Lessons from experienced quilters
 

Tell those lessons that have helped you so much that you pass them on to beginner quilters.

Yesterday my club mentor helped me with a strip quilt I was stitching in the ditch. I could not identify the "block. I could find the vertical lines but not the horizontal. My mentor told me to get my 91/2 inch square and start at two inches and keep looking until I find it. I did find it at 12 inches. Having such a helpful mentor is wonderful. It is making all the difference between finding quilting impossible and loving quilting.

Share your lessons here.

I would have to say that there are several ways to accomplish the same results. Try what someone is teaching you. It may be an alterative to what you already know. Then you can decide which option works best for you. Everyone has different comfort zones. Your way may not be the best way for me but it is best for you, go for it. At least you know what other options are out there.

You will make mistakes. Correct them and get on with it. No one else will know they are there unless you point it out.

Well I know it's in there somewhere. It will surface at some point in time!

How about "I'll buy another one, and the first one will magically appear." ?

Yes, THIS!

I'm going through this right now. I've only been quilting for a short time and I'm working on my fourth quilt - a Dr. Seuss shadow box quilt for one of my grandbabies. Well, my cutting wasn't as accurate as it should have been and I ended up with 20 blocks that were all catawampus (that's a technical term, right?) and weren't lining up the way they should have.

I mulled over how to fix it for a week. I came on here and read through several threads and decided that I had two options - A) take 20 blocks completely apart, re-cut and re-sew them. That would entail needing to buy more fabric and also, tearing my hair out. OR - option B. Trim all the blocks a bit. This option would square the blocks up nice and neat, but it would also trim off a bit of the print and make them and the "shadows" a bit smaller. I decided I could live with option B. I'm working on them now, and ya know what? They're gonna look just fine.

So THANK YOU, to all of my wonderful experienced mentors on here, who I learn so much from, everyday! :)

I might not have continued quilting after my first embarrassing top, if the ladies at the LQS hadn't been so encouraging. 'We're here to have fun, not to be perfect.'

Go with what you like and don't let others' opinions get you off track. If you're a modern quilter whose friends are all traditional quilters, don't give up what you love to go along. Do what you love!

More practically:

Test your 1/4" seam regularly and adjust it accordingly.

Take the time to properly press, both fabrics pre-sewing and seams once sewn.

Don't use directional fabrics as a beginner; give yourself time to understand how different blocks will look so you can figure out which way to cut your pieces.

Get the best tools you can within your price range. Splurge occasionally, especially when it's something you'll use daily.

Wherever your sewing spot is, be it kitchen table, corner of a room, or a gorgeous studio, set it up so that it's not a source of frustration.

Feel your fabric before you buy it. If it feels good to you, it doesn't matter where it comes from. If ordering online stick to brands you know and love.

Measure twice, cut once.

Try to have a consistent place to put the little tools that you only use once in a while.

Use a stiletto (or sharpened chop stick) to guide your fabric (fingers tend to push too hard).