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).

From Harriet Hargrave: Use the best fabric and batting you can afford on your quilts. Always look ahead to where you want to go when doing FMQ. Don't look at the needle because that is where you have been.

I'm sorry, but I don't quite understand the problem.......stitching in the ditch, couldn't identify the block???? Were you hand quilting another's pieced top? Why was it important to know the horizontal? Don't quite follow the ruler process? I am really confused, not hard to do, btw, please someone, what am I missing in this post?

I had a quilt pieced by someone else. I was trying to quilt it using the "Stitch in the Ditch" quilting pattern. I could easily identify the seams that ran vertically down the quilt.

I was having a difficult time identifying the seams that ran clear across the quilt horizonally.

My mentor said to start in one corner with my 9 1/2 inch square and measure a square of 2 inches. See if that horizontal seam would go clear across if not try at 3, then 4 and so on until I found the seam that ran clear across the quilt. I finally found it at 12 inches. Does that clarify?

But this thread is about sharing that piece of quilting advice that helps you the most when quilting.

I don't think there is one particular piece of advice that has been the "crossroads" of quilting for me, anyway....all the advice and lessons combined have been what makes me a "good" quilter....I think patience is very much the one "virtue" that is needed and sometimes stretched to its limit...but the outcome is well worth the effort.

I suggest getting a small tackle box with a tray to corral all your small tools. They are always there when you need them.

(1) Good sewing doesn't happen after 1.00am......go to bed!
(2) Press, press, press
(3) Load up extra bobbins in prep.
(4) Before you start to "fix" your crisis........ think it through, decide your battleplan then go away for a while and do something else. When you do come back to it, look at your plan with fresh eyes and perspective before doing anything.

Join quiltingboard.com ! Even though I have sewn for 50 + years, I think I learn something new everyday. I have gained more confidence in my ability but also don't stress over small mistakes. I will never attain the level of many on this board, marvel in their artistic ability, but continue to stretch my skills and am happy and comfortable "in my own skin". Enjoy the journey!

Ruby love your advice and agree totally.

EmiliasNana again I agree totally.

I always make a copy of my pattern before I start it. Then I carefully read through it and highlight important info so I don't make stupid mistakes such as cutting strips 2 inches, not 3 inches. If there are lots of color changes I snip off a piece of each fabric and tape or staple it to a sheet of paper with notes of where it will go. I also put a note on the cut pieces so I know where it goes in this block or that. Finally I make one of each block so I am clear as to what I intended. Yes this does take a while, but it eliminates costly dumb mistakes like the one I made on an expensive kit. I couldn't get more of the focus fabric in that case and wasted yards of fabric. When I do this I can leave the project for a few days or weeks and easily pick up where I left off too.

... the journey is unique with each quilt ... and learning from QB members has been invaluable :thumbup:

When I first joined a guild, at the first show and tell I learned more then from any class or instructor since. One older quilter showed her perfect appliqued and hand quilted quilt, basic basket block style. It was very pretty and everyone said it was perfect and what a great job. Another quilter showed a quilt that got instant gasps and clapping. It was an explosion of color. The quilt was not perfect, the edges waved, the binding was crooked, some block points were cut off but it by far outshowed the perfectly made quilt. I knew then that my goal was not to make a perfect quilt but one that got the clapping. LOL

Quilt what you LOVE!!!! I really fell in love with quilting when I allowed myself to get out of the box of the 'traditional' or 'have-to-do-it-this-way' idea. You are the maker, the creator, the one expressing something. Let your voice shine!

It's your quilt, do it your way. There are no quilt police. Done is far better than Perfect. It's OK to have UFOs; they'll get done when the inspiration (or the $) hits you.

It is okay to abandon a project you hate.

I like Tartan's reply. Several years ago I was making a very "scrappy" quilt, with fabrics chosen by my family to correspond to their family "colors", which were: Yellow, Red, Navy Blue, Teal, Black, Orange, Purple, and Green. When I went to the quilt shop to find a border fabric, I chose a small charcoal grey print fabric, which was the consensus of the quilters in the shop at the time. When it came time to assemble the quilt, I took another look at the back of the fabric and decided that the more subtle charcoal grey made a much nicer border. You buy two sides to fabric, why not consider both sides when quilting?

Accuracy at each step makes everything that follows SO much easier.
It is well worth the extra few seconds it may take until it becomes habit.

Not all quilts are meant to be finished. If you truly hate it, don't punish yourself.
Some of your best lessons will come from your worst mistakes.

Never say "I can't", only "I haven't yet".
Try everything that appeals to you, especially those things that scare you most.
The rewards are amazing!

Guilt has NO place in quilting.
Don't point out your mistakes to others, they'll never see them.
Don't focus on your weaknesses, be proud of your strengths.

The first thing I learned here, was the "fast horse" rule. If we can ride by on a fast horse, and not see any mistakes, your quilt is perfect! Keeps me from obsessing over every little thing....lol!

Smart lady!

My Mom always said "If it's worth doing, it's worth doing well".

"Well" not "perfect".

*LOL* I'm a slow quiltmaker because I'm a meticulous worker. But even with that, I'll fudge to get something to fit properly.

If your quilting stops being fun, ask yourself why. If it's the project you are working on, put it aside or give it away.

Remember that there's as many ways to do something as there are quilters. Try a new way: you may love it! Or not.

There are no quilt police! Or at least not any who can arrest you ..... but there are busybodies out there who take pride in pointing out to newbies what they are doing "wrong".

A mentor is a horse of another colour. :D

Speaking of colour: we all have our favorites and if you love the colours you've chosen to make your quilt, go for it!

Learn from your mistakes.

Keep notes: The new method you discovered on your own. The name and colour of the thread you used to quilt with. The adjustments you made to your machine to get a perfect decorative stitch along with the fabric (was it a batik?) and thread.

Maybe even keep a journal with photos of each quilt | project you complete with details on the fabrics, threads, pattern.

Last but not least, IMO a design wall is a necessity. Stepping back and having a huge booboo jump out at you can save hours of frogging.

I really like this suggestion. I have occasionally with a scrappy quilt used the back side to tone down a colour combination. But I must keep this more prominently in my mind. Thanks!

always take the time to trim up units--especially in complex blocks!
use fabric you love--otherwise you'll get sick of it real quick!
learn something from every quilt--which means its ok to make mistakes--and maybe even leave them in!

I love the way my mentor showed me to end a hand quilting thread. She would go through the same stitch a second time and then loop the thread over the stitch and go down the same hole and then let the needle come out some distance away and then cut it. It made it so much faster than me trying to tie a knot and then pull it through the fabric. Love this lesson.