Jo Belmont

Pick up all the info you can on QAYG (quilt as you go), especially here on the tutorial forum. There are many, many clever quilters out there and most of them share on a regular basis. Also, don't overlook the scads of information and samples on Pinterest and You Tube.

That way you get it done yourself and no extra cost and have a nice, nice quilt that can be used.

Pat M.

Have you tried "Quilt as You Go"?

littlebitoheaven

Dreaming! Just a quick note! Remember that after you wash and dry the quilt (whether for yourself or for gifting), the FMQ looks amazing. Any bumps in your FMQing never, never show! The puckering of the fabric hides everything. I suggest that you pick one of your smaller tops, sandwich it with adhesive (I use Sullivan's). Find a larger FMQ pattern (I make mine larger by increasing the size of the print on my printer) and go for it! Wash and dry your quilt and you will be amazed at how little the quilting really shows. Quilting has a job! It is to help hold all those seams together for a long time! Good luck!

MarionsQuilts

Honestly, start small and work your way up. When I first started my quilts were quilted together and they looked awful LOL My cats and dogs had tons of "beds" and I passed on others to my friends. I started with 36x36 - it's workable and they are fast and easy. Once you get the hang of it, then you can start going bigger and bigger.

I've been quilting for over 15 years, and while I have made some fabulous big quilts, my preference is still something around 48x48 inches.

hray

I have had two quilts done by a long-arm quilter, and both times it was really a letdown. Yes, the quilting was beautiful, but I didn’t feel it was “my quilt” any more. The suggestion about washing the quilt afterward is right on the mark—the wrinkling covers a multitude of “issues.” I practiced FMQ on placemats and potholders, and have progressed to recently finishing a queen size quilt completely done on my domestic machine. Is it perfect? Absolutely not. But it’s mine.

Flyboy Jim

Well said! I've thought the same thing. It's hard to say that "I made this" when in actuality all you made was the quilt top.

Jim

AStitchInTime

Dreaming, When I purchased my longarm I had a stack of UFO's that I thought would take me forever to quilt all of them. In less than two months I was out of UFOs and still wanted more practice. Thankfully, I have several friends who are also quilters, don't own a longarm, and they were willing to trust me with their lovely projects to quilt to continue my learning experience.

If you don't know a beginner longarm quilter, you might check with a local Guild or your local quilt shop, or local machine dealer, to see if they know of someone new to long arming and willing to do it for free just for the opportunity to practice.

Keep in mind, being new means the work may be a little less than perfect or simpler designs (but in my case was still better than if I did it on my domestic machine). Also for me, practice doesn't mean I'm still learning, it just means I can't create a top fast enough to be able to use my longarm every month, and I want to be able to "use" the skills I've learned frequently so that they become second nature.

If you were closer, I'd offer to take on a few for you, but experience has taught me that shipping can be pricey.

littlebitoheaven

hray! I'm very impressed that you FMQed a queen-size quilt! Good job! I have had many of my quilts quilted by a "longarmer". I have not felt that it took anything away from my quilt being mine! I'm 82 and I am just not strong enough to FMQ large quilts anymore. Sometimes you just have to do what you have to do and make the next quilt. Just my 2-cents worth!

hray

I don’t think I’ll do another queen size, at least not soon...though I picked up the idea of using wool batting at a class I went to and it’s great. It’s more flexible, and much lighter weight, and surprisingly doesn’t cost much more than cotton or blends
—only $4 more for a twin size batting!

mjpEncinitas

Leah Day has talked about this problem. People don’t start learning how to FMQ until a long time after they start piecing. This leads to a disconnect when you start. Your intermediate level piecing projects are getting beginner quilting.

I think if you want to continue quilting economically you should bite the bullet and either do a lot of practicing of walking foot or FMQ or pick your least favorite top and practice your quilting on that. soon, with practice, your Quilting will move to the same level as your piecing. If you quilt in colors that match the quilt the quilting won’t show up as much. Your problem will be solved long term with this solution.

I had the opposite problem. My FMQ was much better than my piecing. I solved this by doing whole cloth quilts. Eventually I spent the time and learned how to piece too. While my FMQ is still better the piecing is coming up to par.

you also have the added bonus that learning a new skill is good for the brain!

good luck

i