Betty Ruth

I have done a couple of quilts by the quilt as you go method, one double and one king. There are some patterns, though, that don't lend themselves to th is style of quilting, such as the apple core that is sitting on a shelf in my sewing room waiting for me to figure out how to get it quilted. I tied the one I made for my middle grandson. I make mostly lap quilts that I can quilt on the sewing machine. Between the MS and my arthritis, I'm unable to hand quilt anything anymore. The apple core quilt top is for a double bed. Since there isn't enough room between my sewing machine and the wall to quilt it in the sewing room, I'll have to set up a sewing machine in the living room. Next problem is where to find sufficient room to lay out the sandwich. If I keep putting th is off long enough, maybe it will become my daughter's problem. She can figure out h ow to get that apple core quilt quilted while she is deciding what to do with the boxes of quilt fabric I've accumulated.
SHE WHO DIES WITH THE MOST FABRIC WINS, or so I've been told.

Ty

I also dislike sandwiching and trying to get everything to come out flat. It's not only boring, it's frustrating as all for me.
I enjoy sewing on bindings though, as that tells me that I've finally finished something.
I love to hand quilt but it seems to take forever. I've tried numerous times to machine quilt, and other than 'stitch in the ditch' I'm not too hot at it. My stippling resembles zig zags of lightning. No foolin'. Maybe I've discovered a new style of machine quilting.!!!

Betty Ruth

Since I prefer the more puffy look, I don't do stippling. Usually, I stitch in the ditch, but sometimes I just quilt in diagonal lines across the quilt. Forthat, I have to mark the quilt top, as I've never mastered using that guide that is supposed to keep the stitchings the same distance apart. I'm not even sure where it is. I permanently lost one box of attachments. Betty

rustyrose

HAY that was shown to us in my quilting class :lol: So you are doing O.K. :mrgreen:

Betty Ruth

I've never had a quilting class but have read lots of books and magazines on the subject. I'm a 3rd generation quilter, but I suspect that the line goes back for many generations. My grandmother died before I had a chance to learn quilting from her. My mother made mostly utility quilts. I doubt that she ever bought a yard of fabric especially for a quilt, except for the back.

rustyrose

Oh my :) If you ever get a chance to take a quilting class.....DO IT !!!! You will learn so much,many things to do the easy way and many things to do the wrong way!! I always learn so much not only from the teacher but from others

nana2

This is probably telling my age, but my grandmothers and mother used feed sacks to make quilts which kept us warm on many a cold winters night. (We certainly had never heard of central heat) Many times the back was from white flour sacks. When the feed store delivered our chicken feed, we got three sacks at once and the delivery guy was very patient to match those sacks. As I remember, my mother was very happy when she could purchase heavy double blankets for our beds, and I NEVER again saw her working on a quilt.

I have learned a lot about quilting from other quilters and have watched EVERY quilting show on TV. Also, Simply quilts has most of their shows on line and the directions can be printed out.

Betty Ruth

I remember printed feed sacks. Only the scraps left over after shirts and/or dresses were cut out were delegated to the quilt scrap box. I was wearing a feed sack dress the day I left home to go to work in the city. It had a white background with pansies printed on it. I thought it the prettiest dress I owned.
Flour sacks were made of lighter weight fabric and were used for dish towels and little girl's under garments.

I have been reluctant to take a quilting class or join a quilting group because there is so much I can no longer do due to MS and arthritis. My right (dominate) hand hand shakes so bad that I can't cut a straight line with scissors. It would be annoying to the instructor and embarrassing to me to hold up class while I asked for help, especially for something I used to do so easily. So I stay home and devise ways to keep quilting. I just have had to drop back to making simple quilts of simple patterns. I love the nine patch.

Although MS has made me change my quilt making habits, I count myself blessed that it has not affected my eye sight or my ability to walk.

I'll keep reading other's quilting hints on all the different quilting sites. I appreciate being able to occasionally offer one or two of my own. Thanks to you all for "listening" to me ramble on.

Betty

Ty

Dear Betty,
What a courageous lady you are. So many in your situation would be feeling sorry for themselves and here you are still going strong.
You are a big asset to this list and we're blessed to have you as one of our quilting sisters. You go girl !!! There is always something we can learn from others and always a little something that we might also pass on. So I hope we'll be hearing from you often.

rustyrose

Heck take a class and learn how to use a rotery cutter.......:) You just line it up next to a ruler and push. I think that you could cut with a ruotery cutter heck I cant even cut a line with scissors.giggles