jmoore

You've come to the right place for help...welcome to the QB. You'll discover many helpful tips here and wonderful quilters.

twinkie

Hi and welcome to this wonderful board. The quilters on this board are absolutely amazing. If you ever have a problem, you will definitely find someone on this site to help you. Quilting is so much fun!!!!

carolynjo

Just hang in there and learn from each quilt. We don't always have a quilt shop nearby and experience is a food teacher. I might suggest keeping a journal in which you tell yourself what you have learned, what worked for you, etc.

ania755

Welcome aboard....you are in the right place....the most important thing ( for me) is having all the finished blocks the same size.....happy quilting

letawellman

Hi dottiemae, and welcome to the QuiltingBoard!!

Even though I've been quilting for over 30 years, I learn something new from this group every week. Don't ever hesitate to ask questions, somebody here will have some solutions!

I can totally relate to the comments about "pressing" versus "ironing". I STILL struggle with the urge to "iron". One tool that I found that helped me tremendously is the "Strip Stick" (http://www.nancysnotions.com/product...+stick+mini.do )

This handy-dandy tool really helps me with my pressing. Now, it may start the never-ending discussion of "do/don't press seams open", but I just wanted to share what helped me.

One phrase you will see often here is "there are no quilt police"... which means that it doesn't matter which "rules" you follow (or not), because none of us "think" in exactly the same way... and what works for some people may seem totally illogical to someone else. Our primary goal is to make beautiful quilts, and discover ways to do so more quickly, more accurately, and, in the case of those with RA or fibro, less painfully.

Again, welcome to the QB - you will LOVE this group!!

Dina

I am so glad to hear that as a beginning quilter you are having fun! That is what it is all about.

Dina

klswift

If your center strip is accurately cut at 1 1/2" and after it is sewn it is less than 1", then you are not sewing an accurate 1/4" seam. It can be a VERY, VERY small bit off the cut and a VERY, VERY small bit off the sewing and the whole thing will be off. Most of us have gone thru this. The way to stop it, is practice, practice, practice. Perhaps the ruler you are using has a fat marked line so it is causing you to cut a couple threads short. Double check with another ruler. Perhaps the marking on your presser foot is a thread or so off the 1/4", check it on several places on the seam. You will learn where the true markings are on your equipment and then you shouldn't have any more problems. If your block is only off a tad (and until you get more experience), try cutting the side strips a bit bigger (1/4") and trim down the finished block to the correct size. The tiny bit bigger the edges will be will not be noticeable. Do not be hard on yourself - you are making a quilt! With each one, you will get more confident and your skills will improve.

jbj137

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*** Hi! Y'all from the upstate of South Carolina.
***

Onebyone

A long time ago I went to a workshop and the instructor (forgot her name) showed us how she worked with too small blocks to fit. She cut freezer paper the exact size of the block she wanted, then iron the too small block on it. Then she cut the paper from the block leaving the edges. She then had a guide to sew blocks together, fudging the seam allowance. Of course the block has to be slightly smaller and have enough for at least a 1/8 seam of fabric. I have sewn extra fabric to the block to fill in the seam allowance I needed. I have used the freezer paper way when I have blocks from exchanges or blocks made by others that have to go in a quilt.

Kitsie

Had to look up that block and found these instructions. Hope it may help!

http://quilting.about.com/od/blockof...dshipquilt.htm