I now TOTALLY get why many quilters have so many UFOs
 

...because the quilting part !

Well, not totally terrible, but pretty close. I feel like I'm making no progress, and with an older machine, it's a pretty tedious process. I hope I'm doing this right...I've got a half log cabin pattern, and I'm just doing SITD...but there are all these stopping & starting points so I have a ton of hangy strings that I'm burying...I didn't make much progress today :(

Stick with it! Change projects to keep your mind fresh and creative and then get back to the quilting part when you are ready. I like piecing better than quilting anyway...

send your quilts to me! I hate making tops and only like doing the FMQ!!

Hi teeler,
I am thinking that you need to branch out and do some creative quilting to get to love it. You see the stitch in the ditch is nice, but it really limits your creative side. Think outside the box and find an all over pattern to play with. There are some nice books on learning to quilt that will open your eyes to another world of quilting you are missing. There are tons of titles available. The quilting can even change a very plain quilt into something jaw-dropping. Next time you go to a quilt show, check out the quilting, you will see what I mean.

SID is slower than FMQ. I'm not a huge fan of quilting, I'd rather piece, too, but the more you do the better you get and the faster and easier it is and the more you like it.

I hand quilt and love it..I get anxious to get to the next project tho..This caused many UFO's, so I now do not allow myself to have more than 3 projects....

I refuse to do SITD anymore. It was too nerve-wracking for me, and I was never satisfied with the results.

With a half log cabin, I would look for a way to quilt from one edge of the quilt to another edge (so there are no hanging strings). The stitching would be going step-wise.

Hey Prism99, that sounds like a good idea to me, too. I haven't done much finishing work, but that sounds like something I could do on my fence rail quilt. I was wondering how to go about quilting it. I had thought about following a path through the quilt by stitching next to the ditch. I really think I will try your idea. Thanks! :):):)

Teeler, I hope you find a method that works for you. I also am so not fond of the actual quilting of a quilt. (yet!?) I really enjoy piecing quilts. I really need to learn something besides SID also. I do pretty well with the small projects. But it usually takes me forever to finish the big ones.

For some reason, I really, really enjoy SITD. Now, I am working on doing it FMQ. My lines are not quite as good as they are with a walking foot; but I am getting there. I do bury lots of threads; but I plan where I am going to sew beforehand so that I have fewer starts and stops. Also, I do not quilt for long periods of time. I quilt on my Bernina, then move over to my Featherweight to do some piecing or work on cutting out fabric for a new quilt top. At night, I do appliqué or embroidery on a quilt block. That schedule works for me. I need to break up the quilting with other activities such as piecing. Best wishes on your quilting.