Quick Quilt Tops – Help us choose a design

Winner, winner, chicken dinner! Last month we showcased fast ways to make half-square triangles and invited you to choose your favorite layout from among 10 different options. It was a close race by the time we closed the voting, but the design below came out on top.

Until someone comes up with a clever title, I’m calling it “Star Crossed”—if you squint your eyes a bit, can you see the diagonal ‘cross’ floating behind the star? But we want YOU to choose the quilting design! I’ve come up with three possibilities–vote on your favorite one below. Then I’ll quilt it, and one lucky winner will get the quilt AND a goodie basket from APQS!

If I had a dollar for every time a student asked is “How do you choose quilting designs? How do you know what looks good?”, I’d be retired and drinking margaritas on a beach somewhere. 🙂 If you’re looking for inspirational tips, here’s a post that shares several guidelines to help narrow down your design options.

Your skillset may limit your possibilities at first, but remember that a little practice goes a long way toward bringing your design to life. But ultimately the best choice is to simply follow your heart and do what you like!

Design 1: Crossing Pathways

In the first design below, I imagined lots of interweaving knots and pathways that cross over and under each other through the quilt. Lots of ruler work, but with some background fill in between the pathways, a striking secondary layer will appear.

Design 2: Feathers and Curves

The second design softens all the right angles in the quilt by using curved crosshatching to create movement. Feathers keep it more traditional around the center medallion and the outer edges.

Design 3: Spa Day

The last design feels like a peaceful day at the spa—everything flows gracefully from the center star as it radiates out to the edges of the quilt with gentle curves and swags.

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