I have posted a few pictures of my first quilt during the process of cutting, piecing, putting it all together, binding, etc. I am now machine quilting it, in the ditch, just for practice and to see how it looks. I'm quickly discovering that this is not my favorite thing to do and it doesn't add any beauty to my quilt. I'm seriously considering just doing the tops and then getting someone else to quilt it. Am I crazy? Is this too expensive? How many of you just do tops and then have someone else quilt it? I see Charismahs work and it always add tons of beauty to a lovingly made quilt...

Charisma *is* a very talented quilter! I think quite a few folks do either one or the other, then some do both piece and quilt. Totally up to you and what you wanna do! :D

I too get very discouraged when I see all the beautiful quilting that I can never achieve. Unfortunatly I don't think I will ever be able to afford to have all the tops sent out to be quilted either. I lothe wrestling with quilting them , and have ruined a few trying. I usually just end up doing nothing with them, thus the stack of tops I have accumulated lol,or if they are scrappy quilts to be used daily I just tie them.
On a positive note though ,many do master quilting them on regular machines. :D :D

I love to watch Leah day quilt with a regular machine.

I'm sorry you're not liking the quilting. Every one has different parts of the quilting process that they like and dislike and I know many people send their tops out to be quilted. That is your choice. I used to hand quilt everything and I hated it, which is why I had tons of tops but very few finished products. Then I discovered I can quilt on my machine. I tried it and I absolutely love it. I think it fun!! So hard to describe but I feel like I am dancing with the quilt as I move it around under the needle. Sounds silly I know. I am no where near as good as the long armers on this board, but I hope in time I will. I am getting a frame for my machine next Sat. and am so looking forward to it.

I understand what you are going through. I love the looks of the beautiful quilting that others achieve, whether on their sewing machines or a long arm. Mine do not come anywhere close to that. Yet, I do enjoy "playing" and learning. I could never afford to have anyone else quilt them for me at this time. I hope that you will discover a way in which to enjoy the quilting process.

There is nothing wrong with SID :D As time goes on you can venture into using a serpentine stitch in the ditch :wink: and then onto some stippling, and other FMQ. No on says we have to learn it all right away, or do it all either :D:D:D

I like to use a very, very narrow zig zag stitch for SID. If you are off a bit, it doesn't show as much :wink: The same with using a serpentine stitch :D

I'm getting ready to teach myself to FMQ. I can stitch in the ditch just fine and I can stencil a design on and sew over it ok. Now to move onto something else. I have a hard time figuring out what to do. I dont know if I'll ever be great at it but I don't have to be. I already know that I can't afford to send it out even though I love Charisma's quilts on here; she's great. I have seen approx. prices for different quilters and I can't afford it; it's not that they don't deserve I just can't afford it. I'm not going to quilt and have nothing but tops laying around even if I have to tie each one or do the QAYG method; I'm going to do them.

I don't think anyone is a fan of machine quilting the first time they try it. I started with SID and did that for a while before trying FMQ, and for that I took a class that helped get over the learning curve. (I also had the BSR, which took quite a bit of the pain out of the process.) It is something that needs practice, but once you get over the initial speed bumps, it is fun and satisfying.

Check the longarmers in your area and also on the net. Sometimes you can have a quilt done including batting and back for under $100 - Check around.

Hi neighbor! (I'm in NC too.) I feel your pain. I'm trying to teach myself FMQ now. It's been a real challenge for me but I'm determined not to be defeated.

I've only been quilting for a year. I've made 5 tops and am working on 6 & 7 now. I've sent one quilt to Charisma and she did a lovely job. I quilted one on my home machine - it was a baby quilt so not so much of a struggle and I quilted in straight lines (but not SID). I started another larger quilt with straight lines and the backing was puckering, so I've taken it out and going to start over. DH just bought me the Janome Horizon, so I'm excited to try quilting on it with the extra bed space.

At the end of the day, give yourself permission to not be perfect and don't compare yourself to others. There's a great deal of satisfaction is being able to say "I made it myself... all of it!" lol. There's also nothing wrong with having someone else quilt it and I think it's very affordable in most cases. I absolutely love the quilt Charisma quilted and could never have done such a job myself.

There is a lot of quilting talent on this board... those with an eye for deciding quilting designs for the best impact. They are also willing to share their ideas with you if you ask. Just have fun and enjoy your new hobby. :-)

If you can afford it, by all means hire it out to be quilted.

If you want the sense of total accomplishment ... then do a whole lot of practice pieces. Practice and patience.

Did you walk on your first try? I doubt it. I bet you kept falling down. But ... you got up and kept on trying and you could walk and talk at the same time after more walking practice.

Your choice. Neither is right or wrong. It is just a choice.

ali

If you can afford it, by all means send it out to be quilted. That part certainly isn't my favorite either but some people really love it. Check with some longarmers in your area; maybe someone on here is in your area and could do it.

A walking foot REALLY helps SID, so if you have one, use it!
Quilting on your machine is an acquired skill. If this is your first quilt, I wouldn't be too hard on yourself. Even SID takes practice. Small projects or sample sandwiches are good choices.

I'm glad to know this! I just finished SIDing my first quilt and struggled with it big time. I haven't been able to buy a walking foot yet but I want to. I'm glad to know there is hope! ;)

I can't afford to send it out to be quilted.SID is hard to do to keep it in the ditch. Just take your time practice, practice, it gets easier as you go along. I like knowing I did it myself, my first ones was not the best but I have gotten better, Just keep going you will get better too.

I can't afford to send it out to be quilted.SID is hard to do to keep it in the ditch. Just take your time practice, practice, it gets easier as you go along. I like knowing I did it myself, my first ones was not the best but I have gotten better, Just keep going you will get better too.

I would send the big ones out, and practice on some small ones till you become comfortable. It is not easy first off which might be why you are frustrated

I think if you try free motion or some designs you will like it better.I hate quilting in the ditch. I have a hard time staying in the lines and like you, it;s kind of a ne brainer. But if you continue hating it, don't do it. It will turn your fun pasttime into a chore.

I loathe SID! As soon as I started playing with FMQ I began to enjoy the quilting part much more. I took a couple of baby panels I had and sandwiched them up to practice on, and found out it was so much less intimidating that I had thought, and much more forgiving than SID.
I still have trouble with eyelashing or wonky tension here and there - but I am learning, and get braver with each project.
My mother used to SID all her quilts, but the last top she made was a king so she had it long armed... she will never quilt her own top again.

Thanks for the narrow zig zag tip for sid, I would probably like that better as some of my stitches wander a bit from the ditch!

I no longer even attempt SID. I just can't do it. I do lots of straight line quilting that echoes certain blocks or block pieces. No ditches here. I just can't do it.

Not here! They charge by the square inch and you bring the batting and backing

I'm not particularly fond of the quilting process. I've done a few small ones myself but prefer to send them out.

binding goes on After quilting--if you bond it first your quilting will cause wrinkles-puckers--the binding is the last step before washing

Try using some of your machine embroidery stitches. They look great for SID, plus you can even use them in your sashing and borders.

An alternative to SID - sew decorative stitches as the 'quilting'. Definitely need a walking foot so that the sandwich feeds evenly.

Like the little zig-zag Amma suggests, this is more forgiving that SID. I often ended up with the decorative stitching along the seamlines, or echoed. My machine only has a few stitches that I like for this, but that's enough to give some variety and interest to the quilting.

I would and DO send mine to the LA, I figure after spending so much on fabric and my time I am not going to ruin it doing home machine quilting myself. I have no desire to do it and if I did I would make a mess.

Mizlee, I'm sorry you're not loving SID, but don't give up. Quilting the top is one of those things that comes with practice. The more you do it, the better it looks. Going slow helps too.

I recently did some FMQ for the first time on a table runner I'm giving to my SIL. Before I did it though, I bought two yards of muslin, pulled out some batting, and made a one yard sandwich. I practiced on that sucker for two weeks, in different colored threads, before I touched the table runner. The practice sandwich looks really crazy but the runner now looks rather nice. In fact, when I look closely, I can see improvement from where I started the runner to where I finished it.

So, don't let the quilting defeat you. Just practice, practice, practice until it becomes second nature. At that point, you'll enjoy your finished product.

this may help my quilt teacher taght this many yrs ago she drew lines on muslin had us hand quilt on lines we did this over and over until out stitches got even after a month or so you will see a difference just takes pratice

I admire anyone who can do SITD! I have practiced doing FMQ for a few years now and it is finally coming around. I had so much trouble FMQ on my Bernina that I bought a treadle and I can go at my own speed on it. Takes a little longer but who cares. Now that I have mastered quilting on the treadle, I can go back to the Bernina with much better results. Anyway, it is not worth stressing over if you can't get the results you want...go to the LAQ, that's why we have these exceptionally talented quilters.

That is not too bad I guess, but worry bout the horror stories lol

I like STD, but for probably a very different reason. I haven't done very many quitls, but so far I find I really like the fabric I use and although I love quilts I've seen quilted all over, I think it changes the look of the fabric and I'm always afraid I won't like it as much with quilting all over. This sounds wierd even to me as I say it, but..... That said, I also think the beauty of the quilting shows more in the back of the quilt esp if it's a one design backing.
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I don't care to SID and it's not fun for me to do. But I love meandering, doing simple loops and vining so try that first before you give up on machine quilting.
There's a lot of satisfaction in doing it yourself, you can complete your projects faster and save money. I think it's fun to do.You also get better the more you do.
However there is nothing wrong with sending them out to be quilted if that's what you prefer. If I ever make a really special quilt that I want more detailed quilting on, I will send it out.

Mizlee, I too hated quilting my first quilt. JUst keeping the weight of my quilt so that I could sew was hard. About 8 quilts later, I figured out that if I placed my ironing board perpendicular to my sewing machine, on the left, the ironing board could support the weight of my quilt, and I could quilt easily. Twenty quilts later, I can say that I find machine quilting very satisfying.

However, all I do is SID or some sort of diagonal, from corner to corner of each block. I have not tried anything else, and I am quite happy. Like Ministutz, I am one who doesn't prefer all of the quilting. I just like less, so I make sure the batting I use requires less.

I also have a foot that is just for stitch in the ditch. It makes hitting that ditch soooo easy. I do have a built in walking foot on my machine, so that may make a difference also.

Hope the ironing board hint is helpful?

I've been quiling for about four years...and must say I felt as you do in the beginning...I'm finaly getting more comfortalbe with free motion....after awhile you cant SITD everything,. GIve yourself time.

I am working with an older phaff machine and enjoy the FMQ I can do... getting better, use to only tie quilts than got brave but the throat of it is just not that big, but .. anyway what kind of frame ??? will it work on regurlar machine? I'd be interested to hear

I am fairly new at quilting and I am just about to start actually quilting on my Brothers Quattro machine. We will see how that goes.

I can't afford to send my quilts out. Or if I did I couldn't afford fabric for as many quilts as I make. I started with SID and it was OK. Realized I didn't have to keep my stitches in the ditch and did some diagonal and fancy stitching with the walking foot. Moved on to FMQ using stencils. Learning to FMQ without stencils.

What I've learned: Every quilt calls for it's own method of quilting. Some need patterned quilting, and some call for SID. Sometimes quilting is to enhance, and sometimes it needs to hide and let the piecing be the showpiece.

Try it all. You'll find what you like. After all, it's not cocaine or alcohol, so this addiction won't kill you. It might make you go broke though.

Oh, I'm with you. I can piece so much better than I can quilt. I am NOT happy with my FMQ, that said, I have found that I like the effect that going from the top corner to the bottom corner (same side of the block) in a gentle arching motion looks nice to me and it's much easier to do. If you do that on all four sides and then the surrounding squares you actually get a nice design!!! I would love to send my quilt tops out to be quilted, but right now money is tight, and I'm stubborn enough to keep trying until I'm happy with my results! Charishmah need never fear me! ;-) I think it would be very difficult to duplicate on a home sewing machine the same results as you get on a long arm...I'm sure some can do it. Just not me :lol:

Check out how pretty straight line quilting (not in the ditch) can be from a favorite of blog of mine: http://www.redpepperquilts.com/2009/10/tutorial.html

This is what I do--just chalk mark straight lines either diagonally or horizontal and vertically. I don't pay attention to where my seam lines are--I just mark the quilt in lines usually 4 inches apart. I follow those lines with a lengthened stitch with a thread like Aurafil--either white, color matching quilt or a variegated thread. This makes for a nice all-over grid--looks nice front and back. I think stitching in the ditch is difficult.