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Hello Tammy!
Welcome from Minnesota! |
Welcome to the board from Southern California!!
As stated above. Grab some scraps put some batting in between and just practice! |
It's the second greatest book written:
1 Quilter 1:1 Thou shalt not fear the thread. :lol: |
Easier said than done. :-) The thread terrifies me.
Thank you everyone for your suggestion. I have been trying the scrap sandwich and it is fustrating me. I think maybe stitching the ditch will be the direction I go on at least one of the baby quilts. I think that is probably a good place to start. I really want it to turn out good because it is for a new grandbaby expected in September. Thank you and I am glad this board was suggested to me. |
Then read on to
1 Quilter 1:2 Thou shalt accept the help of thy friends. |
A trick I learned in my quilting journey - use a busy-print back. Mistakes won't show :)
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Welcome from Maine.
I would tell you or anyone in your position to start with straight lines. You can sew In the Ditch or draw lines on the quilt with the appropiate marking tool and sew on them. I would also tell them that they should do at least one of the tops they have done before starting any others. It doesn't take long to end up with a pile of tops and no quilts finished. Don't be too hard on yourself and don't expect perfection. I also agree to putting a fabric on the back that has a design to it, that way the quilting will blend in much better. JMHO |
I can so relate! My first quilt top, a sampler, languished for over a year before I worked up the courage to quilt it. I started by machine and it was a disaster so I ended up hand quilting it. It turned out great. In between, though, I made a bunch of wall hangings as they are soooo much easier to manage in a DSM (Domestic Sewing Machine) than a bed sized top. I did a lot of stitch right next to the ditch as I found that easier and looked nice than SID when I ended up coming out of the ditch more than staying in. Then I progressed to crosshatching on the machine. Anything I wanted fancy quilting on (read anything other than a straight line!) I hand quilted. I combined hand and machine quilting on quite a few still sticking to straight lines by machine where I could use walking foot and feed dogs and anything with a curve by hand. They turned out quite nice actually. It took me decades before I braved FMQ and I never really cared for my results. I got OK at it but it always felt so un-natural and jerky to me. I now do all my MQ on my LA and I love it. I still hand quilt too.
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I am a handquilter who is afraid to machine quilt so I do understand how you feel. thanks for asking and I'll be watching to see the advice you get.
Dorothy, I like your suggestion of 2 sheets for practicing. I would not be afraid to give that a try. Melody
Originally Posted by dsb38327
Do you have someone near that can hold your hand as you step trough the process? Some LQS might help. Church friends? Family?
You asked: "Any suggestions on how to get me out of my way so I can do some quilting on these tops? Thanks for any suggestions." My suggestion: Do you have 2 old sheets that you could live without? Pretend one is the top of your quilt, pretend the other is your backing. Draw squares with a marker on the top sheet. (I wouldn't waste batting to just practice so skip the batting.) Follow the steps of creating your sandwich. Pin Top to back just as if it were your quilt. Take it to the machine when you are ready and quilt it like you are going to quilt your real quilt. When you get tired of practicing just put it to the side and start on your real quilt. I stitch in the ditch on a domestic machine. I make mistakes, learn by trial and error and finish most of the time very happy with my quilt. On my Bargello I went back over my stitch in the ditch with a decorative stitch and everyone loves it. I would suggest doing the baby quilts first. Good luck. We have many members in Oregon. Maybe there is a QB member near you that can coach you. ?. Welcome to the Quiltingboard. PM me if I can be of any help. My skill level is beginner plus. |
If you have a detractive stitch sewing machine I would use a simple one and just follow your seam lines. Thats is what I have done in the past on baby quilts.
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