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!

While it's not always the case, I'm guessing that the 'young girls' in the fabric shop were found in a chain store, and probably not the best to offer advice. I would seek out your local quilt shop (LQS) and get some direction there. I'm not good with colors either, and I usually start with a pattern. Go to your library and look at some quilting books. Once I have a pattern, I pick out a fabric with colors that I like. Those nice fabric designers have done all the color coordination work for you. On the selvedge there are color dots used in the printing process giving you an array of colors. I then pick the fabrics for the quilt using the colors in the focus fabric. Sometimes I incorporate the focus fabric in the quilt, often in the border or sashing. Sometimes I don't even buy it!

Your first quilt was very nice. Great choice of fabrics for the pattern you made. As paperprincess said, find a frint you like and use the color dots in the selvage to pick other fabrics. One thing to think about as you pic fabrics is scale. Do not pick all busy prints as you will lose the pattern of your quilt blocks. Get some large, medium and small prints. Stand back from the bolts laid on top of each other to see how they play together. What may not look good as a whole may fit in fine as a smaller piece. Remember that you are not using a large piece in your quilt. It will be cut into smaller pieces. Just keep your pattern simple to start till you find your comfort zone. Remember to breath and have fun with it.

Usually for me I have a reason or request for a charity quilt and then I start looking thru lots of free patterns (on Google or fabric manufacturers website) to see what would be fun to make and then start pulling the fabric from my stash. Sometimes I have been given donated fabric and then I search for a pattern that will be fun to make. I also love to look thru quilt magazines which are sold by individual patterns on eBay. I do admit to spending too much time on the computer but since I can't drive anymore, at least the world of quilting can come into my apt. Just make sure to remember this is a hobby and it should be FUN!!

If you want to do a bed quilt - go for it! Frankly, I wouldn't worry too much about stash at this point. Your tastes will change, probably quickly and you could end up having a bunch of 'what was I thinking' fabrics. Save your $$ for the moment.

Think about using large blocks at this point - 12" (finished) blocks. As long as they aren't too intricate, you'll get in the groove of making the blocks and it won't take a bunch of them to get to a bed sized quilt in relatively short order.

You can also check out http://www.quilterscache.com for some inspiration. They have blocks listed by name and by size and rate them all by degree of difficulty. Choose a large block that does not have excessive or overly difficult piecing.

When choosing your fabrics, once I have the block/pattern picked out, I then find my main fabric. Depending on how many other fabrics you need for your block/quilt, like others, I then wander the store picking out those. I tend to gather up what I 'think' is going to work and find a spot in the store to sit on the floor and line up the bolts of fabric in ratio to how those fabrics are going to go together in the block/quilt. In other words, if I have a 3 color block, I'll get my main fabric and the 2 that I think I want to go with it. If the other 2 fabrics are in equal proportions in the block, I'll set those down under the bolt of main fabric with proportionately enough of the other 2 bolts/fabrics showing to see if they really work the way I think they will. Lay them on the floor or prop against a wall and stand back - get some perspective. I might decide I really, really like one of the lesser fabrics and choose a different focus fabric some times.

At any rate, that's how I go about selecting fabrics.

Here's a link to the photo of Littletree's first quilt, for those who may not know how to find it:
http://www.quiltingboard.com/picture...ml#post7037066

You might want to consider a rail fence. That would just be 3 fabrics, and I found that much easier to deal with when I first started....fewer decisions. It is an easy quilt to make and it always looks pretty good.

Here is a lot of information on the rail fence pattern. http://www.generations-quilt-pattern...t-pattern.html

I will see if I can find a few pictures of ones I have made, in case that helps any. The first one is cat-sized, but the other two are larger quilts.

Dina

I usually begin by thinking of who I want to make the quilt for. That gets me started because each pattern and color combination is unique to each person. I'm not at all good at making a quilt to just make one. The most difficult is making one for myself. At the moment I'm having fun practicing blocks and using them to make doll quilts. So small and quick and I get to use scraps!

Wow you did a great job!!! I have mAde three quilt tops maybe four and that's where I stopped. I am intimidated when it comes to quilting them.. keep up the great work.

Littletree, I have a hugh stash, I have found its overwhelming when trying to choose the fabric for a new project. I have been quilting for 15 years or more. Keep your stash small untill you are really into quilting its hard to manage a stash like mine. I have latley been selling some to a fellow quilter who has no time to go to a fabric store which is good for me and her.

Dina that yellow quilt is awesome

Thanks! You probably can't tell, the the one of the yellow fabrics is full of bumble bees. I thought it was cute. I sent this quilt on to tornado victims in Moore, OK, a year or so ago. I hope it made someone smile, at least a little.

Dina

How about a quit kit! There are many out there and already have the coordinating fabric. You don't have to make quilts from kits going forward but one kit will help with the frustration and with seeing how some fabrics coordinate. Try your local library for books suggesting guidelines for choosing fabrics. Purchase a quilting magazine or two and look through them (several times) they always give me great ideas. Happy Quilting!

I think each quilt starts with an idea of some kind. You need a quilt for a particular room, you want to make one for a particular person, you see a fabric that inspires you, you see a pattern that inspires you, you have a particular theme in mind, etc. I would say, decide on your idea -- the purpose of the quilt -- and that will lead you to pattern and/or fabric. You did a great job on your first quilt. Congratulations!

Great advice here. That's typically my mindset as well.

Wash fa bric

There is an adorable quilt shop in Clarksburg, Classic Quilt. Go there everytime I go home and Janet is a great help. Do start with a pattern you like and work around colors you prefer. Good luck

New to quilting
 

I made my first quilt when I was 20. I had been sewing in one way or another since I was 12 or so. My mother had been a Home Economics major in college before she had to drop out for financial reasons. As her only daughter I got what little time and attention she could spare when it came to teaching me sewing etc. I didn't have money to spare for buying fabric for quilts until I had my first job. My first quilt was made from leftover clothing sewing. It was simple squares sewn together with half inch seams. It was certainly nothing to write home about. When I showed my mother the top she gently told me that it should have 1/4 inch seams and be made of "like" weight fabrics. My hand quilting looked like almost small basting. Never the less it was completed and I proudly used it on my bed. It followed me to my first apartment and ended it's life about ten years later when my husband used it to lay on when he worked under the car. In the years since I have made hundreds of quilts, if you count the Linus ones I have made. I didn't learn to piece or applique properly until I joined a quilt guild. In the guild they had a "block of the month". The idea was to try a new block that they provided directions and one piece of fabric for. Each person who made a block entered it and their name was put in the pot. Each month one "lucky" person or two if there where more than 12 blocks submitted had their name drawn and they received twelve blocks. They were expected to make a top of them within a given time period. I have not been active in the guild for at least 5 years so I am only assuming that that practice continues. It was a good way to teach new blocks and designs and assure that there would be quilts from the members to be displayed at their quilt shows. I have a trunk full of finished quilts that include a queen size white on white. While I love fabric the actual quilting is what appeals to me the most. I only do machine quilting on my charity quilts. All of my other quilts are hand quilted and I am an expert at that and very speedy. What I like most about it is that it is portable and I can do it while watching TV or visiting with friends or family. Find whichever part of the quilting process appeals to you the most and do that. If you don't like the actual stitching of the layers together have someone else long arm or hand quilt your top for you. My favorite is what I call "cheaters" cloth. It is fabric that is printed to look like patchwork or even applique. Once I get done hand quilting it most people can't tell that I didn't piece or applique it myself. Find what pleases you the most and get going.

I agree- pick a pattern like turning twenty or Yellow brick Road and some fabrics you like- these are easier patterns - make something smaller first like a crib quilt or lap size- work on yr 1/4 in seam with these

My inspiration comes one of two ways.
Either I see a pattern I really want to try OR there's a piece of fabric that "tells" me what to do.
You'll know it when you see it. Just have fun with the process.

I, too, find myself color challenged. I used to either stick to the same designer fabric line, or find a focal fabric and use the colors in it, to find my coordinating fabrics. Now I am a little more experienced and usually just buy what I like. Like someone else posted, gather the bolts together that you think will "go together", and step away to look at them. Usually if one or two aren't right, they will scream "NO, take me out." LOL Good luck in your endeavors and we will be looking for the end result here.

Welcome Littletree. One of my first quilts was just 2 colors. It was black and white (simple rail fence), but 1 block had a pop of color (that time I used red with white stars). I found I was so overwhelmed when I was at the fabric store (so only looking for 1 or 2 colors made it a LOT easier). You see it doesn't matter if you use tone on tone or a small print, it will blend together. You will learn new quilting skills, but also learn about tones. You'll also learn about moving one fabric to a different spot will also change the look of the block. Then when you are sewing your blocks together, you'll also be able to try out moving your blocks around for different looks too. So for me I would say make it simple pattern, because as you improve you will be able to change the pattern around with different placements colors and prints. So relax and have some fun and don't over think it. Goodluck.

Well, no wonder my stash is so big. I buy fabric that I love and then worry about the pattern. To each his own. Boy, do I have a large stash!!!

I usually choose a pattern first. Then you can go for the correct amounts of fabrics and the necessary darks/lights ratio. Often when a pick up fabric on a whim it goes into my stash...and that, fellow quilter, is how the "stash" grows and grows.

I like your first quilt. What I would tell you to try next is find a fabric you like and chose a couple colors that are in the print to go with it. A Disappearing 9 Patch is an easy pattern and you can use whatever colors you like. It starts with any size block you want ( I like a 5"). Then the whole block finishes at about 12 - 13" square. There is a tutorial for this pattern on this site.

If you look through quilting magazines, most have a method for letting you know whether the quilt would be a 1 thimble, beginner, 2 thimble - beginner with experience, 3 thimble intermediate quilter and 4 thimble advanced; or something similar to that. I have a stash, however, when I go to make a quilt, I start with a focus fabric, one that will be the main fabric, and then pull fabrics that would go with the focus fabric. Fabric has a code in the selvedge that tells you what colors were used in the fabric - take that as your guide and you can't go wrong. It is like being a kid in a candy shop when you go into a fabric store, but most will have fabric arranged by color or type and if the staff is being less than helpful I would speak to the manager for advice.

Go to a quilt shop, not just a fabric store. You will get lots of advice and help.

Spend a little "thinking" time. Decide what you want in the focus fabric, (the main fabric). Choose one with several colors in it and then pick your secondary colors from that piece of fabric. For instance if you pick a floral fabric you will have lots of choices for secondary pieces if you use the colors of the flowers or leaves, etc. If you make something with only a couple of colors you will need to consider using the colors from the fabric or using something in the same color but lighter or darker. You can always use white or black if you cannot get enough color from your focus fabric. Look in your wu ilting books and magazines for quilts you particularly like...is it the colors or the attern that draws your attention? If it is the colors you could use them in your quilt.

If you really aren't sure you could do a mystery quilt and then just add borders to make it bed size. You could even buy a mystery quilt kit and then the fabrics are chosen for you.

There was a thread on here about numerous free block of the month programs too, including one in Quilt Board. I did the 2013 BOM and I'm still putting it together, but it was fun.

AT HOME Decide on a Color EX: Pink and Shades of Pink... Pick out a Pattern : Pinwheels ( 2 light + 2 Dark print fabrics) This is where Coordinating Fabrics lines help..

then Pick out several Fabrics: Small Prints, and large prints, and lay them out at the Store... If you cut out a PinWheel Pattern like a Stencil then you can lay the Open Triangle over the Fabric to see just how the Fabric Looks... and how you like either the Small or large Prints.. this is a way to Start... also use a Color Wheel or Paint Chip color Cards to help you decide on Colors... that go good together... Hope this helps..:)