I have issues with a stroke and possible MS. I have been quilting for 10 years but when I read how people have a quilt to make in 3 months, I feel so inadequate! It seems to take me forever!! So how long does it take you to make quilts?

Um, forever and I don't have any health problems! Seriously, I've been working on my DS's quilt for 2 years, a lap quilt for 2+ years and DD's for almost a year. I hand quilt at this point too, so that takes longer for me. Maybe if I could lock the kids out and just sew I might get something done. Such is life! :0)

Well I have been quilting for 8 years and only have 6 quilts finished. I have 9-10 in the works right now!! LOL So it takes me a long time. The sad part is NONE of my designs are even anything that is time consuming!!! I wouldn't worry about how long it takes, so long as it is made with love. I enjoy the process of piecing and quilting more so than the actual using of quilts, so I don't worry about rushing to finish them really.

Cheers!
Rachel

Are you talking just the tops or the full quilt?

I made my grandson's quilt complete from start to shipping for Christmas in 6 weeks. It would have been less, but had schedule issues with DD who was helping me finish quilting it. (It was my first bed size quilt.
I just finished the top to one for my GD in 2 weeks. Still have to sandwich it and quilt that one.

The one I'm working on now ----- 2 weeks and counting !!!!

It also depends on how many hours I'm here on the board, learning and helping others. LOL

they say the best things in life are worth waiting for. quilts too.
so don't worry. i have tons of tops waiting on me. i intend to finish them, really i do.

I made a quilt top last weekend---it was a really easy pattern!! It is at the long arm quilters right now. I hope to have it back next week for binding.

More realistically, it usually takes me a month or more to make a top because I just have too much else going on to spend as much time as I would like in my quilt room.

I have one in the frame right now that was started in 2008.

It would all depend on the pattern. I have a couple easy patterns that I have made many quilts out of and I can whip up the top in about 4-5 hours in the evening. It takes me alittle while to find the time to sandwich and then quilt it, by machine, but could realistically finish in a weekend and have done that before. A more involved pattern with more cutting and trimming would take a lot longer to get done.

I'm talking about both the tops and putting it all together. They both seem to take a long time for me. I don't have a long arm -I just have a regular sewing machine; which seems to make it much tougher! Or maybe I just don't know what I'm doing :)-I'm sure that's possible Thanks for all your replies!

I noticed that you joined today. Welcome to the group!

If you have any issues that you need answers for, this is the place to be.

I wouldn't be concerned about 'how long' it takes you to finish, in fact, you don't HAVE to finish, if you find another project you want to start. I have half a dozen tops going back to 1998 not long after I got serious about quilting, they'll get done when the time is right. On the other hand, I finished other quilts in a couple weeks (tied), pieced and quilted 12 quilts the first year I started quilting. Hand quilted 1 twinsize sampler the week I sat in the hospital with my daughter...I started a whole cloth by hand in 2003,did 1/4th of it, then in 2007 I decided I chose the wrong type of fabric( poly blend.... I know..) I used it as a backing all 3 layers; on a scrap top that I thought was UGLY after I finished it, so the whole mess got tied, and lives in a duvet cover... The point is quilts get finished when they get finished, don't allow other people's progress be your measurement. Your pace is perfect.

A long time! I work and work and work on them. This is my hobby so I can only work a little at a time. My heart goes into each one so when I can't give anymore to that one I push to finish. Since I'm doing a swap right now they are just there and screaming at me! I'll get to them soon I hope. I don't tell anyone I'm making a quilt for them until nearly completed. That's usually the binding stage. This seems to take me the longest because I have to sit still for long periods at a time and it's extremely hard for me!

For me, it depends on if I need to make it for someone, or if it's for me to keep. If I have a dead line, I can go faster.

Hi,

Welcome, this board is such a wonderful resource and full of really nice people! The pictures posted are also very inspiring.

I have only recently found this board as well. I don't think how long it takes to make a quilt factors into it at all. I find the longer it takes the more ideas I get so in the long run it just makes for a more love filled quilt. Hope we will be seeing pictures of your WIP.

Is it common to have many quilts started? I've never started a new one until I had the one completed!
BTW what is a WIP? Sorry to be slow!

a WIP is a work in process. Not quite a UFO (unfinished fabric object)
For some of us it is quite common to have several projects going at once. I currently have 8 current projects and a couple dozen UFO's. I love to start new projects. They usually end up sitting around a little while waiting for me to quilt them on my regular machine.

I'm not a fast quilter either. I had one that took me 30 years to finish! I try not to compare what I get done with what others do. We're all different. The important thing is that you're enjoying what you're doing. I applaud you for keeping busy even though you have health problems.

Sometimes I get a mental block when I'm working on a quilt and it helps to put it aside for a while. So I have quite a few quilts started. When I come back to the project with a fresh perspective I can make better decisions. Meanwhile I've been able to make some progress on one of the others I've set aside.

It takes me from a few months to years.

IT depends. Some have been just a few hours - like the Downy quilts for kids. It came pre-cut and was a super easy pattern. I've had some take well over a year for the top, then about another year if they were hand quilted.

I have a quilt that I started almost five years ago when my Husband and I were first married. It was a quilt meant for my future child. Five years later, my baby girl is almost 11 months old and it's not done yet! In actuality, I have three other quilts from that time period that also are not done...
A quilt takes me forever. Even longer now that I am a Mommy!!

The one for my daughter only took 14 years to complete. It would have been 13 years but I'm superstious.

I don't make big ones and it still takes forever. I am working again on the thimbleberries 2008 BOM, so that's 2 years.

It is not a race, it is a journey to be enjoyed

I have done a lap size quilt top in a weekend and sent it to the long armer to be quilted and I have one that took me 10 yrs just to finish the top and I took that one to the long armer last week. So I will finally get it done. but then I usually have two or three in progress as I get bored working on just one.

It depends on the pattern. But most of my quilts take a while. I only have so much time to quilt. (work and family take a lot of my time) I get them done when I get them done. The most important thing to me is I enjoy making them.

I think it depends on how hot the fire is? Is it a need-to-do, want-to-do or just for enjoyment!! Everything has its own pace!! Just relax & enjoy what you're doing otherwise it becomes work!! :thumbup:

I think that it would take everyone different amounts of time, due to all the variables. If you work, have kids around, what pattern, how complicated of a pattern, how much time you have to devote to quilting, etc. It doesn't really matter though. What does matter is enjoying the process and seeing the finished product.

My Jacob's Ladders that I posted, well I made them in 4 to 6 days. I don't work, my kids are grown and gone, and quilting is about all I do. If I was working or had kids or any other variable, it could take 6 months or more.

For me it depends on the quilt and why I'm making it. I have completed a lap quilt in 24 hours for a co-worker whose daughter was killed in a car accident. It was a simple large floral block with sashing and corner stones, so not a lot of sewing. I have one I've been working on for over 2 years and it is no where near finished. If I dedicate myself to just one project I can usually finish a lap quilt (about 50x65) in 1-2 weeks.

the clearer my mind is the quicker my quilts are finished. i thought i had 27 quilts not completed but as i lay in my recliner to sleep, there went my mind counting. i forgot several more i did not add to my list.

goodness sake just enjoy what ever your hands are working on. enjoy the creative process...have fun!!!

I too have health issues and my time to be able to sit and actually work at the machine are limited, depending on the day. Soooo, it depends on the size and the complexity of the pattern. I do my own machine quilting so it is not like I finish the top and ship it off the long arm quilters. (not able to spend money on that). 3 months would be average for me, however, a simple one can take only 3 weeks.

As I don't have much to do around here, I usually sew every day unless I'm taking a trip for fabric and I put in anywhere from 6 to 8 hrs. with coffee breaks. I can sew a top in a week if it is a smaller quilt, then takes about 2 days to quilt after I get it sandwiched.

I am new at this, it took me 2 months to complete, working an hour or two most every day,some days not at all. I did a log cabin, used my sewing machine, (nothing fancy) The size was a long twin. Lace

Itdepends on how much time each day you can devote to it, how involved the pattern is, etc... Don't be discouraged!

do not judge yourself by others. I am so slow that if i did judge myself by others I would have quit long ago. It takes me forever. I work as a nurse in the ER, attend classes to finish my BS, have a family, so quilting is done in my spare time. Sometimes I get to it once a week sometimes not. No matter how long it takes, it is thereapeutic for me. A great stress reliever. I get it done when it gets done. Keep on quilting and march to your own drummer. Good luck.

my first quilt was a WIP work in progress for 25 years. Took one year for the top, all hand done. Machine did not touch it. No rotary tools all individually measured and cut. So don't be too hard on your self.

I think if you are doing this for a hobby, you can take as much time as you want. If you are doing it for someone as a gift or to earn money, you will have to do the quilt in a certain time frame. Some have been quilting for many moons and are more adapt at it and some are just starting and have to feel their way along so it doesn't make sense to compare what you are doing with others. I almost always have several quilts in progress. I like to do this because I get tired of working on the same thing. I'm glad you can still quilt. I dread the time when I can no longer quilt.

Just the quilt tops, I have my 2008 bom half way done. Last years I only have the first 3 months and this year so far I am on top of it. The last couple of years I had been busy doing other projects for gifts and such. That this year I decided to make it a point that I get all of these finished this year with or without any other projects. Right now I am rotating my projects. Doing a couple of rows on one and then making a couples of blocks at the next. I hope to be caught up soon. Oh I also started a bargello in May of 2008 and have about 4 to 6 rows done. I hope to pick that up and at least get some more done to it.
With my husband not working for almost a year now, I'm not sure if I will be able to get them all completed. But I do want to get the tops done so that when I get enough money I can at least get one done at a time.

I really don't worry about how long it takes to finish a quilt. My objective is to enjoy the process. Compared to others, I am probably considered slow but it just doesn't matter. As a relative newby (only 2 years), I try to pick patterns that I'm sure will be not too hard. (so I don't give up) Even so. like most of us I have several UFOs in the works.

My main point is that it doesn't matter how many quilts you make or how long it takes to make one, just enjoy the activity. If you do that, you will have fun----and that is what quilting is all about.

I think basically, every quilter works at whatever pace is comfortable for them for whatever reason. Don't get down on yourself, just enjoy the process no matter how long it takes you.
God Bless!

OK guys! I've been following this post and I've read lots and lots of others. I too am kind of a newbie at quilting, doing it only 1 1/2 years so far. I have a question that has been driving me crazy! What is a UFO??!?!?? I'd really appreciate someone giving me back my sanity on this.