quilting challenge

[beccab]

I just made my firt quilt, a memory quilt. Actually, it is a pillow. I loved the quilting & the fabric choosing, however finishing it & putting it together was a challenge & a chore. I'm not sure i have the ambition to do an actual full size quilt.

Any comments or recommedations to make completing a quilt easier. I really went by my own ideas (prob part of the problem)
on how to put the thing together.

Came out pretty good with a few minor errors.

 

[Rajah]

No real ideas to help you, but I just wanted to say congrats on a finish! I'm a beginning quilter, too.

 

[TigH]

Check out amazon.com for a book called quilt in a day (or something like that). Or maybe do a Google search on quilting and try to narrow it down to "easy" or "rotary" or something. I am not sure what the name is or who the author is (OR WHERE my book is) but I am pretty sure there is a book out there that is all about making simple quilts with basic rotary blade cutting and block making. I got it for Christmas one year and I'll be darned if I can find it (although I blame it on the move from Maryland to Florida!)

If you find the titles of a few books that look interesting to you, check them out of the library to see if they suit your needs. It has been about 4-5 years, but I remember checking a book out of the library that had something to do with quilting in a weekend. It was very easy to understand and there were some really simple patterns. I didn't do any stitching to quilt the top, I just tied knots in all the corners. I have a special quilting foot for my sewing machine but have never tried using it.

The thought of making a quilt large enough to fit a queen sized bed is daunting (to me) but it's one of my goals. The first step is hitting the fabric store!!!!! I figure I'm not in a rush, so I'll just enjoy the process as much as I can every step of the way, even if it takes me two years or more to complete it (and at the pace I'm going now, it will!)

Good luck! Do you have a picture of the pillow you made? I would love to see it!!! A memory quilt sounds very lovely. Was it for you or for someone else?

Have fun!

 

[MontanaCowgirl]

There are literally 100's of beginner quilting books out there now. try going to www.hgtv.com & clicking on the Simply Quilts link in the show list. Then just look in their archives for a show on the topic you'd like to learn about. They will also suggest books on each subject too!

Beginner quilters...I suggest you tie your 1st couple of quilts. Also if you insist on having it machine quilted consider hiring a pro. If you want to try it yourself go to your local quilt shop & take a lesson or two. They are lots of fun & you learn tons! Also don't try to machine quilt a quilt with thick fluffy batting in it. You will get really frustrated. Get the thin densely woven batting to do that sort of quilting. Warm & Natural is a popular brand.

Feel free to PM me if you have questions. I teach quilting & may be able to help you!

Happy quilting!

 

[TigH]

Hey, MontanaCowgirl!

Thanks for the offer to help. I have a question or two.

For large quilts, is it ok to piece the back together? Say your quilt is wider than the average piece of fabric as it comes off the roll. I want to make a quilt for our queen guest bed, but I don't want it to look stupid if I have to piece the back together. Does that make any sense to you? I am planning to just tie the quilt since I am only going to use equal sized squares of fabric to create it. I know it's my quilt and it has to make me happy, but I am worried it will look ugly (on the back) if the seams are visible from where I had to join two or three pieces of fabric together.

I made a quilt about 4 years ago and just used a sheet for the back, but I would rather use regular fabric for this next quilt.

Another question - let's say I decide to go a little crazy and make several blocks out of smaller squares and intersperse them through the quilt with the larger squares. If I tie it off, should I tie it in all the corners of the smaller squares, or just the corner of the finished block?

I suppose these are nonsense questions! The quilt will be on the bed and it's not like anyone is going to walk into my house and flip it over to see the tie pattern or seams on the back!

I appreciate your willigness to share you quilting knowlege with us!

Thanks!

Oh, BTW, I would love to machine quilt one of these days, but I will probably just do stitch in the ditch. I think I am going to make some "practice quilts" that will double as placemats. Now will you fly out to Florida and go to the fabric store with me and guide me through the color selecting process? I bought "Color Magic for Quilters" several years ago. It's a lovely book, but I am still clueless when it comes to putting colors together harmoniously!

 

[MontanaCowgirl]

LOL TigH I think books that try to teach you how to select colors are like those books "such & such for dummies". After you read them it didn't make it any easier!!!!

When choosing colors I just find my "focal fabric". Once you find your focal fabric choose other fabrics that have the same colors in them as your focal fabric. Carry that fabric around the store with you & lay it down next to (or 1/2 on top of) other bolts as you go & see what you like. If you like it, it will work! It's just a matter of taste more than anything else in my book. I've had peeps tell me "I would have never chosen those fabrics but now that I see them together they look really nice!" I have actually 2 words for you to make this simple when choosing fabric...Just Play!!!

You can piece your backing all you want to! There are no rules there! It's up to you! I have one friend that uses all her large scraps of fabric that even remotely have a co-ordinating theme with the front of her quilts as her backing! Some of them are pretty weird but hey! She likes it & that's all that matters! They do also sell quilt backing material in widths of 108 inches wide or more! Or you can just use a sheet like you did before. I do that a lot too when I don't want a seam on my king size quilts! Plus you can get heavy weight sheets cheaper than the fabric by the yard if you watch the sales sometimes. Those are great for quilts that will get a lot of use out of them!

I like your way of thinking. Starting small with the stitching in the ditch on your placemats is wonderful practice! After you get the feel of that, move on up to freemotion quilting! It's so much fun! I suggest you either buy one of the 2 following for that... Either a pair of quilter's golves with the little rubber beady thingies on the palms & fingers for traction on your fabric....or a set of those plastic 3/4 hoops that you hold onto either side against the top of your fabric to keep it flat & taught. Start your freemotion quilting on napkins, potholders, placemats, pillow tops, table runners & graduate up to a quilt. It is soooooo rewarding when you get the hang of it!!!! When you start with the freemotion don't beat yourself in the head trying to follow a pattern. Just start with squiggles & loop-de-loops to get the hang of your movement! Then when you are ready for a pattern try drawing it first with a pencil on paper before doing it with your machine. The idea is to enjoy what you are doing right?

Tying your quilt...I suggest you tie it with spaces no further apart than 8 inches. Closer still if it has loosely woven batting in it. You can tie it on the corners of your blocks, in the center of a square, or where ever you feel it looks best! If you have a quilt with some large squares & some small ones you may want to do this....tie it at all 4 corners & once in the center of the large squares & also on the smaller blocks of 4 squares (a tie at each outer corner & one in the center junction). It will look uniform & neat. I just make sure my ties are in lines either across, diagonally, or vertically, or all 3..also do not thread the tie through a seam, thread it across a seam to strengthen it! I use everything from fuzzy yarn to crocheting thread to tie my quilts. What ever suits your fancy. Again...this is YOUR quilt. Make it the way YOU want to!

Want some ideas on placing blocks or projects stop over to my site & peek at the ones I have online at www.montanalogcabin.com . Also there are a gadzillion fabric & quilt shops online....go window shopping! Many of them offer free blocks you can download & make per month!

Happy quilting!!!

 

[Rajah]

Wow, some great information here! It's making me want to do some more with my beginning quilting. I've had to set that aside now that school has started up, but I'm anxious to try and play with it again.

I'm going to jump straight into "free motion", but what I plan to do is use free motion on a pocket of a tote only, so I'm starting out with just a small square to work on. Eventually I'll get more complex.

 

[MontanaCowgirl]

Oh WTG Rajah!!!!

When life gives you scraps...make a quilt!

 

[beccab]

Thanks for the encouragement everyone & for the suggestions. I really appreciate the time you took to write everything out. That was very nice of you all.

I will definetly look for a book to help me along. I really enjoy watching Simple Quilts even though 3/4 of time I am totally confused.

The memory quilt pillow is for my daughter. It was to be a graduation present from high school which was last June. I know I'm a little late & she hasnt even seen it yet since she is away at school. I used all pics of her friends, grad day, proms ect. I can't wait until she sees it.

Tigh, I don't have a pic of it & even if I did I wouldnt know how to get it on the computer. I guess I need lessons in computering too. LOL

 

[MontanaCowgirl]

When I watch Simply Quilts I tape it. That way when I get confused at any part of the instruction I can review it after the show. Never fails...whenever I review it I pick up on something I missed!

Glad I could help...happy quilting!