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Wednesday, February 8, 2012

Helpful hint for February

So which way do you like this quilt?

Vertical...






















... or horizontal?

Although I made the quilt in 2002 I haven't laid eyes on it for several years.  I took it to my neighborhood quilt shop to display because I was going to teach a class in this technique of piecing, and after the class never got around to collecting the quilt.  I kind of liked having it hanging in the shop to keep my name out there.  But the shop has closed, and the quilt has come home.

The other day as I was putting it away I noticed the back of the quilt, with a little detail that I thought might be helpful to share.

When I made the piece several years ago my first idea was to have it horizontal, and that's the way I put the sleeve on.  But for some reason I subsequently decided that it would also look good in the vertical orientation.  So I put a second sleeve on.

















Because each sleeve is sliced off on the diagonal, you can insert a hanging rod in either direction and still have it support the entire width of the quilt.

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16 comments:

  1. InekeFebruary 8, 2012 at 6:54 AM

    I prefer the horizontal one. But two sleeves is a good hint.

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  2. AnonymousFebruary 8, 2012 at 7:18 AM

    looks well composed horizontally ...

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  3. HildaFebruary 8, 2012 at 7:48 AM

    I like horizontal as well. Great tip for the hanging sleeve!

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  4. Norma SchlagerFebruary 8, 2012 at 7:52 AM

    Hmmm. Can't decide which way is up, but I do like that two sleeve system. I have made quilts that look good either way and had to put on a new sleeve for each hanging.

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  5. Cedar Ridge StudioFebruary 8, 2012 at 8:26 AM

    Horizontally is good for me

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  6. BrendaFebruary 8, 2012 at 2:56 PM

    The mitred double sleeve is anelegant solution. Thank you.

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  7. stitchinglifeFebruary 8, 2012 at 3:12 PM

    What a good idea. I prefer the vertical, personally.

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  8. RuthFebruary 8, 2012 at 4:12 PM

    Vertical for me, but the sleeves are a great idea.

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  9. JulieFebruary 8, 2012 at 5:27 PM

    I like the horizintal view but then I have a landscape brain. The two sleeves are a great idea.

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  10. Joy VFebruary 8, 2012 at 8:29 PM

    I looked at both ways a number of times and in every one my eyes went vertically. To me the horizontal stripe that is pieced one the left side vertically, seems to pop out at me.

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  11. Diane WrightFebruary 8, 2012 at 8:50 PM

    Vertical. I like the skinny red line as an anchor and the tower of squares is more prominent to my eye. IMHO

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  12. kathyFebruary 9, 2012 at 10:05 AM

    thanks, everybody for your comments! the vote is 5 to 4 -- obviously my difficulty in deciding which way is up simply reflects reality.

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  13. Vivien ZepfFebruary 9, 2012 at 4:42 PM

    I think I like vertical best.

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  14. AnonymousApril 9, 2013 at 1:58 PM

    I just did that with one of my small pieces. I couldn't decide which was was best so I made it possible to hang in either direction, but I didn't think of a mitered sleeve. Good idea.

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  15. Heather HasthorpeMay 30, 2014 at 4:15 PM

    Kathy, is the quilt shaped, or is the photo a little distorted? I actually like the two options not offered.. The narrow striped piece at the top or on the left. Or is that me being occard as Grandad would have said!

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    Replies
    1. kathyMay 31, 2014 at 7:46 AM

      Heather -- the photos are accurate, the quilt is odd shaped.

      It's commonly said that a good composition looks good in any orientation, so you should check your work, so to speak, by looking at it upside down. Not sure why we like one way over another and we often have disagreements in my critique group when we get to rotating the quilts.

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