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As is sometimes the case, I can’t always meet a deadline I hope for. I had planned on showing my 2nd section of Grandma’s Kitchen with my plan for quilting them today as lesson #4 of Quilt Your Own Quilt, but I wasn’t home enough to work on it. So I still have a lesson, just a different one!
I took my 2nd group of Grandma’s Kitchen blocks and decide to sew them up with sashing & corner stones and be DONE. I want to work on other things, and this makes a nice size quilt.
It needs a border, and my brain keeps wanting to add more work .. so here is my process of deciding what to do.
First I audition
- a 2″ (finished) strip of Grunge Vanilla fabric. This is the same width as the sashing.
- Then a smaller inner border of 1″ finished
- and then about a 5″ wide outer border.
It looks like it needs something….
If I did this wide of a vanilla border, I need to break it up with corner stones to match the sashing
That would be the perfect way to go for that size
Which is more work. Not a LOT more work, but more work.
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To make the balance of the white, red print, navy more of what I like, I reduced the size of the Vanilla inner border to a finished 1″ just like the red print
That feels better and is less work.
Which border would you do?
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47 Responses
I like the second one with the narrower vanilla border its a cleaner look for me.
Hey I meant the cornerstones may not need to be in the border. They are great in the sashing.
You have put so much effort in trying to decide, I think the extra corner stones in the vanilla border take away from the blocks, I like the idea of two narrow borders vanilla and red with a wider blue border to finish it off. Or even a vanilla peeper with a wide blue border, you have the red in the corner stones in the sashing so they may not need to be there, sometimes less is more.
Good luck with whatever you decide Pat, you are a brilliant designer and whatever you do looks amazing.
I don’t have the finishing instructions for Dandy Flower. How can I find them?
If quilt as yo go is to make easy to quilt in a domestic sewing machine, are you going to show us how todo it? I am stuck, and want to learn this as well.
I don’t like the red checked blocks in the border. It looks too busy. I hope you are going to continue to complete the original Grandma’s Kitchen quilt with QAYG as promised.
I already have my blocks sewn together in the 3 sections awaiting the quilt as you go instructions also. I’m not going to take them apart and put sashing between the blocks. I found a quilt as you go video on you tube I will use to get them sewn together. This is exactly why I didn’t want to start anything new before I got this done.
I like the second layout better. To my eye, it is crisper and puts the attention back on the blocks themselves.
Narrow red. Sorry auto correct!
I like option #3 – narrow vanilla, Barrie red. Beautiful
I love reading all these posts and seeing how everyone sees things differently, just like the world we live really. Thanks Pat
Narrow border – it lends a little bit more symmetry
Not grunge. Another white the ‘reads’ the same as the sashing. I like the narrow red border but I would not go wider than three inches on the outside border.
I like the first picture, but I would make the boarder the same width as the sashing and the cornerstone the same as the inner ones. it will give the quilt a more balanced look . as it is it looks as if you didn’t cut the material right and just slap-dashed the first boarder on. been quilting for 20 years and am always looking for new ideas and inventive techniques.
Love the cornerstones because it looks so finished. But with that said matching them up. But as much as I like simple I like the cornerstones
I would like to see small red and white border and large dark print with a red corner the size for all 3 borders.
Definitely option 2….I think the first option draws the eye away from the quilt instead of just framing it. JMHO!
I like it better with the cornerstones 😉
Hi Pat- On your darling quilt, I would most like to see the same white fabric, cut the same width as your sashing, all around the quilt, then the red checkered fabric in 2 1/2″ with the 5″ blue/red print border added last. It will be gorgeous, no matter what you decide, but this is my preference! Thanks for sharing, your wonderful tutorials, and blog! : )
I dont think I would use the Vanilla border at all I like the idea of the red being wider maybe the same width as the sashing vanilla strips and then the wider blue border.
Okay go with what suits you best Pat. I would guess that you have thought of all the different ways that this can be done.
Happy days
Gayle Z
I understand the being “done” with a project and needing to move on. I also think it’s b beautiful with the -less work- borders…I vote for that, less work.
First one
I think the vanilla with the corner stones. a more completed look
I think I would use the vanilla inner border, maybe 2″ wide finished, and leave out the red and use the darker print for the outer border.
I like this idea the best. Thanks Tamara
Thank you, Barbara. Often I have wondered the percentage.
I really like your quilt and the sashing but I don’t like the grunge for the outer border..I would probably use the same fabric as your sashing…without the corner stones…I’m anxious to see what you end up choosing!!
I applaud you on the choice of the second one. It’s much cleaner and has a finishing look about it, not as if a continuing of more blocks. I really like the second one. Now let’s see how you tackle choosing quilting! Love your blogs!
Easier is appealing, but I am always more satisfied with quilts that include a bit of complexity in the border. (Quilts that have magnificent borders thrill me.) Therefore I prefer your first choice with the cornerstones. In my opinion, after spending time piecing imaginative blocks the border treatment should have some dazzle too.
Ok, reread the post and now I see this is her other set of Grandmas Kitchen squares. I guess we need to be patient and more info will be coming. Good luck to you.
Me too! I’m confused, is that no longer the plan? I have my top section all quilted and finally like it!
What if you didn’t use the white sashing and just made the red one the same width as the cornerstones plus the 5″ blue. If that is too heavy add a 1″ white between the red and blue.
Use the inner border with red check blocks. I know it’s extra sewing but that extra will really make BIG difference! I’m sure you know this already, but I always use a formula to figure the total width of my borders: the total border should measure between 50% and 75% of the finished width of the block. I try not to exceed 66%. I love all your projects and enjoy your stories! Barbara
I .ike the 2nd one, without cornerstones and thinner vanilla strip. In fact, vanilla might even look ok if it’s smaller than red.
I like the 2nd one. When I look at the 1st one, my eye is immediately drawn to the inner border with the cornerstones and it is not that pleasing to my eye. The 2nd one looks great to me and compliments your quilt.
I like the second one best; but, I’m still a newbie and you are the expert! Whatever you choose will be perfect! Enjoy your weekend… 😀
i like the second one better, looks cleaner.
Do you have a revised timeframe for lesson #4?
I would like to move on to quilting the second
section and found your suggestions for the first
one very helpful!
I like the narrow vanilla strip…the cornerstones and narrow red border being the same makes it look “off’…but with these fabrics i like the narrow vanilla…
I like the first on but try using the darker colour for inner border and the fabric you used for the corner stones for the outer border….just a thought 😉
More finished look for border on the second one in my opinion.
I like the second better since the cornerstones are not the same size as sashing. IF they were the same size, I’d like the first bestest… go for easier today!!!!!! Happy day:)
I agree. Cornerstones in a border make me want to look for more squares, but there are none, so I feel cheated.
I like the second look too. Especially since cornerstones are not the same size as sashing.
I like the second one with the narrower vanilla strip. I think it looks a little ‘cleaner’.
I have to say I like the first one better. It just adds to the personality of the quilt.
Bummer: I was so looking forward to you showing us how to put the rows together using the quilt as you go method. Guess I will just have to wing it and figure it out on my own.
hmm. It is more work to do the wider border but I like that one better because it is broken up with the cornerstones. Even so, I am a huge fan of “easier”!