janjanq

You are not alone in loving the piecing but disliking the quilting. Many quilters have UFO's for just that reason! Just do a little at a time!

feline fanatic

Welcome to the board and the wonderful world of quilting. I, like so many others, really disliked the sandwiching/basting of the sandwich. Actually that is putting it nicely. I really hated it with a white hot passion. My first bed size quilts were hand quilted, which still involved the sandwiching part but I found hand quilting very enjoyable and the results were exactly what I wanted.
However, hand quilting large quilts takes a long time. On average, because I only quilted in the evenings, it took me well over a year to complete them, more often a couple of years. I turned to smaller projects, like throws, pillows, wall hangings to feed my quilting habit and get some practice at machine quilting. I got pretty good at walking foot straight line quilting but wanted more. Alas, unlike many, I never got any good at FMQ on my domestic. My brain just doesn't work that way.
Many people compare FMQ to the needle being the pencil and the sandwich being the paper and moving the "paper" under the "pencil" just didn't work for me. I am definitely wired for moving the "pencil". I found myself not enjoying the process at all, even on small items. I was tense when doing it, frustrated with results and really didn't like FMQ because of that. But I loved putting the tops together and my list of patterns I wanted to make grew and grew.
I discovered longarms on this board (never even knew such a thing existed!). I salivated over the beauties the longarmers posted here. So I started exploring the option of getting a longarm (expensive and they take up an entire room for the rack). I was fortunate that I had the space for one and I saved up and bought one. I also sent out a quilt for a custom longarm job so I could inspect up close what a pro did.
I got my LA and haven't looked back. Now I love the quilting part even more than the piecing. In fact when I piece my quilts I usually am thinking about how to quilt it and will make modifications to patterns just to have some wide open spaces for longarm quilting or I will think about how I can incorporate quilting motifs and designs that will compliment the piecing. I have also quilted for hire for people like you who really love piecing but aren't so crazy about the sandwiching and quilting.
You are still very new to quilting so you need to give yourself time to explore all your options and see what works right for you. There is no shame in "quilting by checkbook" and often, many quilters will do that for very big tops or extra special projects. There are award winning "teams" that ribbon regularly at the big shows where one person quilts and the another does the quilting. In the meantime you may find you will get better at domestic machine quilting by working on smaller projects that aren't so cumbersome to maneuver through your smaller throat. These projects will allow you to practice FMQ easier and smaller is also easier to sandwich.

givio

Paula_quilts, Welcome to Quilting Board! It was fun reading the thread you started. :-) You are with a lot of company when you say you like the fabric selection and piecing. I'm not fond of the quilting part, but I'm not fond of the cutting part either. :-) I agree with those who advise to do the part you like. Don't stress over what you don't like. If having unfinished projects bothers you, you will find your own path for getting them done. Sometimes trudging through what you don't like provides a more satisfying reward at the finish.

madamekelly

I could not machine quilt at all so I tied most of them. I then learned to glue baste the layers together. You must use a washable school glue. “Elmer’s School Glue “is the one I use. I buy it by the gallon online. I pour it into a squeezable picnic condiment bottle to use it. Be patient with allowing dry time, and nothing will move as you sew since it now acts like one solid piece. When I apply it, I try to make a grid with no lines further apart than 4” just doing swirls. When your whole quilt is done, run it through a cold water wash and low temp dry, and you have a soft quilt ready for use or gifting. (Also, when I wash the quilt, I can check for problems before it is gifted.)

wildyard

Hi Paula, and welcome. I am another person who loves piecing the tops. Layering and quilting, not so much. I do it anyway, because a top alone isn't much use. LOL
Since I make comfort quilts, I use fleece for the backing and this allows me to skip the batting. It's much easier to layer and quilt just the two layers in my opinion. I do safety pin basting, and mostly straight line quilting, but never stitch in the ditch. LOL, that's too hard for me to do nicely. I do a lot of 1/4" away from the seams as I can use the seam as a guide for the foot. I also do some crosshatching. With no batting, the quilting can be a lot further apart as it only serves to emphasize the pattern and hold the layers together.
I do use a domestic machine, and just upsized to one with a larger throat. It really makes a difference, but I did make a LOT of quilts on my old machine and it was just a regular size.

Daylesewblessed

Now you know why so many people have stacks of quilt tops, but not very many finished quilts.

I hope you keep trying, because it is very rewarding to be able to say, "I made the whole quilt from start to finish."

retiredteacher09

Paula_quilts: Welcome to the board. Congratulations on finishing your first quilt!

I enjoy making quilt tops and donating them to one of 2 organizations and they finish them for their specific charities.

I sometimes finish baby quilts by stitching parallel lines called crosshatching. However, I really wanted to try quilting a 50 by 66" quilt so I tried spray basting for the first time and did a serpentine stitch on my quilt. I still need to do the binding. I am proud of my accomplishment even with a few puckers here and there. I have been sewing quilt tops for years and still struggle with getting points to match.

Which part of Minneapolis do you live in? I am on the other side of the cities but volunteer in New Brighton at Bundles of Love Charity.

Dina

I have read all of the replies, and no one has mentioned that battings have different requirements on how close you need to stitch when you are quilting. I use a batting that says you can quilt up to ten inches apart. It makes the actual quilting easier when you don't need so much of it. I don't actually leave ten inches, but I often use 6, and I always SITD, but I like to do that. There are other kinds of straight stitching....cross stitch, for example.

When I cross stitch, I use that blue painter's tape. I put it where I want to stitch and just sew right beside it. That might be something you want to try. Make a small quilt sandwich, like 12 inches, and put some painter's tape on it...diagnolan, from corner to corner. It might be something that works for you. It works well for me.

You do get more confident. I don't love the sandwiching and quilting on my own machine, but I have gotten used to it and no longer dread it. I know that can happen for you too. You have gotten a lot of good suggestions here. See which ones work best for you.

Dina

ube quilting

This is the best way I have found to baste a quilt without using a spray baste product. Spray baste is a terrific product but There is a small learning curve with that too. Spray baste also has environmental issues, from the chemicals to the disposal of the can going into a landfill. It is an issue to consider when choosing a method to use.

I had the very same problems you describe. Time and practice will improve the quality of your work.

Congratulations on finishing your first quilt. Every quilt teaches us a new lesson.

peace

Painiacs

Lots of great suggestion! I found gluing the layers kept me from getting bunched fabrics ect on back as i cant use basting sprays. Keep at it, you either love the final quilting or hate it!! Show us your ceeations!! Good luck and welcome to quilting!!!😁