check with your library to see if they have Betty Cotton's books if you would like to spend some time with them before you spend your $$$$

Good idea..but our library is small.but as a snowbird heading south next month, will do just that when I arrive there........or might just order one instead from Amazon...I love their books' prices and they are delivered in no time at all.

Good luck on yours......anxious to see the completed quilt.

Maryjane

The "Cotton Theory" is beautiful work, but very stiff and does not make cozy soft quilts. It takes lots of fabric to make the folds. Works best for table-runners, place-mats and rugs.

It is not as easy as it looks, on quilts it is easy for your rows to start to wonder and not be straight. All that top and decorative stitching makes your projects more like a magic carpet, especially if you are looking for a soft snuggly type quilt.

I would strongly suggest to start with a small project first.

I have tried this method and found it to be very time consuming and tedious. The finished products are quite beautiful though. There is a lot of cutting of fabric a small strips of batting. I loved the idea of the quilt being reversable but it takes a lot of practice to stitch exactly on the seam so it is pretty on both sides of quilt. When I matched the thread to front and back, I had trouble with pop-ups and that was aggravating. I bought fabric and batting to complete a 30's quilt but decided to finish it another way. I used 2 of my blocks that i will probably make totes out of. I too, have searched for ways to "quilt as you go" because I can no longer handle fm on large quilts in my machine. I am now using the Fun and Done technique which is just that, fun and done! It is a simular tecnique as Cotten Theory but very simplified. I think I am really going to like. There is a tut on Bayside Quilting website. I have also done the quilting in sections technique which is ok but i didn't like the look or feel of the joining seams on the back. I made 6 quilts like that for my 6 children last Christmas.

I got the pattern, watched the CD, read the book and I still think it's not easy to do and very time consuming on non fun things. Also thot the quilt piece much heavier than usual. Maybe if you use a very light batting .ike warm and natural, it will drape better.

yes, I made a court house steps with Betty Cottons method. Very easy and no fuss with the whole quilt under the machine head to quilt. The only "weight" was sewing the rows completed together. Push your machine against a wall to help keep the weight distributed. (or have your friend help hold it..haha) Oh, yeah, I wanted the quilt to hang over the sides, like a bed spread.....wow!! about strangled myself because it was "pulling down" on me all night....gave it to my dad....fits his CA King bed perfectly and he loves it.

I am going to try this method next week. I have a strip quilt that I want to quilt each strip by machine and then add it to the next and thought this method might work. I will definitely try a small project such as a place mat first. I had seen the television program so knew of the method, but can't find anywhere that I can see the video of it without paying.

Hello
Yes, sometimes it takes time to work it out without taking a class. But once you make your first project like the placemat the technique will become a AHA moment! I will try and post more pictures so you can see how it comes together. Did you see my first picture of the placemat with squares on the embroidery, they will then be pressed back, showing the front side of the square.

Hello
This quilt looks like it is a different technique to Betty Cotton's but you did a brillant job, well done. I have a project waiting to be finished using this procedure. I just love working with smaller pieces, so all the work is done by me!

Hello
Who is teaching your class in January? Thats a long way off!