I made a quilt a long time ago and got it half done. I hated it so much I almost put it in the trash. I put it in the closet instead. About 2 or 3 years later I found it and decided to give it a try again. It was a new quilt as you go method and I was fairly new at quilting. Well, I guess I had more skills by this time because it was really easy to finish and not only that..it turned out to be a very nice quilt for my grandson. Moral of the story....don't give up!!!

Please tell me the type/size needle you use to tie with yarn. I can't find a needle that the yarn will go through and if it goes through the eye it will not pull through the whole quilt. My mother tied many and they were soft. Thank you

You ladies are waaaaaay too much! You really tickled my funny bone this morning! LOL

have you considered hand quilting it ?

GAI HAND QUILTING!!! HAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHA
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I think she would rather re-marry her ex on this one too.

what about using 1/8 " silky ribbon to tie it with instead of yarn, I have done that before on a special baby quilt.
sha'z

Were you trying to do it by hand or on the machine? One thing about hand quilting and baby quilts is that you really don't have to concentrate on how big your stitches are. Some of the prettiest quilts I've ever seen has stitches up to 1/4 inch long. Just get a hoop (even a large embrodiery hoop will work for a baby quilt and put it in and just go to stitching. You can cross hatch which is just sewing up and down and across making squares or you can echo about 1/2 inch from your seams. By all means don't chunk it. There are too many things you can do to it.

Tack it instead of quilting. That's what I do.

Oh yeah! This looks so cute and cuddly. Don't give up just yet :thumbup:

Just curious....did you try a stencil? They are very easy to use and give a nice guide to follow.

I hated the quilting part of it also. I don't like tied quilts or tying a quilt, so it has to be sewed. I didn't like sewing and running into a pin that needed removing. I switched to basting spray and that eliminated that problem. I tried SITD and couldn't sew a straight line so thought FMQ was the answer. What is said about that? Practice, practice, practice. Many practice sandwiches later I am still practicing. After every practice session I go back to my walking foot. I like my walking foot and straight line quilting with soft curves here and there. To me it is fast and easy and emulates the quilting done years ago; but I'm still practicing FMQ. There is a book out there which gives many ideas for walking foot quilting; but I can't remember the name. I saw it once in a store but didn't buy it and now I wish I had. Anyway, quilting is about finding the method that works for you even if it means using the LAQ's.

Hi! I'm new here and feel your pain! Quilting is not my favorite part of making a quilt either, but I sure don't hate it like you do. Sometimes it IS better to get a project out of your life and move on. However, I usually wrack my brain and try to find a way to make things work before resorting to that. You mention that it is a very girly feminine quilt. Could you tie it with narrow ribbon (pink or whatever goes best with your fabric...even several colors?) like you would tie yarn and then make a bow on top of each knot? Of course, you'd have to use a large-eyed needle to get the ribbon through the layers. The 1/4" ribbon is very economical when purchased by the roll. Would that be tolerable for you to do and still not hate it? I think it would look sweet! Seems a shame to waste all your previous efforts!

Just tie it or run lines over it with a walking foot (set stitch lenght to 3) along the ditch. I think now with all the long arms out there we expect way too much from our quilting. It is ok to have just some basic finnished lines especially for a baby quilt.

How about a straight or diagonal grid? Some oh my favorite quilts are done that way.

SID, diagional, design using lines to get you started. I feel sad at seeing you give up so soon but if you are determined to avoid quilting at all costs then there is nothing wrong with using a professional but if you plan on quilting for a long time that would become expensive.

You have nothing to loose in trying and learning...it just takes patience and practice. None of us ever started out knowing what we were doing.... we just kept at it till we did learn.

I agree with tying it but I would use embroidery floss or heavy thhread instead of yarn since it is for a baby. The yarn sometimes gets fuzzies on it.

Life is too short to spend time on something you really do not want to do, be thankful you found that out and move on. I gave quilting a try with no help and just scraps imagining the beautiful and economical crazy quilt I could make. That was in 1961 and I decided it was not for me. I did not even consider it again till last year when I decided that I would give it another try. I even put away my sewing machines for over 25 years as other things got in the way. Now I am back to what I have always enjoyed (since I started at 11) sewing, but today it is teaching others to sew and making limited quilts for myself and others. PS I don't own a long arm so my quilts are made on a home machine with a walking foot using the QAYG method. :)

I second all of that and the "Desarona"...lol

Sometimes projects need to "percolate" or age for a bit--I've learned not to rush a project if it's not working and usually get excited about it later to finish. For a baby quilt-stitch in the ditch is fine.

I love to piece a quilt. I dread putting the backing, batting and quilt top together. Only cause I don't have anywhere big enough to do it. I just can't get down on the floor anymore. I ruined my knees and back riding horses all my life but it was fun..lol Anyway....I have 3 quilts ready to be sandwiched. Am nervous contemplating the quilting too but the one quilt am going to make it a learning process and try to machine quilt it. The second one am going to hand quilt and the largest quilt am sending it off to be done. Hopefully one day the quilting part of this will be as enjoyable for me. Have you tried hand quilting? I never thought i would like it but tried it this past summer because my sewing group was making a quilt to raffle off and I felt I needed to do my part. Some of the ladies taught me and I found I really enjoy hand quilting! If I want a quilt done quickly I send it to my LAQ. You put alot of time into the baby quilt so let someone finish it for you and give it to the baby. You will be glad you did and then start another quilt...lol :)

You could do charm quilting (I think that is what it is called) where you use a shape and put it here and there to quilt or tac the sandwich together. Maybe the shape of a rattle or just circles or stars like you drew when you were a kid. The continuous five point star?

You remind me of my dear MIL, only she knitted. Once she finished the sections for a project, she didn't like sewing them together. On several occations I would sew them together to take the pain away for her.

You are so right! I pieced a quilt last year and got to the last border and was undecided on how I wanted to finish it. So I put it away. I pulled it back out a couple months ago and had a much better idea of how I wanted to finish it. Also added to embroidered butterlies to one plain border that was not originally planned on. I am real happy with how it has turned out. So you are right...it is good to percolate for a spell and form a new perspective on it. :thumbup:

I'm not very good at the quilting part either. I can stitch in the ditch and make uneven loops and that's about it...everything else goes out to be quilted. I also have lots of tops just sitting on a shelf waiting to be quilted.

AWH.. Sit down take a breath. Im sure the top is very nice. You put all the work into it. How about just sewing in the ditch ? That was pretty funny (would marry my ex again).

Oh you so much like me it's scarey. I stitch ditch and use my embroidery machine to make some quilt outlines. I am doing a baby quilt right now and I am going to use embroidery quilt outlines in the border and stitch in the ditch on the rest of it. But don't give up. You are much more critical than the recipient will be.

Have you ever tried to pick a pattern out and use the pounce pad? Makes it a lot easier to follow a line when quilting then just to try and wing it when you are just getting started or hate to do it. I use mine and love it. Spray a little hairspray on the quilt before you use the pounce pad and it will hold the lines until you wash them out. Good Luck and don't give up!

why don't you tie it...like the old days....use some colorful floss...

Just tie it. I use all 6 strands on a couple of mine and it came out really nice. Make sure you cut the tie ends short as you don't want a baby of toddler to get their fingers caught

Well, let's see it!!!!!

Maybe you can find a quilting buddy and exchange services.

A friend had some old quilts she did the finishing on and had someone else do the quilting in exchange for _____.

ali

send it to Charisma........she does a great job......very prompt in getting it back too.....she is on this site. Very reasonable

Small quilts are much easier to quilt than large quilts. Try machine stitching a large stipple, or stitch in the ditch. Just get it done. YOU CAN do it.

I just finished a baby quilt and I tied it. It's so cute. I am not bragging. It is just cute! I got a variegated yarn and when you wash the quilt for the first time, the yarn frays and poofs right up. That's what makes it cute. I ran it through with double yarn and it worked just fine.

It'll turn out. Just don't give up! Edie

You guys are all missing the point, which is I know I can, I've done it before but I DON'T WANT TO!!! :lol: :lol: :lol: And sorry, folks, but I really don't like tied quilts personally. :oops:

Lawds, I hear ya - I HATE to applique! I just won't do it anymore. I have a baby quilt in the works myself, and a friend of mine has been drafted to applique the stupid bears on it. I'm getting hot flashes just thinking about it.

Don't quilt anymore. Life is too short.

mAYBE YOU COULD PICK A FEW SQUARES AND OUTLINE THEM. i AM MAKING A LAP QUILT,THE HOUR GLASS PATTERN, AND AM OUTLINING THE HOUR GLASS PART.

How about instead of tying it you just made tacks (usually under your buttonhole menu). You could even do them in a pattern but spaced like if you were tying it.

I had a similar experience with a baby quilt. I took out my stitches, and found some nice pearlized cotton threat, and tied cute little tufts. The new parents were pleased, and I didn't tell them that I had to resort to a different plan. The baby didn't care either.

Have tried to quilt can maybe almost do a quilt in the ditch but really don't like it. So rather than the frustration I take my quilts to a quilter. They just know what to do when they look at the quilt - so artistic and they know to make your quilt turn into an even more beautiful quilt.