I use Fons and Porter and watch them on TV. Have learned a lot from them.

Quilter's World

Quilter's Home! Dopey but fun.

Dana

i love the quilters mag. i have been buying kits latley because the fabric are all coordinated, i find it save money and time to get it all in a kit. the quilters mag. has kits for almost every quilt in a issue. i have stopped getting them in the mail too. lots of quilt patterns i don't like and they are getting pricey too. the ads i love..lets you know what the different companies are coming out with. good luck, have fun.. puglover1

Fons and Porters are good beginner books and magazines. I like "The Quilter" magazine generally.

I don't buy magazines anymore. May I suggest a little book that will resolve most of the problems you will face. THE QUILTING ANSWER BOOK by Barbara Weiland Talbert . It is published by Storey Publishing. It fits into your purse, 5x7 inches 431 pages. There is no patterns in it, but a lot of solutions.

Sorry, I guess I'm too old (70) and impatient to deal with the magazines. I tried a Fons and Porter subscription and was completely turned off by the amount of advertisements - they took over the magazine. Seems the quilts and articles were an afterthought. I've received 3 so far and the last two lay unread on a shelf. I much rather spend my money on the soft cover quilting books, Quilts, Quilts, Quilts; Eleanor Burns, etc. I also have 13 VCR tapes of Simply Quilts (what will I do when the VCR machine dies on my???)
The Internet is loaded with free sites that offer everything you can get in a magazine - Of course my favorite source of inspiration is this site = love you ladies. Janet

I agree!!! Love this magazine. It also has real good tips. I've been getting it for several years. Let your sub. run out. You get better deals on sub. sometimes as a new subscriber. :)

For my first quilt I took a two times 3 hrs (6 total) class. I learned how to cut out a lot of material at once and how to keep sewing w/o putting in pins. It was worth it.

After that (and after seeing the Gee's Bend exhibit at a major San Francisco museum.. I've heard that minor museums had much less impressive shows) I have thrown out a lot of rules.

Do what you want. When you get into a position in which you can't figure out what to do next, be creative or surf the internet. I surf a lot and have a few hundred ideas saved in about 30 categories. Quilt. Don't fret. Quilt for someone you love (love can never be "wrong"), they'll cherish it and you'll have become a better quilter just by doing.

When I make a quilt for someone-I-don't-know-who (like for a grandchild to raffle off) I find myself doing panel quilts... I just frame the panel and back it as beautifully as I can because I need the vision of the person. A big drawback for me, but I'm happy with my system.

Finally... FORGET THE 1/4" ABSOLUTE SEAM ALLOWANCE. Just make sure it's at least close to 1/4" so it won't pull out; a little extra doesn't matter unless you are doing really small detailed work. I have arthritis and can't even hold little pieces! I make squares and frame them with uneven edges that may vary an inch from side to side, and block them the size I need when done. It gives a quilt much more movement and liveliness!

Just DO! and enjoy!

Honestly, I am letting ALL of my subscriptions run out. I don't want to run up against copyright problems, and I only found a few patterns that I was interested in making anyway, out of 9 mags!. I can get better info here, better and faster answers to MY questions, and more inspiration and warmth from all of you. (Do I need to say, much easier on my limited budget also?)

I like the ones from Better Homes and Gardens. I've bought a few of those. But google "free quilt patterns." There is so much free out there, and I've printed off so many patterns that I want to do!

I always enjoy the Better Homes and Gardens Quilt issue. I've made several from those issues over the years.
I usually pick up "The Quilter Magazine" and maybe a Fons and Porter if there is an issue that I can flip through first to see the quilts. (The mag is sealed in a bag - ugh! )
I have one subscription to "Quilt" magazine, and the free online magazine.
Otherwise, if a magazine catches my eye and has some pleasing quilts in it, I'll buy it.
Funny thing. I'll think twice about paying $5 for any other magazine, but don't even blink about $10 - $15 for a quilting magazine! It's all about priorities!

My sister is a novice quilter, so I bought her a subscription to Quick quilts and renewed mine. It has helped her with the lingo and new techniques. Great way to learn as you go.

I love the quilting magazines! My favorites are McCall's Quilting and the BH&G American Patchwork. I love thumbing thru them, getting inspiration from the quilts. I think they are a great value. Let's say you pay $24 for a year, 6 magazines, that's $4 ea, and in each magazine you get 15? patterns. Most single patterns that you buy are about $8 each.

If you are trying to decide about magazines, my suggestion to new quilters is to go to your nearest bookstore, buy a cup of coffee and settle in with a stack of their quilting magazines. Out of all the ones they carry, probably one or two will be perfect for you. Unfortunately I am addicted to quilting magazines, but I find that each year there I fewer mags that I read because they either have too many ads or the quilts start to look too familiar. But I still think the magazines are great for inspiration and to see what's new.

All I can get from our library book sale that is once a year . I get there early and head towards them-- for 10 cents each. I then spend hours looking through them.

It's one of my favorite, too. I also love Eleanor Burns' quilting books.

My quilting skills are self taught from using the Internet. I did buy some paper back quilting books and my favorite magazine is Quilter's World. I like to do quilted tote bags too, but all the ones I have made, and I have made several were all free project/instructions from off the Internet. I do machine embroidery so many of the design companies offer free instructions with their designs. I have a couple of my QW magazines open to pages where a tote bag is there, waiting to be made and will get to it one of these days.

I see so many are letting their subscriptions run out. I too am doing it. I wonder if some of the magazines will consolidate, so there won't be so much overlapping from one to another. I enjoy the few that include actual design suggestions for the quilting to finish off a quilt as i DABBLE AT LONG ARM QUILTING WITH MY hq16.

wELL, i WAS TRYING TO PUT THAT PICTURE IN MY TILE SQUARE. Oh well. I'll figure it out soon.

I have had problems with some of the old McCalls magazines. I like American Patchwork and Quilting magazines. Quiltmaker and Fons an Porter are also good ones. I agree that you need a good start out book. Eleanor Burns, Fons an Porter, Quilters Complete Guide,The Quilters Ultimate Visual Guide and Singer, all have good books for starting quilters. There are so many good ones, so I would say to research beginning quilting books on the web. There . it is to your preference. Happy Quilting!

Boy if i could i would get them all

After having many different quilting magazines, I have settled on McCalls Quilting as my favorite and still get that one. Occasionally I will pick up a Quick Quilts or a baby quilt magazine. With grand babies 20 and 21 due the end of the year, I need inspiration!

I agree with relaxing, dreaming, and just studying the colors that are used in the various magazines. I always see something that excites me. I like the Quilt Sampler magazine as I get to visit the various quilt shops across country. Sometimes I visit the links to their shops and like browsing there too. No, that definitely does not help me be a "quilter completer, but still fun.

None yet, although i did buy one that came with a free DVD Marianne and Mary Fons made it. VERY good I thought. I forget the name of the magazine.

I get some craft magazines and I agree the advertsing has taken over the entire magazine! When my subscriptions run out, I am internet bound completely!

i love to look at quilt mags. for me it is like petting fabric. i get ideas and patterns, new techniques. even like the advertising, however, there is too much of it. the ads allow me to check out the newest fabric lines and tools so that when i go to the lqs i already know what i am looking for.

our local guild has a table of free items every meeting and there are always mags there. also, garage sales and thrift shops. quilt shows often have country store where you can get really good deals on bundles of mags, or really cheap used books. i have never tried the library for quilt books, will have to dust off my library card. tee-hee

having said all that, i use the internet most of all.

I like Quiltmaker and The Quilter magazines.

I have purchased only one magazine because it had software in it so I could have the patterns on my computer. I've gotten to where I can look at a photo and pretty much figure out how it's made, except for art quilts, which I would never attempt to copy anyway.

I would borrow from the library if I ever found one with a pattern I couldn't live without - and then I'd take it home and scan what I need into an electronic file. So much of it is available in non-paper form and I sure don't have time to browse like I used to.

I wouldn't subscribe.

When the last of the mags run out-I will not renew any of them. Ads galore and repeats of pattern, only different colors and blocks placed in differently. You can get so much on the internet and here free, so why pay for ads and repeats.

I think nowdays, the magazines are only designed to sell the newest fabrics. It's the same old patterns with new and different colors. I can do that without paying for a magazine!
Also, both of my quilt guilds have a guild library where I can check out books to teach me techniques I might need.

Funny I should see this tonight. As some of you know I'm a beginner at this quilting thing and I've been tempted to give up because I'm not so good with math.
I don't subscribe to any quilt magazines yet, but probably will in the future.
Anywhoooooooooo

I bought a magazine today that has a DVD with it. I'm so glad I did!
It's Fons & Porter's easy quilts, Learn to quilt. Watching the video gave me new hope. :) While I still don't totally understand the "shrinking" of a piece, I think its becoming a bit clearer. I will watch the DVD more than once before I try the 9P that they demonstrate but I think I may have renewed my hope of becoming a quilter.

My suggestion to all newbies is BUY this magazine!!

I'm glad you didn't give up! Keep at it and you will get the fever!

believe it or not, I subscribe to Quiltmaker, F & P, American Patchwork & Quilting, Quilter's Home, Quilters World, The Quilter Magazine, McCalls Quilting and receive F&P Easy Quilts thru Quilters Club of America! I used to get Quilters Newsletter, but didn't like most of their patterns, so let it expire after about 5 years. I am certifiable-but most I subscribed to while living overseas where it was my only connection to anything (or anybody) quilting! I just keep renewing. I do, however, keep every issue and periodically I thumb thru them again and always discover something new. I am currently making projects out of all the previous Dec issues over the years for Xmas.
Now, when I was just starting out, I first subscribed to Quiltmaker (in 2000) and that magazine taught me to quilt. I found the patterns easy to understand, I loved that many of their patterns show an alternative color scheme, and they also give quilting motifs for many of their quilts so it took away alot of the stress of how to quilt it. I still subscribe to it.