New to quilting and need advice
 

Hi! I am new to quilting and from WV. I have completed one quilt which I posted today. WV quilt. I would like to get started on another quilt but get so overwhelmed with all the choices of fabrics and colors, choices of patterns and just everything in general.

So hard to begin!Fell like a kid in a candy shop- what to choose what to choose:D.

I have asked for help at fabric store and the young girls there just don't see to have any advice. Would greatly appreciate your expertise.

Thank you and have a great day!

For me, I need to find a pattern I like and then select fabric. Do you want to do a lap quilt? A bed-sized quilt? Do you generally like random patterns (or placement of objects) or are you a more 'organized' type person?

Perhaps looking through the photo section here might give you some hints or clues. Or google quilt images. Jot down or remember what type patterns/images immediately strike you as cool/neat/interesting. It could be a repeating pattern or 'sampler' type. Do you like the consistency of just a few fabrics or are you intrigued by 'scrappy'? Narrowing down some of those questions might help with deciding on your next project.

Find a pattern first you would like to make, keep it fairly simple and think about the colors and patterns you like of fabrics. The gallery of pictures of different patterns on the quilting board here is a great source.

Great minds think alike, njquilter, we were on the same track.

I know the feeling. I spent 1 1/2 hours in the store yesterday trying to put fabrics together for 2 lap quilts. However, sometimes I think I just over think it. Ha. I start with trying to find a print I really like as my main fabric to be used on one side. Then I look for colors I want to pull from that print to use on the other side and go down the rows of fabric looking for different prints (in various sizes) and solids that work together and are pleasing to my eye. Sounds simple but usually isn't. I often find 2 fabrics for the strip side I like but can't find a 3rd one ... put everything back on the shelf and start over looking for a new inspiration fabric. Crazy, right?

I'm new to quilting as well and right now am making simple strip quilts (in a lap quilt size) that I donate to a local nursing home. Let's me develop my quilting skills and "give back" at the same time. I spend a lot of time looking at quilts on Pinterest, this board, and other sites to get inspiration, especially how colors are used. I suggest you keep quilt patterns simple. There are so many gorgeous quilts out there but I know "I" am not experienced enough to tackle a lot of them. Keeping the patterns simple, researching color combinations that I like, and making smaller quilts allows me to finish a lap quilt quicker and builds my confidence to keep going.

Gook luck!

For some reason, I would rather make bed sized quilt. Mostly like cotton fabrics. I have looked at several pattern but don't want to get over my head and never finish. For me I am just starting a stash of fabrics. There was a quilt pattern I was interested in but cannot find the pattern. They raffled off quilt and granddaughter school. Still looking for it.

Thank you for advice.

I have ordered some strip bundles (maybe called jelly rolls) of moda material and there was enough variety for my liking yet everything coordinated. Last time I found I was spending too much time at the fabric stores and not enough time being decisive, I went to a black and white quilt with a touch of color here and there.

One quiliter I know pics three colors and builds a collection, as she finds them, of fabrics that only have those colors in them, whether it be just one of the colors, one with white, two of the colors or all three. She does not worry about whether geometric, floral, batik, or whatever; just sticks to those three colors and white. She also applies a 20% or 1 in 5 pieces can be solid colors or white, but no more than that.

A Stack and Whack Kaleidoscope with just one fabric would be cool. Cut each Kaleidoscope at a different area on fabric to get all different, yet coordinating squares. So, just one main fabric. Can use one solid color for all outside edges of squares or solids of all the colors in the printed fabric.

I tend to overplan, over coordinate, and when I do I usually am not as happy with the results as I am with the projects that "just happen" from scraps. I was once working on a scrappy quilt but took so much time matching the colors in each block. Then my son comes along and wants to try the treadle machine. His approach to matching colors was very different than mine. His was, "I have no idea of matching colors so I think this looks good" and I bit my tongue as it definately did NOT go together at all. But his finished square was artistically beautiful and better than all my organized one! Go figure.

(I checked out your first quilt......Great Job!)

Littletree, I thought you said you were "new" to quilting. I just checked out the pic you posted ... Great Job!!! I'm still practicing the "quilting" part ... basically staying with straight line quilting for now or SITD. If you are a beginner, you are inspiring me to take a leap of faith and move on. Thanks for sharing.

Not sure what part of WV you are in but if you have some quilt shops close check them out. I know that Buchannon, Elkins and Morgantown have some great ones. Buchannon is a small shop but they still have lots of quilts hanging on the walls and stair rails. Elkins is a clustered store but still has lots of things in it. Sometimes we have to get inspirations from viewing other people's work or online sites. I like the quilt. A few yrs ago when the shops were doing the WV blocks, which are white with historical landmarks on them I bought a few sets and just need to go back home to get some more blue and gold fabric to go with it. I don't know what it is but they don't sell WV fabric down here, even NFL fleece isn't sold. I was told that all of a sudden a few yrs ago at Hancock's they had to take it all out. We have one store that for the first time has a little cotton WV fabric in it. There are also so many websites with quilts that might inspire you, like quiltmaker.com. Good luck and you are doing great

I felt the same way when I first started quilting. I really could not visualize how fabrics would 'play together' in a quilt. So at first, I found quilt patterns I liked and looked at lots of pictures of finished quilts in that pattern, picked the one I liked best and found the closest fabrics to that and made it that way. After a few "copies", I got more comfortable picking some different fabrics than the ones I saw in the picture. Some I ended up liking, others I didnt, but I learned something from each one along the way. You don't have to create an "original" at first!