what does some of the terms mean stich in the ditch and could someone tell me some easy quilts to start with i have made a rag quilt and that is it thanks dorothy from tenn

Stitch in the ditch simply means to stitch in a straight line right up close and along the seam line. Close enough that you can't really see the quilting as it looks like part of the seam line.

A few easy quilt patterns for beginners would be:

9-patch
Rail Fence
Twenty-something

When you press your seams, you press them to one side or another. When you quilt in the ditch, you are quilting through that seam that you pressed over. A very strong method for tying your quilt together.

Don't ask me about easy quilts. I only quilt hard quilts according to the women around here.

tim in san jose

[quote=k_jupiter

Don't ask me about easy quilts. I only quilt hard quilts according to the women around here.

tim in san jose[/quote]


:shock: YOU wouldn't argue with our assessments, would you? Come on now, we saw your own design and tried it! We KNOW who takes on the hard...

When stitching in the ditch, use a monofilament (clear) thread and then if you get off line, it won't show. For the back side of your project you can use regular thread matching the fabric used.

Suzanne

Now I'm wondering if I can stitch in the ditch on the Blackford's beauty group. The seams run every which a way and that is a lot to sew through. Any thoughts?

I suppose I could do outline quilting (following the outside of each seam) but that would be twice the work. Ah well, what's work when it's fun?

Why not start with a simple four patch and work from there? It's just the four squares pieced together and you can arrange them nicely together for a pattern. It's a great hobby huh?

I think sitd around all the major pieces would be beautiful Steve. I'd hate to have to do that on the machine with all the starts and stops, but by hand you can do it much easier. You can just go from seam to seam and cross under some of the seams by hand. Not so with a machine. If I were better at it I might be able to hide my "backtracks", but I don't have that kind of control yet. (I did mq one quilt that had blocks that I could do a continuous line around all the different bits, and that was fun, but not always possible.)

However, if I were to hand quilt those blocks, I'd take the extra bit of time and do itd all around. I think you'll be glad you did. :)

I hope you have high speed internet so you can log on to QNNTV. It has all the videos you need to learn everything. All day Thurs. is Quilt in a Day with Eleanor Burns. She is the very best for beginers since she teachs the best and easiest methods.
If not at least pick up one of her books. Still Stripping is a good one.
I have taught myself thru watching QNN ( quilters news network). I have all the knowledge now I just need the practice.