attempting a quilt

[worlddreamer]

Hello, I was hoping I could get some good advice from some DISers who are quilters...

I am going to attempt to make a memory quilt for my boyfriend's brother's wedding gift. The good news is, my mother has a sewing machine and is pretty good with it. The bad news is, I don't think I could sew a button on a shirt, let alone make a whole quilt! It will be very basic - several squares sewn together. I have an idea. I have squares with messages from guests written on them, 4 different fabircs, and some larger squares with pictures on them (that part was a trip let me tell you!).

From here I am lost, and unable to find a good guide. Anyone want to lend a helping hand?

Thanks!

 

[bclydia]

Okay, so what are the dimensions of your different squares?
Are all your fabrics cotton?
How big do you want the final quilt to be? I mean in general terms, are you looking to make a wall hanging, or a lap quilt or is it to go on a king size bed?
That information will help us to help you.
It's a lovely idea for a wedding gift! You can definitely do it.
Lydia

 

[bobcat]

See if you have a local quilt store that offers classes. Since you want to give this as a gift I sugest you practice practice practice first. If you are doing a basic quilt with all the squares the same size they are fairly easy. Where you may run into difficulty is binding the edges and of course the actual quilting.

Go to the library and look for a quilting book that says simple quilts or weekend quilts. Here are a couple of web sites to get you started.

http://www.allcrafts.net/quilting.htm

http://www.skepsis.com/~tfarrell/textiles/quilting/quilt.html

 

[jenny2]

Instead of actually quilting the finished quilt, you could tie the layers together (I did that with my first few quilts). See here:

http://quilting.about.com/c/ht/00/07/How_Tie_Quilt0962932876.htm

Hope that helps!