Hi, I'm Andi and I live in Central Florida. I don't have a lot of sewing experience but I have so many plans and a love of fabric and color and the idea of quilting...I am a quilter at heart.

You all are so good and make it look so easy that I was swept away into my fantasy of quilts for gifts and round robins and block exchanges and maybe even of being a secret quilt angel next year!

I have cut most of the material for my first quilt and as I was going along found out I'm not the best cutter but figured it had to get easier. I switched from the rotary cutter to tracing each piece and cutting with scissors and it went a bit faster.

This evening I made my first sub-units which include prairie points and as I was folding and ironing the tiny bits of color I thought it has to get easier than this.

Next came the basting which I was sure would be easy, I mean one needle, one piece of thread how hard could it be? Lord, have mercy, I'm a dreamer!

I lost my needle at least fourteen times, my rough dry winter hands caught on the thread unthreading my needle at least twice that many times and my poor poor neglected dog let me know she isn't into this new hobby! She wants some attention!

I am now ready to sew my four sub-units into a teeny tiny little kite but first I have to make a bobbin(wind a bobbin? thread a bobbin? What is the correct word?) and thread my machine...my beautiful five year old niece, Livi, may be receiving this lap quilt for a college graduation present at the rate I'm going!

I'm kidding really, I know it gets better or you wouldn't all be on here flourishing.

I love this place! It feels like a neighborhood with a lot of friends gathered, working and talking together. Thanks for the inspiration.

Now for threading the machine-is that the easy part? :hunf:

Hello and welcome and yes some things do get easier, but be aware almost all of us keep a seam ripper very close at hand because even though things start to go together quicker there will be many times when you will be taking them apart and putting them back together multiple times (just part of the fun, lol)

Thanks, Mamabear. I do have a seam ripper and I'm prepared to rip! :thumbup:

Hello and welcome from SW Iowa. Of course it gets easier and then you get to try even harder patterns and start over again. :-D

Welcome! Where in Central FL are you??? You'll get the hang of it in no time~~ and there's lots of help around here for you too :)

It does get easier... but at times it can still be frustrating. I've had the chapped hands that snag on threads, I've threaded machines wrong, had bobbin thread break, machines that break down, fabrics that I sewed in wrong side up, seams that didn't "fit", lots of seams that I had to rip out, cut fabric wrong, pieced it wrong, even quilted it badly and took it out. So, why do we do it? When you've made a quilt and muddled through your first quilt, the sense of accomplishment is incredible! And when you start making more, turning out quilt after quilt and seeing all your beautiful work come to fruition, it's just a feeling that you can't get any other way. It's sooooooo addicting!!! And making quilts is so fulfilling. Quilting just feeds the soul in a way that nothing else ever has. ahhhhh, gotta go work on my latest quilt!!

Welcome!

I find buying fabric to be the easy part. :-D

Hi and Welcome to the wonderfully frustrating world of quilting :wink: Just remember everyone has to start somewhere and soon you will be an old pro :thumbup:

Welcome Andi! I too am new here and yes it does get easier. If you put the little rubber or sandpaper dots on the bottom of your ruler the fabric won't slip and before you know it you'll be cutting like a pro.

Have Fun!!!!

the easy part is standing back and looking at you finished quilt take a deep breath and say ok i can get some sleep now!! u go to sleep and dream and plan you next quilt. lol

memathomas