Originally Posted by LMB
I spent the entire day wrestling with a twin bed quilt. I have never been so tired or miserable. Come on quilters... is it always this bad? It's not like I was doing some fancy FMQ... it was simple quilt in the ditch. I read every tut I could find, I have been sewing all my life, I got sewing gloves (which I love) I covered my sewing machine and area with plexiglass (which I love)Yes my sewing area is large, yes I went out and got a walking foot. Yes I used good quality thread, and yes it was cotton, and yes I spray basted it.
I had quilt in my lap, quilt on the floor, over my shoulder, I felt like I had a big bear in my lap that had a mind of it's own and wanted to go anywhere other than under my machine needle. Tell the truth. Will I ever be comfortable doing quilts, or is it ALWAYS like this? If this is what I have to look forward too... I think I will go back to doll clothes. I hope and pray this is just due to my lack of experience. The only quilts I have made in the past were rag quilts and little pieces are SOOOOO much easyier to sew. I am sending a pic from my phone... I need to put on the sashing, and it is done and boy am I glad! Here I was going to FMQ a few little mice around the cats in the white areas... well forget that... Unless someone can honestly tell me it will get better, this is my first and last real quilt~
I'm sorry you are so tired. You say you've spent all day wrestling with the quilt. Quilting the whole quilt in a day is fine for small quilts but anything bigger than a crib quilt - take your time. Work on it for short periods at a time. Take lots of breaks. Unless a quilt has to be finished by a certain time, and planning can help avoid this, only work on it while you're enjoying it.
Do a few smaller quilts to start with and enjoy the experience. Don't give up as quilting can be very rewarding in lots of ways. But remember it is a hobby for most of us even though we get carried away with fabric.