Something You Really Want to Try
I have been wanting to try my hand at photo quilting but just can't seem to get up the courage to get on with it already. I think part of my fear is some of the examples I have seen; of course this probably isn't fair, as so many companies have come out with new (and they say better) products all the time. Also, I think the other reason I haven't done it doesn't have to do with fear, but laziness. I have boxes full of photos that haven't even been put into albums, and a ton more in my computer from a digital camera. You know what this means; having to sit down and organize things to find what I want, and getting pictures printed. I admit it--I'm guilty of being very lazy.
Now that three of my four children are married and gone, and my oldest will be graduating high school in June, I am feeling very different about my time, because I actually have some! Plus I became a grandmother recently and am feeling like I have a different purpose to get stuff done again. Slowly, once the holidays passed and I put the decorations away, I started to feel that inspiration coming back to me again. I'm attacking some of my quilt tops and finishing them and giving them away, and I feel ready to try and learn something new. So maybe I will give photo quilting a try before my daughter graduates in June! **** Trudy
UFO’s
A fellow quilter and I were talking abut how many UFO's we had stacked up and how no matter how busy we were we never get them all done. We came up with a great idea! We will outsource them to India or China, since everything else comes from there anyway. ****Marina Sharts
Zen Quilting
I am a Zen quilter. I read a book about the Zen of quilting you may have read it
too. Zen means just enjoying the doing of it. Really it is being in the Now...no end in sight. Just do it .... I like that ...I am happiest when just sewing squares together. **** Mardi--Zen Quilter in Georgia
First Quilts
My first quilt: 1973, 6 inch hexagons. I learned right away that you must leave the last bit of seam allowance (I believe it was 1/2 inch, but it might have been the standard 5/8 inch) open! I also got tired of piecing hexagons and made a 10 inch border. It survived college, and I gave it away. My second and third quilts (1986, 1989) were made from 11 inch squares. (I didn't believe in spending a lot of time of these!) I backed them with fake fur. They are still around. When we are sick, they are perfect to wrap around yourself and watch Hogan's Heroes episodes with!
Now I do things by the book. Mostly. **** Marion
7 years ago I signed up at work for a "lunchtime" quilting class. Over the course of 9 weeks we created a 9 patch sampler (Churn Dash, Ohio Star, Drunkards Path, Triple Rail, Bow Tie, 9-Patch, Grandmothers Flower Garden etc) with sashing, binding and quilting. The process was "before I owned a rotary cutter or rulers" and had no clue about how to do any of it. Each week the instructor showed us how to make two blocks. Our homework for that week was to complete the blocks. Any questions were addressed the next week. This first quilt was VERY CHALLENGING but I learned so much--the hard way. I still have that first quilt and show it along with my latest creation to new quilters so they can see there is hope for everyone!
My recommendation for new quilters is an easy pattern like triple-rail fence taught in a 3 - 4 hour class. ****Kathy Gordon in Blacklick, Ohio
The very first quilt I ever made was a Hands All Round quilt. I set it together with plain squares in which I hand quilted the hands of family members. It was not until I got it completely done that I found out that this pattern is considered advanced and not one to be attempted by a beginner. Right now I wish it was not a finished quilt because if I were doing it now I would set it together differently. However some of the family members who let me quilt their hands are no longer with us so this quilt is a memorial of sorts to them.
For a beginner just starting out I would not want to discourage them from taking on a pattern they love simply because it is considered an advanced pattern. I would tell a beginner to do what they love and that they can always make just one block to try it. They do not have to do a whole quilt like I did. Maybe by doing this one day they will have the blocks to make an awesome sampler quilt.
As a teenager, I tried to make a quilt with blue jean squares, and then cotton, every other square. The blue jean fabric pulled the plain cotton, and it ripped in several places, so I gave up. Years later, I asked the quilt guru of the family (my grandmothers sister) if she would teach me to quilt. She said pick a pattern. Grandmother's flower garden was the one I wanted (there was only one pattern to cut from the fabric, that should be easy!) It was easy to hand piece once I learned the easiest way!
Would I suggest starting with grandmothers flower garden? Only if you have plenty of patience, and are piecing it by hand. It is a good carry along project. Get the hexagons cut, 1- center, all centers one color (we did brown), 6- for first ring around the center, second color, 12-second ring around the center, then we used red as the border for each flower, which is 18 hexagons. You can make lots of these, and have a day to put them all together. Then quilt. ****Susan Howell
My first quilt was done in a continuing education class and was a sampler. It was definitely the best quilt to start with. We covered everything from hand piecing, to machine piecing, appliqué, paper piecing and eventually sandwiching and quilting. It was over 20 years ago, so it was only HAND quilting.
****Nancy in New York State
The very first pattern I made was a Drunkard's Path. The women's bible study group chose this as their craft project. There were a lot of us who had never quilted before. They taught us how to make templates, cut material, and quilt it when we were done. We did it all by hand and ended up with a pillow. It wasn't easy, but after it was done, I was hooked!! I made 2 more pillows right away.
It was the perfect first project - difficult enough without being frustrating and small enough to be doable and keep our interest.
My first quilt was a baby quilt. I made a scrappy 9 patch. It was easy enough to finish quickly and I taught myself with the help of a book.
My first quilt I made was an appliqué elephant quilt I started when I was 15 and finished for my first grandchild in 1992. I wouldn't recommend this for beginners. It came out great. My daughter and I tied it as I had no idea how to quilt it. I do quilt my own but I'm not real good at it, nor do I really enjoy it. **** SandyLee
I definitely would not recommend the first quilt I made. I was about 17 years old, and made a "crazy quilt". I took whatever scraps I could find, and we had a bundle of them. At that time, I was an avid seamstress anyway, making my own clothes. But I just started sewing the bits and pieces together. I did not know you are supposed to sew it in blocks. By the time it was about 5 feet square, I could hardly lift it to the sewing machine! I had quite a few lumps in it where the pieces didn't quite fit together. I put an old blanket in the middle for the batting and I don't even remember what the back was from. I tied it together with yarn.
Even though it was a very hideous creation, I did get hooked on quilting enough to buy a book on the subject and even take a class…..Me and about 10 ladies in their 50's and 60's. It was fun though--I was the baby of the group. I never produced a quilt from that group, as I got busy doing other things, as teenagers are likely to do, but the interest in quilting has been with me since then.
I learned quilting with my sister so my first one was a scrappy and I had to learn fast since I was on vacation......I would not recommend fast to anyone because its hard to remember everything and of course my sister forgot to give my some tips that I learned much later on........My favorite part of the process is in the designing stage and I usually don't take more than a few days to come up with something and than I cut it all up and try to coordinate it before I sew it together.........My sister didn't teach me how to read a pattern and she taught me how to strip quilt in a nine patch form except she forgot about 9 patches and accidently had me sew all 12 patches so we couldn't square them....kinda funny since it’s kinda important to square things but the quilt still came out pretty good......I haven't taken any classes because of cost and I know I could use more tips on the squaring things and on pinning........I dread the pinning part I just don't like the whole sandwich process thing it's a pain but I get through it.... ****Carol
My first full-sized quilt was a log cabin made in 1978. I chose it because I've always loved the pattern and I knew it would be an easy one to make with all straight seams. I definitely would recommend it for a beginner. If the Quilt Police tell me one day that I can make only one pattern the rest of my life, I would choose the Log Cabin because there are so many different settings you can use -- even the Pineapple is a log cabin block. ****Casey in Kansas
My first quilt was Cathedral Window......the folding and appliqué required no real quilting as it was "quilt as you go" so I was brave enough to try it. I did not know you were supposed to wash the fabric first back then. I had chosen a light blue, inexpensive fabric (took 20 yards!) and used scraps of everything for the center part. The first time I washed this quilt, it really SHRANK quite a bit, but I still love it! **** Clare Steinfeld in Cordova, Tennessee
Once I graduated from cutting squares out of leftover sewing fabrics and then sewing enough of them together to make a quilt top and, yes, backing it with a sheet to make a quilt---I decided I wanted to make a REAL quilt. A friend of mine (still a novice quilter, but further ahead than I was) suggested that a Log Cabin Block and then a Log Cabin quilt would be an excellent place to start. So I found some patterns for the Log Cabin block and proceeded to make first a small quilt, then several wall hangings, a large quilt and went on to other quilting patterns from there. I learned a lot from that first small quilt-cutting; piecing; chain-piecing; the joy of starting out small and winding up with something to be proud of; the variety of patterns available using those blocks; the fun of watching colors blend or clash or complement each other; using the 1/4 inch seam; how to use a rotary cutter and mat; different battings; top-stitching; stitch in the ditch; and even hand quilting. ALL from a Log Cabin block. I, personally, think it is a great (and rewarding) place to start. I have thanked my friend many times.
My husband and I went to Amish country in Pennsylvania many years ago. I liked to sew and we stopped in a fabric shop. Dear hubby encouraged me to buy some fabric, which I did after looking through a pattern book (and buying that also). I was in awe of Storm at Sea and bought enough fabric to make a king size quilt. Not having quilted before, I was very careful marking and cutting the pieces with my scissors. Did they have rotary cutters then? Mom kept asking if it was crib size yet. Finally joined a quilt group and bought a mat, ruler, etc. When we retired 13 years ago, all my projects came with me. Finally was able to re-do some of the outer seams to add to the project. It is still waiting to be finished. I would definitely tell beginners to start with a simpler pattern! **** June Paynter
The first “real” quilt I made using a pattern was a king size rail fence for my daughter’s wedding gift: nothing like jumping into the fire with such an important project. The pattern was not terribly difficult, but it was not the best of projects to start because of not properly understanding seam allowances, squaring the squares, etc. It would probably be fine with instruction, but not that size; wasn’t sure I would ever get done. It was after attempting this project that I took classes. I did have this quilt quilted by a longarm quilter, but I have done all of them since then, it just doesn’t feel like my quilt if someone else quilts it.
****Charyl Garman in Tempe, Arizona
As for a first quilt…I was 15 and tried an applique quilt that I found in a magazine. Overall it was an honorable effort, but I never completed it (Un less you consider lopping it off around the edges after quilting the center and calling it a baby quilt a form of completion)
The first quilt that I felt successful with was an Eleanor Burns Log Cabin. She’s great and I would highly recommend her show and her patterns to the novice quilter. She’s so encouraging and practical and her patterns are so well defined and illustrated. My kids also taught themselves to quilt using Marsha McCloskey’s Block Book. Again, very well laid out and self explanatory for a visually oriented person. They each made sampler quilts at the middle school age.
****Patricia Hersey in Ghent, Kentucky
The first quilt I made was a Martha Washington’s work box. Cut with scissors and cardboard. I had no idea what I was doing but I had a book and off I went. Pieced and done all by hand. Many little pieces with bias edges and lots of points. It’s not too square and doesn’t lie real flat but the daughter that I made it for loves it dearly and it is her summer quilt.
DON’T start with that pattern! I did learn a lot and of course was hooked on quilting. I have always seen patterns that I loved and had to make no matter if I had the skill I jump in and go. Not too bright, but they get finished sooner or later. Quilty Girls Rule! ****Phyllis Miles
My first quilt was an adaptation of a pattern from "Just Can't Cut It" by Pamela Mostek. There were no small pieces to contend with, it didn't seem critical that points were perfect, etc. and all of the designs were ideal for gorgeous large-scale prints - you know the kind - the ones that invariable catch your eye in the fabric store but by the time you get home, you're wondering what the heck you're going to ever do with it. I had never taken a quilting class, but since I knew how to sew, her patterns were ideal for me. They go together quickly, so there is some certainty that this first project will actually be completed and never end up in a pile of UFOs, and are of manageable sizes.
****Robin Gausebeck in Rockford, Illinois
I have to admit I am one of those people who always seem to challenge themselves way beyond their limits! The first quilt that I started (because after 15 years it is still a UFO) was a wedding ring quilt. What possessed me to start there? Well I loved the beauty and the elegance of it. To say the least, I still have it, after 15 years of quilting it is waiting for me to do the frog stitch, and fix it. No, I would never recommend for anyone to start there! Maybe I will drag it out this year and fix it and finish it up. ****Kim Tomasi
Giddy vs. Dread
My name is Kathy and I'm a fiber-holic. Fabric gets my creative juices flowing. The "creative process" of quilting keeps me motivated. I used to be into all types of crafts and tole painting, but now seldom do anything but quilting and knitting, as fiber rules my crafty world. My 14" x 20" craft room has transformed into a "Quilting Studio". What drives me nutty about quilting is making points in a pattern look like a POINT! I usually fall back to paper piecing and triangle paper to accomplish this. I find myself very excited when I find a pattern that I know will look beautiful in the fabrics I have not yet purchased! On the other side of the coin - I get excited when I figure out a way to incorporate vintage clothes, embroidered table scarves or hankies (from my family) into a quilt I can look at and enjoy!
I recently designed and have completed the top of an appliqué quilt using fabric from my Mom's aprons. The appliqués are an exact likeness of the original apron. I lost Mom twice, first to Alzheimer's and then to Heaven a year ago - so this is a special quilt and brings fond memories of Mom in all her glory, in the kitchen, preparing a meal for us. ****Kathy Gordon
I love to watch a quilt top come together. It is like watching something being born. Piecing is my favorite part of putting a quilt together. I don't mind putting the layers together. But heaven help me when it comes to quilting. I wish I had enough money to hire the quilting done on all the quilts I do. ****Sandy
Back in the 60's, I was a girl scout. What does this have to do with quilting? you ask.....You have to have a buddy! On my own, I start out with a pattern that I am really excited about. I will cut out a few pieces for trial, and make a block or two. Then the excitement wears off, and I procrastinate. But if I have a buddy, then cutting is a breeze! I have one buddy that in her spare time takes all the pieces and pins them together, and when she gets to my house I sew, she unpins. Another friend cuts all the pieces, hands them to me, I sew and then she comes back for the quilting, or she even quilts by herself, on one of those plastic frames.
When the quilt frame is set up, it may sit there for months, unless someone shows up. When the buddy arrives, I quilt like a mad woman even if she doesn't quilt with me! ****Susan Howell
I get very excited when it's time to sew the final step of the binding.
It's like the quilt is finally being BORN or something.
I do tend to dread and put off the machine quilting on larger quilts. I'm still using the kitchen table or another table for large things like this and it just seems to be a hassle. I look forward to someday having a REAL sewing room with large tables and everything together. Also, I know that I'm in for several hours of leaning over the machine, struggling with a large quilt and that's not too much fun. I love machine quilting small projects, though. ****Nancy in New York State
I love the planning especially when I find that perfect pattern with the perfect fabrics for that person I'm making it for.
I dread squaring up hundreds of half square triangles or even worse -- flying geese!!
The part I love the best is getting all the fabric together for a quilt especially trying different combinations and colors. The most dreaded part for me is cutting out the pieces. I am a novice and it seems that no matter how hard I try, the pieces don't come out right. I get soooo frustrated about this. Thanks for letting me vent!
****Illana Flint
I really love your newsletters...I work on a computer all day at work, and really do not enjoy signing on at nite at home, but your newsletter is the exception to that rule! God Bless you and your honest uplifting messages to women. Anyway, my favorite part of making a quilt is the binding! Yes. My friends say that's just cuz now I know I can move on to the next quilt! Maybe there is some truth to that, but I love the feeling of bringing it all together and I love hand work as well as machine use. So that brings me to the next question: the part I sometimes dread: Is the quilting. I WISH I COULD MACHINE QUILT NEATLY! But, I just cannot master it....so if the project is small enough, I sit down with a hoop, cup of coffee (glass of wine?) and hand quilt. Lately, my projects have not been very small, so I send them out to a quilt store here that does long arm quilting...Is that cheating? {~.~} My favorite block pattern is the log cabin block....There are many variations of this block. I haven't wandered off the standard block path very much myself, but I do enjoy seeing what others have done with the variations. This was one of the first blocks I learned how to make...I guess I am captivated by the idea of the center block always being red (or orange or yellow) due to that would represent the hearth in the center of the home, or the "heart" of the home - the family.
****Nan Frearson in Hamlin, New York
My favorite part of making a quilt is choosing or designing the pattern and picking out fabrics to go in it. My least favorite part is the actual quilting of it - takes SO LONG - of course machine quilting speeds it along, but if I have hand pieced or appliquéd it I would rather it be hand quilted.
****Clare Steinfeld
What fills me with dread? Picking fabrics!! I've always loved doing that for other people --- it's easy because, if you really "listen" to them, they will tell you what they like. But most professionals hate picking out fabrics for their own quilts. Isn't that weird?! Here's just one of my little secrets --- when someone in one of my classes has a set of fabrics that really "rolls my socks up and down", I sneak some of her scraps from the wastebasket, pin them together and hang them on my bulletin board for future reference!! Now you know! ****Donna Poster
My favourite part of the quilting process is the moment I put my project up on the design wall and take a step back, after hours of wonderful cutting-ironing-gluing-ripping-sewing-frenzy, admiring the result of an idea that just popped up in my head. Pretty close to that is giving the quilt away to someone who really appreciates it! Due to arthritis, finishing the binding by hand is the worst part.
My first quilt was made of 6 ½” squares before I even knew there were such things as quilting fabric and magazines, and I would definitely recommend it as a beginner’s project. It was easy and fun, and 9 years later I‘m still quilting.
****Nina Lise Moen in Stavanger, Norway
Probably "giddy" isn't the word that I would use to describe it, but the feel of a newly completed quilt is my favorite part of quilting. I'm not sure why the physical act of quilting three layers of material together creates such an amazing transformation in the way a quilt feels, but I just love to "hug" my new quilts when they are done.
"Dread" is a good word to describe what I feel at the time of day that I know I must stop quilting and move onto other mundane activities, such as housework, cooking, even grocery shopping. I am very lucky to be retired and have some time most days to spend quilting, so I really can't complain when life gets in the way of quilting, but it does! **** Jo Anne K. in Clovis, California
This is the first time I've written you. Today I feel the impulse because of your admittance that the "S" needs to be missing from your shirt for a little while. I'm so happy to hear that there is someone else who finds it challenging to devote as much time as they would like to their quilting passions and still balance the family thing as well. I try to get an hour each day during the week and several on the weekend but sometimes it just isn't possible.
To that end I would say that the most exciting thing about quilting is starting a new quilt whether it is designing my own (EQ 6 is so cool!!) or using someone else's pattern. I love to buy fabric, thread, and books/magazines! I once expressed the hum of my sewing machine to be like a sort of Zen. I'm lucky enough to have converted my son's bedroom after he moved out so that I have a dedicated work room. Maybe the dreaded part for me would be the quilting at the end. I'm not experienced in free motion so it's the most challenging part for sure. I'm practicing though and know it will be easier the more I do.
My first quilt was made for my grandson before his birth 3 years ago. It was a simple four patch alternating with windmill block and interspersed with an art block here and there. I'm making him a CARS quilt now with the characters featured in the middle of an economy patch block. He's my buddy! Grandchildren are God's special blessings in your life. Happy quilting..... ****Candace
I don't have to ponder this question long. I love putting on the final binding---by hand. I'm well aware that for many this is not an exciting task, but I love to bind, and I can think about "what next?" the whole time. I'm definitely a process quilter, and the finished product is almost always on its way to someone else as soon as it's finished, but I do love to finish the binding. (The designing part is fun too. But I truly hate cutting.) **** Ann
I thought I knew how to quilt.. Then I joined a Quilt Guild! I immediately took the quilt I had made apart, and remade it....what a difference a rotary cutter and a ruler made. That was 12 years ago and I am still just as enthusiastic today as I was then. Not only do I have many quilts made and given to my loved ones, I also have a sewing room full of patterns, half finished projects, and my STASH ! Stopped at a shop today and spent $45 in the blink of an eye. Such fun!
I think the hardest part of quilting is trying to finish a project before starting a new one. **** Marilyn in Minnesota
Giddy with excitement? Just the thought of getting to go home to a reasonably clean house and jump in is enough to get me excited…
giddy breakdown on a 1-5 * scale…
Going shopping with friends 5+
Going shopping alone 4+
Seeing the new stuff 5+
Bringing home a new book 5+
Bringing home a coordinated project 4+
Bringing home odd pieces for stash 4+
Hand washing + ironing pieces 4-ish
Cutting 4
Sewing 4+ (a peaceful 4+)
Laying out blocks to contemplate 5
Stitching blocks together 4+
Layering with batting & backing 4
Layering process with a friend 5
Machine quilting 4
Hand quilting 4-5 depending on patterns & fabrics
Hmmm… I think this means I really like my hobby (to most people, I refer to it as my therapy) **** Patricia Hersey
Giddy - Seeing the final product on a quilt that you have known you'd love since you started it.
Dread - Fabric selection for a new project. This is hardest for me because I don't feel I have a natural sense for colors. I get lots of opinions. Sometimes when I'm done with a quilt I look at it (if I've taken someone else's advice on fabric) and wonder why I did it because I would never have chosen those colors. I need to be braver. **** Sheila D in Glasgow Montana
After finding the pattern I JUST HAVE to make, buying the fabric is the most and biggest thrill. Cringing is saying I don’t have time to cook/clean/shop for groceries/you have to fix dinner to my husband. “I’m on a mission”. He, bless his heart, shaking his head wanders toward the kitchen. Sometimes he asks who this one is for and when I say I don’t know gives me that bewildered look. How can I make a quilt that isn’t for someone? When the quilt is done, I have learned a new trick, used a new tool, tried a new method and know who will be gifted with this one. That is one of the best thrills; the quilt tells you who it wants to belong to. ****Phyllis Miles
When I decide to start a new project, I have to find new fabric! I KNOW there is nothing in my stash that will come close to what I need. Just thinking about going to the fabric shop gives me a euphoric feeling. My heart begins to flutter as I anticipate entering the doors of fabric heaven. I'm sure that flutter has nothing to do with treating myself to a Starbuck's large caramel latte on my way to shop!! When I go in, I imagine myself running in slow motion through mounds of lovely fabric; long hair flowing (mine's actually short...); running my hands through the latest designs; birds singing; butterflies fluttering;........oh, uh, .......sorry.......I buy what I need, making sure I have used the pattern recommendations, and then picking up four or five more yards in various measurements of other fabrics that might come in handy some other time. When I decide to start, I go to work setting all the things I need out and the DREAD starts!!!
I have to CUT out my blocks.......... I can see the fabric laughing at me. I hate to cut. I wish it would cut itself. All I want to do is sew. I decide to try using my scissors as a magic wand. I wave them over the fabric hoping it will mimic a Disney movie and begin it's self-cutting ritual. No such luck. It just sits there, mocking me. I give a big sigh, plop my reading glasses on the end of my nose, and bring myself back to quilting reality. It's a process from end to end and I WILL get through this part and on to a joyous time at my sewing machine!!!!!
****Melody Tigo
What makes me giddy about the quilting process? Well, I would be less than truthful if I didn't admit that shopping for fabric always makes me excited when I start a new project. (It also makes me excited when I don't have a new project.) However, for me the most energizing part is the initial "aha" moment when a title for a quilt pops into my head and I rush for my quilt journal so I can write it down before I forget it. I then sit and brainstorm all the techniques, colors, motifs I can think of. If a sketch comes to me then, I'll get that down, too, although since I have no art training, translating all of my great ideas into actual pictures may be the hardest part of the process for me. I always start from a title and work my way forward from there. ****Robin Gausebeck
Don’t Should On Yourself
I've also found that I don't like making quilts that I *should* make - for some reason it's just not as fun as picking a pattern or designing and making a quilt that appeals to me. Most of my donation quilts are made first for me - just because I want to - and then when I've have the pleasure of creating them, they go on to bring warmth and comfort to someone in need. How great is that?! ****Mary
Crayon Aromatic Therapy?!
I’m on your mailing list but never emailed before. Your crayon story brought back great memories of when my children were small (they’re now 28 and 25). Not so much about the children, but about DAD. My husband LOVES the smell of new crayons so whenever a fresh box came into the house, the kids were not allowed to use them until dad had had an opportunity to get a good whiff! My daughter always had to have NEW crayons once that point was gone. I think I still have a tub of nearly new ones in the cupboard. Well, oldest granddaughter is nearly 3 so she’ll need them soon. Well, probably she’ll need NEW ones so she can let grandpa sniff them! ****Joyce Wright
Quote
“One of the most tragic things I know about human nature is that all of us tend to put off living. We are all dreaming of some magical rose garden over the horizon instead of enjoying the roses that are blooming outside our windows today.”
Dale Carnegie
Please
with your thoughts on these topics and
we'll enter you in our next Real Women Quilt drawing!!
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