Good Advice for a Newbie??
08-13-2013, 05:22 AM
#21
Super Member
Join Date: Nov 2011
Location: Tn
Posts: 8,700
Welcome from Tennessee. There are several ways to accomplish the same result. Watch videos, ask other quilters or read directions from several designers. They will all have a little different spin on the process. The trick is to learn several and pick which works best for yourself. If you belong to a guild, they are usually very helpful ladies.
08-13-2013, 06:31 AM
#24
Power Poster
Join Date: Jan 2011
Location: Upland CA
Posts: 18,376
Originally Posted by Tartan
Welcome from Ontario, Canada. Lessons learned: 1.cut accurately, sew a good 1/4 inch seam, press blocks with starch, square up units if needed. 2.This is supposed to be fun and finished is better than perfect!
08-13-2013, 06:43 AM
#25
Super Member
Join Date: Aug 2007
Location: Clay Springs AZ
Posts: 3,229
Eleanor Burns is the best for newbies. She teaches every detail even which way to press seams.
Watch her videos on the Quilt In A Day website. She has a TV show but it is on a rural station that I cant remember the name of.
MSQC is also great and they have so far 3 or 4 magazines called Quilting Quickly available with Jennie Doans patterns.
As a beginner pick a simple modern pattern to start. Get your basic rulers 6x12 and 6x24 and a 12 in square ruler for squaring up your blocks. I found that you make a lot of half square triangles so Quilt In A Days triangle square up ruler is a must have.
You will also eventually want a good turning mat. It saves a lot of time and effort.
Watch her videos on the Quilt In A Day website. She has a TV show but it is on a rural station that I cant remember the name of.
MSQC is also great and they have so far 3 or 4 magazines called Quilting Quickly available with Jennie Doans patterns.
As a beginner pick a simple modern pattern to start. Get your basic rulers 6x12 and 6x24 and a 12 in square ruler for squaring up your blocks. I found that you make a lot of half square triangles so Quilt In A Days triangle square up ruler is a must have.
You will also eventually want a good turning mat. It saves a lot of time and effort.
08-13-2013, 06:49 AM
#26
Super Member
Join Date: Mar 2013
Location: Texas
Posts: 1,198
There really isn't a "right" and "wrong" way to do any technique, though there are quilt police out there who will tell you that the only way is their way. Don't believe them (that is Rule #1). However, you will find through trial and error that there are "hard" and "easy" ways to do things. My first recommendation is to find a local quilt store in your area that gives beginning quilt classes. They will not only teach you the hows of quilting, but the whys. If you don't have an LQS, see if there is a quilt guild in your area. Most guilds bring in teachers and have workshops, so you will learn new techniques. However, guilds are notorious for breeding quilt police, so just remember Rule #1 above. Try everything; take classes; make samplers. You will find things you love and things you hate. But always be open to trying something you hate again. With age and experience, you may find that you have grown as a quilter and whatever it was you hated about that technique is no longer so bad. For example, curved seams are not my favorite thing to do, but I've taken a couple classes, and they aren't as bad as they used to be. And most importantly, have fun. If it becomes stressful, put it down and walk away. Read a book, take a bubblebath, start cutting a new project. Then, when you go back to it, it may be better. Welcome to our world.
08-13-2013, 07:00 AM
#27
Senior Member
Join Date: Dec 2012
Posts: 381
I would recommend that before you jump in with both feet and purchase a lot of gadgets, rulers etc. etc. that you try your hand at small project. I am primarily a hand quilter and have been at it for at least 40 years. You can make a nice lap robe or crib size quilt with preprinted fabric that looks like piecework. If you want you can make it bigger just add a few borders of plain fabric. Layer it with batting and a backing and start quilting either by hand or machine along what looks like the piecing or applique lines. Put a binding on it and no one but an experienced quilter will be able to tell that you didn't spend a whole lot of time cutting up fabric and sewing it back together. By the time you are finished you will know if you want to be a "quilter". In the history of quilting the first quilts were of "whole cloth". The "quilting" was to make it firmer and warmer. The idea of "piecework" came from the early American settlers who used every scrap of fabric left over from their clothing sewing so nothing would go to waste. Those early quilts kept their families warm and gave them an outlet for their creativity using everyday stuff in their lives. Welcome to the world of quilters. Have fun.
08-13-2013, 07:14 AM
#29
Power Poster
Join Date: May 2008
Location: MN
Posts: 24,391
There are times you will receive conflicting suggestions - or the answer is "it depends - - - "
This is where experience comes in -
In the meantime, you may find it easier to follow one instructor/method until you develop what works better for you.
It truly is hard to completely botch a project!
This is where experience comes in -
In the meantime, you may find it easier to follow one instructor/method until you develop what works better for you.
It truly is hard to completely botch a project!
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