renata, i do the following = make a copy of the swirl or any other pattern that i want, on papers pin those paper on the quilt and follow the niddle on the line. (i hope it is clear), happy holidays

Well, it looks like the swirls have it! Thank you for your encouragement and advice--I'm off to purchasing thread for this when the stores open and I hope to get it done by tomorrow so I can make a few more holiday runners. Norma, thank you for pointing me to Charlotte Warr Andersen's book--never heard of it before, what a great little book for beginners like me. The zig-zag in the purple quilt looks really doable!

The swirls would be just fine. They are pretty even when they are not the same size, but if you really don't like that make yourself a template with zig-zag lines and place it in equal distance and at an angle first in one direction and then on an angle to that and same distance across the runner. Confused? It's a technique called something like One line at a time

http://www.amazon.com/One-Line-Time-Geometric-Machine-Quilting/dp/1571205314

Look at the back of the book (the purple quilt) to understand what I try to describe.

And by the time you're done you'll be an Ace Swirler Nice present

What a pretty table runner, Renata! I agree with Nancy. Besides, swirls can all be different and that will make the texture more interesting! Go for it!

Hi Renata -

I actually think your swirls would be perfect for this. With swirls, I've found that I generally hate mine and think they are all lopsided and ugly while I am quilting them, but once I step back I really love the texture. And if you are using matching thread, you will just get the texture. And I think the swirl texture will really accentuate the snow flakes in the fabric. If you don't do swirls, I would still do something curvy with a lot of motion like that cold wind blowing.

Because the quilting will really show in the border, I would just do the swirls in the interior. Maybe piano key or bead board quilting in the border would be a nice contrast to a swirly design in the center. And using a matching blue thread would make it a nice texture.

Just my thoughts....

Nancy

I just finished piecing this holiday runner that will be a gift. I thought I was going to quilt it with swirls throughout but I'm not sure my swirls are that regular and pretty... in fact, I'm pretty sure they are ugly and uneven... Any suggestions for a simple, foolproof quilting design that will still look attractive? Should I quilt the blue border differently from the center design? I was thinking of using a King Tut thread that blends with the lighter colored blocks bu am open to any suggestions there too. HELP!!!