Welcome to the Quilt Board! :wave:

You've gotten some great advice so far, I just want to expand on a few things.

Pre-washing, as mentioned it is a personal preference and good reasons for both...but I don't mix washed and unwashed...it's less likely to shrink in different amounts.

Sewing machine, you said it hasn't been used much and suggestions of oiling and cleaning are good...but if it has been more than a couple of years since it's been used it might be worth the cost to take it and have it serviced, especially if it has been stored in a basement there maybe rust forming on the parts inside.

Pattern style/size, I agree that you picked out very challenging patterns and like you when I first started I picked something with a greater difficulty than I was able to handle ... it's been years since I've even looked at it again let alone considered finishing it....so I really agree with the others to consider choosing something a little simpler.

Spend time on YouTube...I think you can find most anything on there, even lessons on beginners quilting...just in case you don't have a local quilt shop or someone that can give you advice along the way.

As you've seen already you will get tons of great advice on QB. Also, you might want to check out the tutorial section as well as any QB rules.

Again, welcome and we look forward to seeing your progress! :)

My best advice for your first quilt would be make a small quilt (baby or lap size to donate if you don’t have a person to give it to) just to keep from overwhelming yourself. Eleanor Burns of “Quilt in a Day” was the first pattern I used and she wrote the steps for an “Irish Chain” quilt that even I, with recent with brain damage, could follow, including fabric generous requirements, but best of all she started me with a model for organizing the making of all future quilts. You can find the pattern online new or second hand (my income preferred method to buy books).

Here is a link to an available copy I found by googling it.
http://www.ebay.com/itm/like/1630260...f7d3d0ffeda6ab

My two cents, not worth much.
Easy pattern for a beginner has only 90' angles, no triangles. No larger than a receiving blanket.

Prewashing, starch spray, how to make triangles, basting the sandwich each have complete threads devoted to them. No point in rehashing that here. Just do a search with key words.

Love your fabrics. Good value contrast.

Accuracy is a key lesson in your first quilt: cutting and 1/4" seam.

Welcome to quilting and QB

Careful there girl, or you'll have to go to OAA meeting - Over-Achievers Anonymous, lol. Take it from your twin-separated-at-birth, start with a pattern that has squares and /or rectangles. Maybe a few triangles. Just trust me on this, you will thank me later. And baby quilt size is another very excellent idea. (My fist quilt was a t-shirt quilt, full size or bigger, that I made for a gift. Lol, no pressure, right?)

One thing no one else has mentioned yet is *how* to get that all important 1/4" seam allowance. It seems like it won't make any difference of its the same for the whole quilt, right? That was what I thought, but wrong! So, here's my contribution to your online quilting education, lol. It's the quilting equivalent of learning to knit in the right guage. http://www.seamstobeyouandme.com/201...rfect-14-seam/

After I did this, I wished I'd known about it before. Good luck!

You have chosen 3 nice quilt patterns but none of them are easy. If you have a local quilt store, the ladies will give you some good advice. Starting with a baby or lap size quilt is good advice. Also starting with squares -- 1 patches, 4 patches, 9 patches or disappearing 4 or 9 patches will be much easier than hexagons or curved seams. Also your local library will have lots of books with good information and patterns. Have a good first experience and you will keep quilting. Good luck on your new hobby!

Definitely start small. Take your time. I started out by experimenting making different blocks to learn piecing techniques. You can always put the blocks together to make your first quilt to learn sandwiching techniques and even practice quilting. When I look at that first piece and compare it to my current work, I can see how I have far I have traveled on my quilting journey. Most important - have FUN!!

You have gotten lots of good ideas. I encourage you to start small - finishing a project is most rewarding and encouraging when you are starting out. Try to find a mentor - a local guild or community class. Most quilters love to share their skills - we are all continually learning.

Welcome and you've found a great place to get lots of good advice.

I'm of the "pre-wash, iron/starch" group, but it depends on a few things. Some of us have had a bad experience with bleeding/shrinking fabrics and prefer a flatter quilt after it is washed. Others really like the puckery look of a quilt after it is washed, when the fabric hasn't been pre-washed. All personal preference.

My advice is this: be very careful with accurate cutting and learn to fold your fabric "on grain" before you cut it. Leah Day has a very good video on this. Otherwise, other QB posters have covered a lot of ground for you already.

Another tip: Love your fabric. You have to look at it for along time.

Have fun and be sure to post pictures.

Watson

I'm a fairly new quilter. I totally agree with this.

I decided I wanted to make a Log Cabin quilt for my first. Fortunately, the quilt shop lady talked me out of it. My first quilt was a disappearing nine patch in lap quilt size. I also sent it out for quilting. I did make 3 log cabin blocks for a block lotto a few months ago. I'm sure glad I didn't do that one first.

This is one of my favorite videos on piecing. https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=--vIltDWpl0

I wish I had watched it sooner in my quilting adventure.

Welcome and good luck.

bkay

Your 10 year old Singer will be fine. My 40 year old Kenmore still works like a charm. Save your money for more fabric or for new 'tools' that you will learn about as your progress through your quilting education. And relax.

Welcome! Hope your quilting venture is as fun as it is for us seasoned quilters. The advantage to being on this board is that folks are so friendly and helpful.

You have gotten lots of good advice here. As you go along, you will decide what works best for you. Just wanted to add my recommendation of a beginning quilting book that was used in my first, very basic quilting class and I still refer back to it at times, "Make Your First Quilt" by M'Liss Rae Hawley. She covers all the basics in a clear, concise manner and includes photos. It includes directions for 9 blocks to get you started. Also, choosing fabrics, cutting, quarter inch seams, pressing, etc. (Can you tell I like this book?) Just checked, it is available on Amazon for $13.36. Love your enthusiasm! Please keep us posted!

I'm glad you posted this because I've never seen it explained like this before. Thank you so much!

Others have given some great advice. I mainly just want to say welcome, and it will be fun to watch your progress. You are starting with a very ambitious plan here, but you are the best judge of how much time and dedication you can put into this hobby. It will be good to try some practice techniques with the big quantity of airplane fabric first.

If you pre-wash, you'll need to either pink or overcast the raw edges of the fabric before you wash to avoid a huge tangled mess of threads and possible distortion of the fabrics. You don't need a serger to do overcasting. If you have never done it before, check your machine's manual to see if you have an overcast stitch and foot. If not, your widest zigzag will do. They sell pinking blades for rotary cutters if you don't already have pinking shears. You'll probably want an extra cutter for this purpose because switching the blades frequently is a pain.

Use Color Catchers (a product sold in grocery store laundry aisles) to help keep the colors from running amok. Bleeding dyes are not common, but can be such a headache when you encounter them. You're off to a great start in picking fabrics with good contrast. Use color catchers again after you finish the quilt. I like to use washable glue sticks to baste my binding, and therefore always wash my quilts before giving them to anyone.

I usually start by making sure I have enough fabric for the project before I cut anything because otherwise you may come up short after doing quite a lot of work. However, if you only have enough for a small middle area, you can always make a quilt bigger by adding wide borders. A design wall is very useful for laying out your blocks and making sure everything is in the right order before you start joining them. It can be as simple as a piece of batting tacked to the wall, but if the air conditioner is blowing toward the pieces they may fall off and need to be pinned in place. It's easy enough to lay out a smaller design on a bed, but not if you have pets or kids who like to rearrange things for you, and not if you or somebody else is planning to sleep in that bed every night.

If you are planning to do the quilting on your Singer, be aware that the bigger the quilt the more of a challenge that will be. Try it on something small before you set yourself up for disappointment. I'm not saying it's not possible, but it certainly can be difficult. Marti Michell has a book about quilting in sections that might be helpful. (Maybe no longer in print, but possibly in your library or on a used book site.) If you can place an additional table to the left of where you sit at your machine to help support the weight of the quilt, that's a good idea. Start near the center and work outward. You don't want to have more than half of a big quilt in the area to the right of the needle.

There are different ideas about how binding should be done. You will want to compare and decide whether you intend to use the machine to finish it or do the final round by hand. I usually do mine by machine, but it's still a challenge after a lot of years. It's actually easier to get it right by hand-sewing the final round, but that takes several hours.

Google for a quilt guild in your area. They can be a wonderful resource, and it's encouraging to know others who have been there, done that. Quilt shops and sewing machine stores also sometimes have quilting groups that meet regularly and also they may offer lessons.

Best wishes!

Hi and welcome to this board and to quilting. You have plenty of advice here so mine will be just a reinforcement.

The patterns you picked are much harder than any I would pick as a new quilter. The first one I made was a 4 patch and it took me 3 years to finish! (Self taught with no help). I would strongly suggest that you cut the fabric for only one square and make that one first. That way, if you find that you need an easier pattern, you won't waste all the fabric on cut pieces that you don't want.

Secondly, don't attempt a quilt larger than a simple baby one. I started on a full-size one, hence the 3 years it took to finish. I love your airplane fabric... perfect for babies. You have a lot of it and you can make plenty of baby quilts, etc. with it.

And, the most important, relax and have fun. You will make mistakes. We all do. The Amish say that nothing is perfect except God. They even plan on making a mistake on every quilt they make. (I don't have to plan a mistake; they are just there in all my quilts.) Mistakes are what keeps the little seam ripper companies stay in business. They have made a fortune on me!

So, welcome to the best hobby ever and enjoy!

I forgot to mention- I love your nails!!!!!!! lol
I'm obsessed with mine and never have them w/o polish :D

Thank you everyone for the advice! I wish I could respond to each and every message, but I've had a busy day and still have quite the to do list! I Picked out some new fabric today to match the big bolt I have with the airplane pattern, I am so excited to get started! I am trying to narrow down a few simple patterns i have found online, and I will let y'all know how it goes!

I found a quilt shop nearby that offers lessons, as well as "quilting hours" that you can come use their facilities and work on your projects with others and a teacher there to help when you get stuck! I am looking forward to working it into my schedule!

I appreciate everyones advice and honest opinions, I love this group and how genuine everyone is!!! I'll post a picture of the Baby Quilt fabrics I have!!

I like the fabrics you have chosen to go with the airplane fabric.

Thank you! I found a super cute fabric shop that has the COOLEST fabrics in Temecula CA! They have a lot of their fabrics online too, I will post the link to their etsy shop!

Shop website - http://www.needleinafabricstash.com
Etsy Shop - https://www.etsy.com/shop/NeedleinaFabricStash

I love that Temecula shop. Very modern fabrics, mostly, but fun whimsical stuff. It's been awhile since I shopped there. Your fabric selection looks wonderful. Will be a darling quilt when finished. If you venture to Orange County, be sure to shop M&L Fabrics in Buena Park. They are in an old grocery store and have a super large selection of all kinds of collections and designers. Plus, the prices are majorly discounted. So worth the trip...

I consider myself an advanced quilted but I would definitely not make one of those if I was a beginner. That’s a good way to end up throwing the whole thing out when you start getting frustrated. Pretty fabrics but I’d pick an easy pattern to start with.

I did a quick look at the link you posted to the quilt on Pintrest. It would be a nice pattern to begin with and would be very easy to enlarge to make the size of quilt you desire. In the picture it looks like the middle rows have 7 squares in each of them. After the first row of 7 squares then the next row add 2 squares. Do this until you have the size diagonally you want and then start decreasing 2 squares each row. You have received some excellent tips. to add my 2 cents worth is: 1. There are no quilt police, no matter what anyone tries to tell you! It is your quilt do it your way. 2. There are many ways and techniques to accomplish the same thing. Experiment and do they way you find easiest. 3. Enjoy and there tons of How to videos, but me careful you can spend all your time watching them! LOL!

So true! I just finished my first bed sized quilt and once I was putting the last rows together it was kicking my arse. I had originally thought I would quilt it myself but ha! I sent that baby out to a long armer. I had to have my husband help hold it to get the binding on.

I strongly suggest making a pillow, Tablerunner, or other small item from your selected pattern first.

i have done a few Missouri star projects and have had good luck following Jenny Doens instructions. This board is a wonderful place to get help and encouragement, welcome!

I have my first quilting class booked for the 9th and I am so excited!!!! Now to get my machine out of the box and get her all cleaned up and some thread run through her before I head to the class!

It will make the class a lot pleasanter for you, your classmates, and your instructor if your machine is "up and running" and you are somewhat proficient at using it before you start the class.

A class is a good place to start - enjoy it!

I want to add that my favorite seam ripper is the white clover ones they sell in the quilting aisle in fabric stores. Super sharp and a thin, little head that is easy to get into seams with tiny stitches.
Keep us posted on your journey. I don't know if you realized it or not, but there are a lot of people interested in your progress. We're following behind you making a human emergency net, ready when you need us. ;)

Hello again ladies!!!! I finished my second quilting class yesterday, and have two quilts I am working on. I am doing a lattice style quilt today, and am so excited!!!! I love the colors and design! I am sewing on the borders today!

On the second quilt I will be making 9 squares today as well.

I have learned so much from both classes! I am so excited to get these quilts finished and start on the next!

Here is a picture of the lay out!

That is looking great! A bit of a challenge to put it on point but still manageable. Can't wait to see the flimsy!

Jenny Doan has a beautiful quilt to make that is very easy. It’s called ‘Square in a square’ and uses a charm pack with a matching jelly roll. You might like using precuts for your first attempt. I made this quilt for my MIL and it fits her queen size bed. It was so pretty when I finished it that I thought about keeping it for myself at first. It goes together fast. You can buy jelly rolls, 42 2 1/2”-strips of fabric from a line of fabric, and charm packs, 42 5”-square fabric pieces from a line of fabric at most quilt shops. Missouri Star Quilt Co. has a HUGE selection. By buying precuts, most of the cutting is already done for you and you can get to sewing your quilt. Welcome to The Quiting Board. I’ve learned so much from the guys and gals here.

You're doing a wonderful job. Keep up the good work.

Welcome to the board. I hope you are going to start on an easy pattern before you tackle those you showed to us. I consider myself to be a fairly good quilter but I would never start with one like those. Rail fence, around the world, or just a plain Jane diagonal quilt would be better to start on. Also a baby quilt would give you some experience in making a quilt. Just my opinion, don’t want you to get started and decide it wasn’t what you wanted to do.

Congratulations, I think you have been very smart to start with a class, I didn't and now know (after 2 years) what you will probably learn in 2 months. I want to reiterate the mention that things won't get done as fast as you think. Don't buy fabric before you need it unless you absolutely love it. Glad to see that you have started with squares and not curves. There has not been much said about the scant 1 1/4" seam but I am sure the class will emphasize that. This board is a terrific resource. Welcome aboard.