I'm fairly new at quilting as some of you may know. I've only made a table runner, set of placemats and a baby rag quilt. I have a few projects that I want to make but keep putting them off.
I think I'm afraid of failing and ruin fabric. Is this a normal newbie thing???

yes

no way! it pretty much is a forever thing! ha ha ha!!! I always put things off that I think I will not have an easy time with and i've been at it for over ten years! just jump in and start, you'll find your footing and then wonder why you ever put it off. good luck!

one block at a time. just keep sewing. i still get butterflies when start new project. I have made three quilts this year already. working on another.

Yes, I am just a bit older than a newbie, quilting for about a year and a half, and I always just know I wont like a quilt that I have planned. I am just finishing one this evening, in time for "Show and Tell" at the guild meeting tomorrow night, and I am not sure I will take it. My quilts just always look so different than anyone else's.

But, you know what...I have finally decided that if I fail, so what? I'll just make another quilt...

I've been quilting for 2 years and still get a bit of cold feet when I first approach fabric to cut it into the pieces.
I'd say it's normal. But, don't be afraid of tackling those projects. Remember there are no quilt police, and we all learn from our mistakes which are otherwise known as our creativity!

Go for it. If you have questions as you go just ask here on the board. No matter what someone else here has already "been there/done that".

Happy Quilting!

I feel that way about machine quilting. We both need to just do it!

Cut carefully, sew a careful seam and ask any questions her and you'll be fine. I would think a nice lap size quilt would be next.

Yes ma'am... we have all been there. Just got to dive in. Dont be afraid though. If you havent taken any classes I would suggest taking a couple, you wont be sorry :) you'll always learn something. Good luck!

What I did is take some scrap fabric and made up a couple of blocks that I was interested in making. Work them up then work on the good fabric with confidence, "I Can Do This". I learn by doing. Its normal to fear the first cuts....It's only fabric and it's not brain surgery:) Relax and enjoy!:):):)

Just hop in and do it....once you start your confidence will build and you always can come here for advice and a bit of a boost. Too many of us can become static through indecision/procrastination. There's nothing like the feeling of a finished quilt...simple or complex, arty or utility..Happy quilting!

Oh I still get cold feet! I'm not sure that ever truly goes away. I also get sad to cut up my beautiful fabric because then it won't be whole and ready anymore - but that part is because I'm crazy, I'm pretty sure.

Just go for it. Is it warm and made with love? Then it's a successful quilt. :)

As far as I'm concerned, the only way you can "ruin" fabric is to burn it.

Cut away. Sew away. You can't make an omelet without cracking a few eggs.

Try 25 years and I still worry that I am biting off more than I can chew (or quilt). You just have to make that first cut, then you are off and sewing.

My husband thinks I am nuts to cut up brand new material and then sew it together so it doesn't look like it did when I bought it. I told him his grandpa did a lot of quilting in the evenings when everyone else went to bed. He made some really heavy ones that I think are wool and also some heavy cottons. they are like 75 years old. Have them upstairs and probably should get them down and clean them up and patch if necessary. I always dig right in and then I wonder did I do that right? won't ever totally go away.

Quilting for 30+ years and still get timid t times. :shock:

I have bought the cheapest fabric I could find and made practice blocks. That way I had more confidence when I went to cut my "good" fabric. It also lets me find out if I want to make more of the blocks as well as to test out the patterns :D:D:D

Big time YES...so my advice - as a newbie as well...post your pictures; ask for help; interact - everyone here is GREAT...I've learned so much and from the first quilt I posted to the one I have done today - there is such a huge improvment - its come from practice and this board.

oh the stories my seam ripper could tell :D
in no time you will be sewing and cutting
and enjoying the wonderful creations you will
make. . . .go for it and don't forget to post
your pics I just know they will be beautiful

not just a newbie thing. I've had fabric for 2 twin quilts I want to make my great nephew for a couple of weeks now and just can't seem to make myself cut it into all the strips I'll need for them. but I promised him so I better get a move on.

So what if you ruin a little fabric? That's the best way to learn how NOT to do things.

Go to thrift shops and get some nice looking clothes and sheets and work with them. Then you can start in with the 10 dollar a yard stuff. Or you just might fall in love with soft, well washed fabrics and stay with them for a while. Who knows?

Try it, you might like it.

It sure is. Don't be afraid though because we all make mistakes, and that is how we learn. Everything you do, your skills will get better and better. Go for it and have fun.

Gurl.....This is what you do: finish your first quilt with the help of this board if need be, post it HERE, then let us decide. I haven't seen a failure yet and I've about looked at every quilt posted in my 3+ months of membership. hehehe.

Of course it is normal. We all love fabric and the thought of ruining it is unbearable and we are sure we either won't like it or will ruin it. I have some fabric that I will most likely never cut, it is much too pretty and I keep saving it for that "special" project that hasn't come along yet. If I do ruin some fabric or find out there isn't enough of it, well, worse things have happened and 50 yrs. from now, nobody will know the difference.

I've been quilting for about 10 years now. I have been "putting off" finishing one of my quilts for about 2 years because I was worried that the center was going to be tough. Then I remembered something that someone told me a long time ago.
If you are going to eat an elephant, you have to start with one bite at a time.
So, instead of looking at the whole picture of what I had to do, I told myself that I was just going to accomplish one step at a time. This one amazed me at how fast it went together, how little I really had to do, and how easy it was to finish.

If anyone tells you it never happened to them, question everything they say. I always tell myself that if I make a mistake, it can always be something else. And I've had to do that, but the mistakes get fewer as you go along. :-)

As Churchill told Eisenhower when he decided he wanted to paint, go at it as though you have been doing it forever.

You won't be making mistakes, you are having learning experiences. We all start a new project with some apprehension. After the first cut, it don't hurt so much.

Carol J.

Fabric is so cheap in the 'States' that you can afford to make as many mistakes as you like and it doesn't really matter, so I would be diving in and being as experimental as my wallet would allow. So jump in and experiment and surprise yourself with your creations.

just keep at it - I made memory tt shirt quilts for YEARS until I got up the guts to piece - in some ways piecing is even easier because the pattern is there for you - just do - always have a project going and in no time - you will wondering what it is like not to quilt at least a little every day ! You are totally normal with your anxiety - and there is no such thing as something bad made with love and from the heart - keep at it girl !

If you mess it up....you can make a creation of your own.
Just a design opportunity!

That's exactly how I felt when I first started quilting. My advise would be to be careful cutting out the pieces for your pattern, try to keep your seam allowance as even as possible and buy a good seam ripper. Also, if you get in a bind or heed help, one of the experts here are usually online and will help you get back on que. Good luck and happy quilting.

Go for it--we all will mess something up even if we have been at this for years and years. I will still cut something wrong and I've been doing this for 44 years. Just jump in and do it. My motto, measure twice--cut once--grin

Nope - almost 30 years and I still get a lil skerred.
:)
Just take a deep breath, have a little faith in yourself and get 'er done. If you don't start, you can't finish!

I have been to many many quilt shows and I always encourage the newbies to enter their quilts. We, as quilters love to see the patterns, colors and work that goes into a quilt. Every one of us started out as a newbie so we know where you are and should rncourage your journey. Hanging a quilt in a show should give you great satisfaction, here is what I made on this wonderful journey. You also get to take great pictures while it is hanging!! Don't forget there is always the next show to display your next creation! Go for it!

True for this newbie! I started out buying nearly twice what the pattern needed, and I used some of it - I had a lot of trouble measuring and cutting. So I now have a lot of 1 1/2" strips which should have been 2 1/2" and 6" squares which should have been 6 1/2" and I need to make another quilt to use them - and the rest of the unused material - up. Could be worse problems :lol: :lol: :lol:

I had no classes, nothing. I just saw a quilt I would like to make. I love challenge. I thought and thought and I did have nerves about, what if's, then again what if I did not try?? I then planned a quilt for my granddaughter, went out, purchased my fabric, and tried my best. I was so very happy with the results.. Now here I am, with a love for quilting and what I create.
You'll never know, unless you try.
My best to you and happy quilting

We never fail - we just redesign.

There are always questions 'cause we can't see the finished project. Go for it and have a good time. Your quilt WILL look different because it is YOUR quilt. And that's what's great about quilting.

Baby, cold feet don't go with warm heart. Get a heating pad and melt that fear.

It's an oldie thing tooooooo... LOL
If your first attempt doesn't come out exactly as you hoped, donate it to a needy organization. You learned something and will do a better job with the next one. Its a win-win, no?
I've come up with some interesting and awesome ideas and solutions because of oopsies!
No one learns to walk without a few falls. Get back up and keep trying.

yes, and with fabric prices skyrocketing, it will probably get worse...the worry I mean. But I try to keep this in the back of my mind...if I make a booboo..it can be used in another quilt another time.
Michelle G.