Quilting methods
 

Good evening everyone! I hope everyone is well, especially those in the path of Matthew. Praying for all of you!

I was wondering how many of us on here quilt by hand? There are so many beautiful quilts! A lot of machine quilting, which I don't have issue with. I almost always quilt by machine myself. However, when I first learned to quilt, I learned by hand, and honestly, there are days I just want to hand quilt something. But life is busy, and there are so many projects, that I always machine quilt.

How about the rest of us here? Hand quilt? machine? both?

I do both. I always have a quilt on the frame to hand quilt. If I have even 10 minutes, I sit down and hand quilt. I also have a long arm. I machines quilt as well and sometimes, I FMQ on my sewing machine.

I do both. I'm just finishing up one I machine pieced and hand quilted. On the binding now.

That's what I love to do, too. Such a peaceful way to not feel too lazy when watching TV!

Which I just realized is the time to make a cuppa tea and go do that!

Almost exclusively a hand quilter here. On the odd occasion I do a charity quilt (lack of time) they mostly require machine quilting so I'll do that then. And although I do mainly bed-size quilts - except for the run of baby quilts for the last couple of years, I'm not the prolific quilter that most are that are here. But it works for me.

i've been quilting for over 40 yes, and i do it by hand.
I have machine quilted one twin size, a large baby,and 4 runners.
I don't know how people machine quilt a quilt. I like the machine quilting,
but sometimes it's so dense and they aren't warm, the heavily quilted ones.

I've just started, but I hand quilt. I did one concert blanket/quilt I used the machine for, because it was too thick to do by hand (wanted it thick enough to sit on).

Going forward I will probably use a sewing machine to quilt charity quilts, but for gift quilts, I hope to continue to do most, if not all, by hand.

My hands ache too much to do hand sewing or quilting. So machine it is. Including the binding.

I mostly machine quilt oh HQ16 but I keep a baby quilt or wall hangings on a hoop to hand quilt on some evenings and to take with me when I travel.

If it is a quilt that a lot of work went into, it will be hand quilted, but mostly my quilts are gifts to children so they get simple machine quilting. Always have something on my frame to pass a few minutes here and there.

I hand quilt. I tried on the machine and cannot seem to "get it". I enjoy the sitting with a quilt.

I mostly machine quilt but do make small wall hangings that I hand quilt. I like to do red work and I hand quilt it. I just like to change things up!

I like to do both. At times I'll put both machine and handquilting on the same quilt.( don't tell the quilt police). I like a hand quilting project to lap quilt in the evenings. I am learning to use rulers on my domestic machine. They are pretty fun,and look better than my free hand machine quilting.

I also do both. I like to have a hand-quilting project going at all times. When hand-quilting, I usually go in for smaller projects like table runners and wall hangings.

I use a long arm so almost exclusively machine quilt. If I want to do handwork, I turn to either embroidery or needle turn applique (and binding). But find that handquilting causes me to have lots of pain in my hands and elbow/shoulder.

Unfortunately, i don't have time to hand quilt but I think I would enjoy it as it seems very peaceful. I have a couple of small hand projects like crocheting and embroidery.

I FMQ kids and charity quilts as I feel it makes them stronger. I do no overly quilt them as I want them to be soft. I agree with hand quilting being relaxing and it keeps my hands busy so I'm not tempted to snack while watching tv. Anything special I will hand quilt. But as previously was stated, I also satisfy my hand stitching urge by doing bindings and embroidery.

Total hand quilter here. I always have a quilt on the frame and love it.

The first post expresses my situation, too. I love hand quilting, but it takes so long. An added difficulty is that I am not able to sit very long at one time, so it gets done in very small increments. I think if I could sit and quilt for three hours at a time, or even one hour, I would do more hand quilting. But I end up machine quilting more often because it is faster. I came to quilting late in life, and there are so many quilts I'd like to make. I think simple, modern large piece quilts go very well with all over FMQ designs, whereas I prefer hand quilting on traditional quilts.

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*** I hand quilt on a frame.
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I am a hand quilter. Like some of the patterns used to machine quilt but I just cannot make myself try using the machine to quilt something.

I also like to both hand quilt and machine quilt. Been piecing a 1930s reproduction fabrics with the Grandmother's flower garden since 2009. I like the idea that hand quilting is portable - can take it with me wherever I go and like to work on it while watching TV. I also like machine quilting specifically piecing - sandwiching the quilt seems hard to me to get it all flat and perfect - I'm a work in progress.

I machine piece mine and do hand quilting plus I machine quilt the borders. I love to quilt.

My goal is to quilt at least ONE quilt by hand. So far that has not happened.

No hand quilting here. Have never tried it (but never say never) I think it would be like knitting for me. Rarely finish anything before the shiny new project gets my attention.

I love to hand quilt my quilts. I have a Grace EZ3 floor frame that I use to quilt my larger quilts (lap/bed sizes) and I also have a lap frame that I use to quilt my smaller quilts (baby/mini sizes). Just recently I have quilted a few baby/toddler quilts with my sewing machine. So I'm a novice at machine quilting ......... but I do prefer hand quilting to doing it by machine.

I to machine and hand quilt. I always have a quilt on my quilting frame and whenever I have a free moment I sit a the quilt and take a few stitches. I think that I prefer hand quilting but don't always have time.

I love hand quilting; I like the texture of the finished product. I have expressed the opinion that some quilts IMHO are quilted so densely that I do not like that look anymore.

I hand quilt. Love the relaxation of the process. When I am done I feel like I really accomplished something to keep. I hand quilt baby quilts too.

I would like to learn to hand quilt. Where does one start when looking for a quilt frame/stand/hoop? Do most have the quilt in their lap, or use a frame?.

kellyer21, you can fine quilt frames at JAF or the Grace Company. Grace has floor frames as well as lap frames.

graceframe.com I use a floor frame for my larger quilts and I have a lap frame for smaller (baby, mini) quilts.

I would see if you have a local quilting group where people would be willing to let you try a hoop/frame they have, since it can get expensive figuring out what you like if you don't get lucky on the first try.

I took a risk buying the lapstand I use, since no one I knew used one, but it's been perfect for my needs. I do have experienced quilters ask me how I can use it though, they are used to a big frame or just a hoop.

I've used a large frame and just lap quilted, but I prefer my lapstand hoop to those options.

Hand quilter here. It is something I can do in the evening. Sewing on the machine is like work to me and it hurts my back. I really like a lot of the machine stitching tho and wish I could do that but it is simpler for me to just sit in my chair and relax and sew. I am not in a hurry until I get close to the end and then I want to hurry and finish.

No hand quilting/sewing of any kind for me. Everything is machine pieced, quilted, and bound. I enjoy hearing about the different ways folks enjoy this hobby :)

I've been hand quilting for 30 years, but last year I did start machine quilting a couple of quilts. I love the peacefulness of hand quilting and the texture of the quilt when done.

Handquilter here too!! Love everything about it! Not as precise with my stitches since arthritis in hands affects that but the passion for it is still there!!