"I was taught to . . . . "
 

How much of what you first learned in quilting still works for you?

How far off that original track have you been willing to go?

Does what your first teacher/instructor said tend to be what you automatically do?

I did know how to do some sewing when I took my first quilting class - which was mainly learning how to piece by hand.

Overall, I think think the instructor did a good job. I still do a lot of the things the way she taught them. We ran out of time before we got to the quilting and binding part. I learned that from a book.

Some of the things I do remember: (This was probably early 1990's - don't remember exactly when)

How to tie a quilter's knot - very handy -
We used template plastic for our patterns - or we used hers.
Coats & Clark Dual Duty (cotton covered polyester) was what she recommended for sewing
How to hand piece - technique very similar to Jinny Beyer's -

I find it useful to hand-piece a tricky block - especially when I don't know how I might want to press it after it is finished.

I don't remember rotary cutters. i do remember tracing her templates to use for our blocks. Trace ON the line - not around the line!

I started to seriously quilt when rotary cutters hit the stores. I still stick with what the basics that I was taught. It is just more comfortable for me than trying new techniques like glue basting a quilt. Pins still work well for me. If I see a better way of making a quilt, I won't follow the directions. I look for patterns with good bones. I am not sure that many of our new quilters get into a LQS since there is so much that is easier learn than watching a video.

I began quilting as a teen in the early 1970s.

There were no "quilting shops," no Internet, only a small selection of old books, and just a few magazines. Where I lived they were few and far between. (Yes, it was hard walking five miles to school, uphill, barefoot, and in the snow! LOL)

I taught myself to piece and quilt by reading news and women's magazine articles, a couple old books, and "studying" my great-grandmother's quilts. I never saw a Quilt Shop until I was in my early 30s.

Several older women in the community helped me learn, also.

I learned to...

- Always wash and iron the fabric I was using, which was mostly old cotton clothes. If new fabric was used, it must also be washed and ironed before cutting.

- Sharpen several #2 pencils before beginning to trace around the cardboard (cereal box) templates. I'd wrap clear tape around the edge of the cardboard to help the templates hold their shape longer.

- Never use the "fabric scissors" to cut the cardboard templates.

- Never try to cut out all the pieces and start sewing blocks on the same day.

- Arrange the "patches" into groups according to how you will piece them together, and have your pins, threaded needles, thimble, and scissors, all in one place.

- Wash your hands before beginning the piece work.

- Always press your patches before sewing over seams that crossed.

- Measure carefully, and press, press, press.

I learned to pre-wash , tear to get straight grain. I always do that!! I also learned that you don't HAVE to have every special ruler or template. My first quilts I made templates from cardboard, sandpaper backing, traced around them with pencil on single layer fabric, and cut out by hand. I used graph paper and colored pencils to layout my own versions and to see how much fabric to buy for each thing. I learned you can do without, but so much easier with all the new ways!!

My Mom an grandmothers taught me to sew and quilt from a very young age. I still use all they taught me. The only real change for me has been the rotary cutter, quilting rulers, and plastic templates. I shudder to think of going back to scissors, a yard stick and old newspaper. LOL

I learned to wet the eye of the needle instead of the thread. It does seem to help.

For the sewing machine, though - it's still easier to dampen the thread.

Learning to qult.
 

I am basically a self taught quilter and for the most part sewer. I did my first sewing on doll clothes. Ironically my mother was a Home Economics major in the college she never completed. She let me have scraps of fabric that I used to make my doll clothes. I got my "formal" training in sewing in Home Eco in what was then junior high. I taught myself to sew and quilt. I am mostly a "hand quilter". I didn't even try machine quilting until I started making Linus quilts and other charity stuff. All of the quilting I have done for my personal use and items for those I know who will appreciate "hand" work is done by hand. I make a lot of use of my rotary cutter and use stencils to mark my items for quilting when necessary. I don't piece any more than I absolutely have to. My favorite is whole cloth quilting. I like to use pre marked fabrics or quilt around designs or images already printed on fabric. I am so good at it that I have several finished projects using preprinted designs that many assume are appliqued. I have an opposition to cutting up perfectly good fabric into little pieces and then sewing it back together before quilting it. I get twice as much done by not cutting up fabric only to sew it back together again.

This is something I have recently learnt and now I find it much easier to thread my needles.

I never had a teacher when I started, but there are things that I've been doing all along: tie off and bury the threads; and, tear the fabric to get a straight grain before cutting out pieces.