I don't know how you gals do it! I mean some of you get quilts done almost weekly. I'm still working on handquilting the border of my granddaughters star quilt nearly two years later...I surely am not the only single working outside of the home gal on here, am I??? What are your secrets, how do you cut, sew and quilt so quickly? I so need to complete this one so I can begin and complete 5 more for her brothers and cousins.

I am not a fast quilter either, so don't feel bad. MY first quilt took over ten years to finish. My siblings kept having babies and my project always got pushed out of the way so that I could make a baby quilt for the new baby. I work outside the home, so long hours at work slowed me down too as far as getting any sewing done.

We have been on a strict 40 hr schedle this year--first time in 20 years due to the slow economy and building industry, so I have the time and luckily, my stash runneth over so I am getting more done this year.

Don't feel bad sweetie, I hand quilt also and I'm not that fast either. I got into the habit of putting a few quilt tops together first and then start quilting them. I started quilting in 2006 have put together 8 quilts and so far quilted 3 and starting my forth one now.

I am retired and do too many other things to sew all the time. The ones that do produce every week are so organized - makes me tired looking at all their wonderful projects!!! But they do inspire all of us and we love looking at what they do. I just keep thinking....someday that might be me!!!

My husband works - I do sewing for clients, but not full-time.
I have a sewing room and plenty of storage space.
I am done raising my children.
I live in town now, with no outdoor chores, garden, or animals to take care of.

Twenty years ago, however, I got VERY little sewing done!

I'm pretty slow myself. But I'm retired so I can sew when I want and for as long as the eyes hold out :) I also read a lot and keep my grandson as often as his folks will let him come (usually 7-10 days out of each month). I too am amazed at the quilts that get done by our friends here on the board. There is some amazing talent out there! Gives me something to aspire to. :) :)

There are just so many people on the board that show their work it may seem like everyone gets more done than you. Many machine quilt also so goes faster. When i made my first big quilt it took 7 years to make, and at that time I was told a good quilt takes years to make. A few years ago my mother and mother in law were in the hospital for quite a while a month apart. I was making a sampler quilt that each block was quilted seperately and then sewn together. I took it everywhere with me. (I worked part-time) had 3 young children, but I got more accomplished on my quilting than I do now.

I crank mine out so fast because I don't work anymore (retired) and I'm hyper. I also have insominia. I get very depressed if I'm not kept busy. :lol:

Dear Mfre,
I know what you mean. This sawtooth edging is killing me ! THe baby will be too old before I get it done !!

Ellen

Phew!!! I feel so much better! Your right I do aspire to be like these other folks on here that crank out the beautiful quilts and quickly! And sometimes it overwhems me to even think that someone else can get such beautiful works of art done so fast! I will definatley do the suggestion of putting the tops together a few at a time and then getting them quilted.
I hope the suggestions will still come though!

I'm Single and working and have 2 kids (although they're mostly out of the house ..yipee!! they never seem to quite fly on their own). I'm just hoping to get this table runner I'm putting together done before Christmas :) :) :) Don't rush yourself, you won't like the results, and this is suppossed to be fun and relaxing, right?????? :shock: :shock:

Oh yeah, Fun and Relaxing...that's right LOL with 6 GC and those two daughters present in my avatar seems like they all want a quilt yesterday :roll: Oh and lest I forget I want to make a quilt picturing my favorite childhood memory before I lose the memory! :roll: :lol: My kids no longer live at home either, but I have chronic fatigue, I work 40+ hours weekly, drive 70 miles daily to get to work and back...By the time weekend rolls around I don't even wanna do laundry just wanna sleeeeeeeeep.

I hear you!! In fact, I've been soooo busy at work lately this is the first time I've been on this site in about a month or so... I can't even remember!! Currently I have one quilt I am hand quilting (was supposed to be done in May for camping season), one top done, and one WIP.

Same here. Too many ideas, not enough time. But I'm doing better lately.

I like this suggestion.

I also sew for people (quilts, and other quilting work), I also teach quilting so I am always coming up with things to make and teach. I have a sewing/quilting/teaching business along with my full time day business. Perhaps the fact that I have no kids allows me to sew more. I also try to get in a bit of sewing almost every day, although the summer months are tough as there are other things I prefer to do such as hiking, camping and road trip excursions.
I just finished 5 quilts since the end of July. I finally completed them last night!! whew!!! 3 of them were gifts. two of them have been given, and I'll give the remaining gift to Trevor for his birthday tomorrow. The remaining two quilts of the 5 are for teaching in Sept. I can now take a breather for a day or two, then I will get started on a couple mystery quilts/totes I want to do and then by mid September I will start up my Christmas gifts and things to sell as well as decide what quilts I will teach for January. The fun never ends are here!

I think the only reason it might appear that I get alot finished quickly is that I have so many in various stages of completion that one is almost done by the time one actually gets done! I hand quilt too, and that is where the progress comes to a screeching hault. I guess there is something good about having a bunch of WIP's!!!

I havn't gotten anything finished since March because of shoulder surgery complications and some construction going on. When I can sew, I get lots done cause I don't watch TV and before the water leak I had my own sewing space and didn't have to put anything away. I could just walk in and sew for a few minutes or pull fabs and set out and not have to put anything away. I also had my sewing space in the family room where everyone else (before they all left) would gather on the computers or reading or such so I didn't feel like I was being left out of family. Soon I'll have my space finished and can sew, sew, sew again. I also am not very good at the actual quilting and so machine quilt simply for most items.

I know what you mean. I work 40 hours and babysit my GD every afternoon. My kids all have one quilt I made and my GD has two. I have one. That's 6 quilts in two years. I'm not a fast quilter, but I enjoy what I do when there is time and I'm not worn out. My kids all have requests for their next quilts and will get them when I'm ready. I want quilting to be fun not work. Don't worry about how fast you finish a quilt, enjoy the time making it.

I also work 40 hrs a week outside the home. I try to allow myself some time each day to sew. Whether it's an hour. a few minutes or whatever. Somedays I just don't have the time. I tell myself that's ok.. I don't try to be fast. Just enjoy doing it. I usually have a large quilt in progess and some smaller projects. This helps me feel like I get more done when I am finishing the smaller ones.

When I was working, I always put aside an hour or so a day to work on whatever it was that was in the makings. Now that I'm not working, I pretty much have all the time in the world, except that dreaded housework gets in my way at times. UGH!!

Hey, go to >tigertape.com< it helps with the hand quilting.

i started my first two quilts when my kids were 7 and 12. each quilt is about 95 x 95. i finished them this year. the 'kids' are 40 and 45. in the meantime, i started and stopped a lot of quilts and finished a number, but i don't know anyone who took 33 years to finish two quilts. someday, whoever reads the label on the back will think there's some mistake in the dating. it makes me and my children laugh about it now that they are finally done. but it was worth it. they both love them.

Thank you! You caused me to LOL! I tell my GD that she may be getting her quilt for a wedding present, she's 8 now...I will have to share your story with she and her mother.

I have 3 construction truck type in the making for my almost 4 yr old grandson - daughter told him while he was here that he might get them by the time he goes to college. That might be true!!!

I'm not a fast quilter, just persistant. I don't have any kids and I don't work...so I can play most of the time (more since I started paying a guy to do the yard work :lol: ) I hand and machine quilt and hand and machine quilt.

I usually keep something sitting by my chair in the den to do by hand while I watch tv...its amazing how quickly you can finish something up and you don't even realize you are doing it! Theres alot of times that I have time to do hand work and no time to get to the machine.

I am retired but I still have a great deal to do in my day. My husband is disabled but does ok He can't do anything that requires pulling or going over his head. My mom lives with me she will be 82 in Oct. She is phsically disabled partial hip replacement,macular degeneration,gluacoma plus the beginnings of mental disabilties. Machine quilting is faster than hand quilting. So dont you worry some of the pictures you see are quilts done a few years ago.
Bill'sBonBon

I get discouraged, sometimes, that I cannot accomplish as much as I'd like.

I work full time and teach part time and run a household and none of that allows me to sew during the week. It is only on Saturday when I can visit my parents that I sew.

And then, I always hope to accomplish a certain thing, only to find that I can't get it all done in one day.

And when I make a mistake, that doesn't just cost me a day, but a whole week.

:(