Hello from Poland
 

I have recently started quilting and I hope to get useful advice and some encouragement here. I hope to keep posting photos of better and better works! Till now, I have made 1 bag and 1 quilt, 1 quilt top (to be batted soon) and 1 pocket application on a bag.

I have been busy with the needle since childhood, but I bought a sewing machine only a month ago. Instead of making clothes (that I have a full wardrobe of) I opted for making quilts for a while. I try to keep this new hobby of mine as budget as possible, so here are the rules I abide by (is this correct English? It's not my first language).

1. I use (almost) only material from second-hand/ thrift stores. Remake is the key word.
2. I have a machine I could afford - nothing fancy. It's going to stay that way for a while.
3. I make all my patterns myself. That said, there is nothing new about a combination of squares, triangles and rectangles, but I try to think up the proportions, colours etc. myself instead of using a design from a magazine etc. (this is about keeping the costs low, too).
4. Once I am confident with my skills, I am going to make quilts for charities occasionally. Since I am a cat lover, I will support organizations dealing with stray cats etc.
5. I will try to keep my stash as small as possible (good luck to me with this one, ha ha!)


Since we don't have such a developed quilt culture here, I am totally new to the world of specific language and ideas (e.g. I have to check up what an "Amish star" or "walking foot" is when I read about it). Please be patient with me.

Nice to meet you all and good luck with your fantastic works!

Welcome from Wisconsin. You will find everyone here so friendly and willing to help. As far as pictures go I haven't accomplished that very often myself, I, too, am a computer dummy. So thankful for my kids and grandkids to keep me up-to-date as best they can. Your work is beautiful. You are doing very well and will accomplish much. My grandparents came to the US from Poland and I have a sister who has visited your county often. Sharon

Welcome from western NY and happy quilting :)

Welcome.....I am of Polish ethnicity...both sets of grands came over from Poland.....

You will learn a lot here......altho it's true Quilts are made up of geometric shapes, it's the matching of those seams that's the critical part....so I think, just my opinion here, it wouldn't hurt to first venture into printed patterns....just til you understand the concept.....don't have to buy books, mags, Internet has many sources of free patterns....try a few...where in Poland are you?

Welcome to the world of quilting from from Nevada. I too have paternal grand parents who immigrated from there .

Keeping the budget and not buying magazines is one thing, but I also enjoy making my own patterns very much. Like a kid playing with wooden blocks. I just lack the skill yet, but this is to be gained via lots of practice! I live in Warsaw.

Watimy from Arizona! I also try to keep quilting inexpensive by drawing my own patterns and using thrift store fabrics (sheets, skirts, shirts, etc.) I hope you will find a lot of help here. I get a lot of ideas off of Pinterest and just make my own pattern. Your bag is very nice...
And your English is great!

Welcome Vasilisa! Your English is very good. Some of us have to look up meanings of quilt terms too, even when we've been quilting for years. Just keep at it and enjoy what you make. Hope you enjoy the discussions here. Everyone is very helpful.

Thank you all for your kind words. Since the original post contained links to photos of bags (made/decorated by me) and first some of you commented on them, then the links got removed by admins, I will post the pictures of bags again here (not in the Picture forum where they would normally go).

The chrysantemum bag was made by me from scratch and in the other one I made the pocket and sewed it on an uninteresting print. I have already sold both of them at a charity sale for an organization that takes care of stray animals. I sold them for pennies, because they are beginner's works, but you know - every penny counts, and I am so happy that someone actually wanted to have them!

https://www.quiltingboard.com/member...804-574563.jpg

https://www.quiltingboard.com/member...804-574567.jpg

Hello and welcome.
Lovely to see your bags, and they are wonderful.
Like you, I recycle all material that I use for quilts, and bags. I spend a lot of time searching charity shops for fabric, whether off cuts, curtains, sheets, old table linen and so on. It is great fun for me. I cannot afford to buy new material either - far too expensive. If family members ask me what I would like as a gift - I always say fabric!! That is the only time I get new fabric!
Welcome again and I hope you find lots of new ideas here.