Well, the biggest trick was how to fold fabric by holding it at the selvedges and moving it back and forth so the fold hangs properly before laying it on the cutting mat. The second thing was not to use safety pins to baste. That was an awful experience. Teacher suggested we leave them open, which seemed like a great idea until they started to commit suicide by jumping off the quilt in a huge rain :thumbdown:. I have gone back to using basting spray :thumbup: .
She suggested I lay the quilt out placing the colors the way I did, with the black sort of framing the bright colors. She also suggested that I use the turq., orange and black to bind the quilt, I never would have thought of that, but it came out great altho I realize you can't get a great view as the main picture was before binding.
I also learned I can be a real ditz as the week we were supposed to sew the center together I had 6 blocks left over. Ya think Ii would have dawned on me that I had another row to sew! Anyway, I had taken 'em with me to class and when my friend pointed out that I was square instead of rectangular, I did sew that row together and on the center. :oops:
Which leads me to the next thing: she used the borders to measure. Instead of using a tape she just used the border and then measured across the center of the center and then cut it. Worked really well. She also suggested pinning blocks at the corners to make sure they match. Suggested we use best press, altho I still like starch.
Showed us how to make a quickie pillow case, but she did it at the last min and without notes so I couldn't make one to save my life :) . She helped me pick out the thread. I quilted with a blue variegated one and also suggested we go with 100% cotton. One whole class was binding, but I "cheated" and machine stitched both sides. I used a fancy machine stitch on the front and I think it looks fine and will be sturdier and was certainly faster for me to do and more fun! That's all I can think of right now, if I come up with any more, I'll add 'em later.