Oh ghost...I would sure hope that newbies (I still say I am one) would not think that...these are truly questions that have many answers...so always good ones to ask related to the specific thing they are doing!

And to add another.... should I add embellishments??

should I attempt to???

I do not think new quilters will think this is a list of "stupid questions". I think they will realize that this is a list of questions that will have many different answers-depending on the quilt being made, the maker of the quilt, the pattern and fabrics chosen, etc.

We each have our own way of doing things--what works well for us. A great way to find out a new way to do something is to ask the question of this board. We can all learn something new from the answers.

I am new at quilting,too. I am male, 61, never have sewed before except one class. So I have sewing machine issues as well as quilting. It's nice to have a resource as this.

Welcome Phil....bring on the questions...there are lots of talented people here (both female and male) who would be more than happy to try to help you!

The intent was and is -

that there are many questions that have more than one "right/correct" answer -

and that can be confusing - especially to a newcomer.

None of these questions were meant to be thought of as "dumb" - they were meant to illustrate that there are many ways to accomplish something.

And I think we all learn something new every time the questions are brought up.

An example: Should I wash my fabric before cutting it? There are some that see no reason to do so. There are some that have at least three reasons that it is imperative to do so.

Another example: How to make Half Square Triangle units (and why are they called half-square triangles, anyway? a half square is a rectangle to me)

We give our opinions and experiences about whatever - eventually it does come down to the person making the item having to decide what/how to do

Eventually, most of us find a "way of doing things" that seems reasonable and comfortable to us.

I still do some things the way I was taught in my first quilting class - that first "imprint" tends to stick in my mind.

My answer to most all the questions is do it all the possible ways and then pick the way that you like the best or come up with a new way. I don't wash my fabric because I don't want to iron all that yardage not because I think it's better not to. I've met new quilters who want to follow an exact way and I think they are not going to have a good time making quilts.

As I said, I know that was not the intent. I just wanted to clarify that no one here would consider any of these to be 'stupid' questions. We all learn from experience, and that includes the experiences of others. As an isolated quilter I very often benefit from asking these types of questions to see what others would do in a given situation. It's like seeing my work with a fresh set of eyes. No criticism was meant by my previous post and I humbly apologize to anyone who may have taken it as such. :oops:

A local TV station was advertising some of the shows that were reruns:

"If you haven't seen it, It's new to you"

which I think about sums up this thread.

It is helpful to get other people's viewpoints - and why they feel/think that way.
I, too, am more or less isolated in that I don't have any in-person "quilting buddies"

I think in some ways it is easier to have "an exact way" until one has enough confidence and experience to be able to improvise.

It is a major bummer if one starts out with a pattern that has errors in it.

I know some of us are so worried about "making a mistake" that we get nothing done.

It's only fabric - not brain surgery - the worst case scenario is that we've used up some fabric getting some experience - I prefer to think of these "throw-aways" as experience and/or entertainment - think of all the homework that we used up paper on -

People play golf - do they think they have to "salvage" the x amount they spent on the game if it was a lousy game? People bowl - not every toss knocks down all the pins. People play baseball - not every time up at bat results in a home run -

Why do we think every attempt at a block will be a winner? Some are - some are - hmmmm -

I love when a question is asked, and there are multiple answers given. That gives me more options to try and find the one(s) that work best for me. It can also open the door to another technique or idea to try :wink::D:D:D