my MIL wants me to make her one by May so
I have got to get started or i'm never gonna finish in time! I still
don't know how i'll ever fit a king size quilt into my sewing machine.. but
that's another problem

Thanks in advance for any links, pictures, etc....

Michelle, I have been saving greens and beiges to do a king sized bed quilt
for our bed. Although the blocks are fairly simple to make once you have
your colors chosen, there are many layout options. I like the barn raising
layout. It's on my list of things to do (page 1) this year.

Although I have quilted a king-size with my own machine, I have come to
peace with myself for sending anything larger than a twin-sized bed quilt
out to be machine quilted. I have two wonderful quilters to choose from.
As much as I would love to do these myself, my arms just can't take the
activity anymore. I have my tendonitis under control at the moment and I'd
like to keep it that way.

Good luck with your hunt. That's my favorite part of the process! Let us
know what you choose.
--
Alice in NJ, Royal Cybrarian
http://www.ourcyberfamily.us
http://www.ourcyberfamily.us/RCTQ/index.htm (add a recipe)
"Time is that quality of nature which keeps events from happening all at
once. Lately it doesn't seem to be working."
Anonymous




"Michelle in NJ" wrote in message
...
: I've been through ALL the books I can find but I just can't pick out a
: pattern to do a bed quilt... I'm horrible at imagining how something will
: look when it's big and the little blocks they have in books... i just
can't
: imagine them together making a huge bed quilt pattern..
:
: soo...... anyone out there have pictures of king size bed quilts they've
: done that can give me some ideas? my MIL wants me to make her one by May
so
: I have got to get started or i'm never gonna finish in time! I still
: don't know how i'll ever fit a king size quilt into my sewing machine..
but
: that's another problem
:
: Thanks in advance for any links, pictures, etc....
:
:

I've hand quilted king size quilts before - whew! Can't imagine doing
it on a machine. Even the piecing is a huge project, and in the future
I've decided that any king size I make will be with very large, simple
blocks using luscious fabrics that are rewarding in themselves without
cutting them up into small pieces for intricate block designs. I've
also seriously talked to myself about cutting up all my batiks into 10
inch squares and chain-piecing them into quilts, as I consider batiks
to be a top rung in the ladder to heaven. Of course, just the act of
cutting my babies will take a bit of courage.

Musicmaker

Michelle in NJ wrote:

soo...... anyone out there have pictures of king size bed quilts they've
done that can give me some ideas?

Here is my only king-size finished:

http://home.stny.rr.com/jazzmanian/janquilt.JPG
with Pepe inspecting my quilt. It was fairly simple to do.

-georg

In article ,
"Michelle in NJ" wrote:

I've been through ALL the books I can find but I just can't pick out a
pattern to do a bed quilt... I'm horrible at imagining how something will
look when it's big and the little blocks they have in books... i just can't
imagine them together making a huge bed quilt pattern..

soo...... anyone out there have pictures of king size bed quilts they've
done that can give me some ideas? my MIL wants me to make her one by May so
I have got to get started or i'm never gonna finish in time! I still
don't know how i'll ever fit a king size quilt into my sewing machine.. but
that's another problem

Thanks in advance for any links, pictures, etc....


The largest I've ever done have been queen-sized, so I can't help with
photos. However, if you're having trouble imagining how something will
look, can you xerox several copies of some blocks you like and put them
together to get a vague idea of how they'll look in quantity?
--
Sandy in Henderson, near Las Vegas
my ISP is earthlink.net -- put sfoster1(at) in front
http://home.earthlink.net/~sfoster1

Your cat seems to have learned how to defy gravity. Perhaps the quilt has
amazing powers?
That is one stunning quilt... and you say its easy? Easy is a relative term.
Easier than.. what... rubbing ones head and patting ones tummy? Easier than
making croissants from scratch? Please do explain. :-)
Diana

--
Weird people need beads, too
"georg" wrote in message
...
Michelle in NJ wrote:

soo...... anyone out there have pictures of king size bed quilts they've
done that can give me some ideas?

Here is my only king-size finished:

http://home.stny.rr.com/jazzmanian/janquilt.JPG
with Pepe inspecting my quilt. It was fairly simple to do.

-georg

This is my most recent large quilt; it's somewhere between king and
queen size.
http://webpages.charter.net/jaccola/...ndTheWorld.JPG
I have done large quilts on my machine before; it is a lot of bulk, but
it is do-able. For this one, I layered it as usual, basted the center
(inside the dark "ring"), and cut away the batting up to that point. I
rolled up the backing and top to that point and pinned it to keep it
under control. I quilted the center. Then I unpinned one corner,
replaced the batting, basted that section, and quilted it. I repeated
the procedure for all the corners. Then I quilted the borders. This
reduced the amount of bulk that I had to get under the arm of my machine.

I did another quilt where I left the quilt top in sections. I started
quilting in the center section, then added sections around the sides.
Read all about it at
http://webpages.charter.net/jaccola/..._Sections.html

Julia in MN
--
This message has been scanned for viruses by Norton Anti-Virus

http://webpages.charter.net/jaccola/

Diana Curtis wrote:

Your cat seems to have learned how to defy gravity. Perhaps the quilt has
amazing powers?
That is one stunning quilt... and you say its easy? Easy is a relative term.
Easier than.. what... rubbing ones head and patting ones tummy? Easier than
making croissants from scratch? Please do explain. :-)
Diana

I found it easy because it's all strip piecing. Cut it in strips, sew it
in strips. And in terms of the circle, it's make striped fabric then cut
it with a 9-degree ruler, then sew it in strips again. The hardest part
is centering the medalion and sewing that down. I did the center part by
hand, and that's the only hand stitching on the whole thing. Otherwise,
it's all by machine.

It didn't take terribly long to do, and I enjoyed working on the
monster. I bought the pattern from here
http://www.swdecoratives.com/110111.html and it's one of the few times
I've followed a pattern.

The quilt is lying on twin size bed, then fanning out to the floor. Pepe
is facing the wall, and wondering how to climb underneath.

-georg

I do admire that quilt. It is one I wouldnt dare try without a pattern
either. Ill trust your judgement on the simplicity of the piecing. I like a
quilt that looks harder than it is. Thanks for sharing the url. Another
potential quilt to add to the list. :-)
How did you pick the color scheme? It has a southwestern feel to it, yet
that impression is definatly influenced by the design.
Diana

--
Weird people need beads, too
"georg" wrote in message
...
Diana Curtis wrote:

Your cat seems to have learned how to defy gravity. Perhaps the quilt
has
amazing powers?
That is one stunning quilt... and you say its easy? Easy is a relative
term.
Easier than.. what... rubbing ones head and patting ones tummy? Easier
than
making croissants from scratch? Please do explain. :-)
Diana

I found it easy because it's all strip piecing. Cut it in strips, sew it
in strips. And in terms of the circle, it's make striped fabric then cut
it with a 9-degree ruler, then sew it in strips again. The hardest part
is centering the medalion and sewing that down. I did the center part by
hand, and that's the only hand stitching on the whole thing. Otherwise,
it's all by machine.

It didn't take terribly long to do, and I enjoyed working on the
monster. I bought the pattern from here
http://www.swdecoratives.com/110111.html and it's one of the few times
I've followed a pattern.

The quilt is lying on twin size bed, then fanning out to the floor. Pepe
is facing the wall, and wondering how to climb underneath.

-georg

Hi Michelle, What about the technique "Quilt as you Go". I have a book
called "Divide and Conquer" that will give you an idea on how to do this.
This pair (the names escape me) were on SQ and you could do a quick search
at www.hgtv.com . You wouldn't have to use their patterns but just adapt
their idea. I tried it and it makes quilting life alot more pleasant for
big projects.
JMHO, Linda in Tx