Hi haven't been here for a while. Out of town. Now I'm back and doing the quilts for my twin grandsons due in 2 WEEKS! I bought 2 kits, they are off kilter, I am also obviously a lousy quilter because I can't do this. It takes fussy cuts, etc., fortunately I am going to tie it because this puppy wouldn't lie flat if you ran over it with a steam roller. Got one top done and trying to fussy cut the second one. The fabric frayed and I have barely enuf to cut what I need. I am so stressed. I even washed the second one differently - gentle and air dried it. Still was frayed. Thanks for listening. I hate the kits but they were the only ones I found that were Baby Signs. Can you tell I'm ornery now? Sorry.

So sorry. I must have posted this twice.

The problem is you washed it. Kits are generally cut so there's very little extra. If you wash it and shrink it sometimes it shrinks past the little extra. I've gotten kits that there was barely enough to square up to cut the pieces from! No way would there have been enough if it was washed.

So sorry1 I have never bought a kit and don't think I want to!! Take a deep breath.
Can you find something else to add to it that will match.?

Learned my lesson here. 1 - dont wait to the last minute, 2 - don't buy kits. 3 - don't wash them I guess.

Just made it smaller. My deep breaths are going to put me to sleep. Maybe that's where I should go. Thanks! Pam

Thanks. Never will do it again.

I have kits in my future pile.. which by the way is growing by leaps and bounds, but now I know not to wash them ! Keep going it will be worth it and we are always here to listen...
Sharon

Thank you. I am settling down now, I think.

So sorry that you had trouble with your quilt kits -- sit down, put your feet up, have a drink (you choice) and think how wonderful it will be to have 2 new grandbabies to spoil rotten in a couple of weeks.... :D

I haven't had any bad luck with quilt kits so far. I usually end up with extra fabric. I usually buy quilt kits from quilt shops I trust, that make up their kits at the store. The sample quilt is always washed so the store knows if the fabric will bleed. I have bought several kits from well known online shops and have been very pleased. Eleanor Burns has excellent quilt kits, and so does Fons and Porter. If I had to fussy cut quilt pieces I would never have enough fabric, I can't fussy cut worth a darn.

Thank you! Evidently I can't either!

I am so sorry you have had such a rotten experience with your kits. It's ridiculous of a kit maker to not provide enough so that the resulting kit can be washed, when it is clearly meant for a baby. I have only bought one kit, and haven't finished it yet. It is for a queen sized bed quilt, and I am half way through, and so far, all the trimmings will probably be enough to make a pillow shame when I am done. If it carries on in the same vein, then I will have two pillow shams. So, in short, not all kits are as shoddy as these you have had the misfortune to buy. I would write back to the company and (politely) let them know how disappointed you are, and that frankly, you don't think that you will ever be able to recommend them to any of your friends. You never know, you might get a refund!

I am going to. But I also don't know if I'm a bad quilter. I'm new at this. But raveling fabric makes me nuts, obviously. Thanks for your input. Pam

Hang in there! A smaller quilt will be a cuter quilt! You may flex some brain muscles figuring out the math, but the result will be an adorable quilt. You can do it!

Thank you Chele - I'm doing that. These will be cuddly, not perfect. I am a wreck about my daughter and her twins. I have to settle down. Pam

I have never bought a kit other than for a couple of wall hangings, and then I changed the color on one of them as I didn't like the fabric they supplied.

Good luck getting it all worked out, take your time, they won't mind if it is a little late in getting there. celebrate the arrival.

raveling fabric has absolutely nothing to do with your skill as a quilter

miserable fabric is miserable fabric and the pits to work with

I hate kits...
Most I have found don't have the exact fabrics that drew you to buy the quilt in the first place.
I have never washed the pieces in a quilt...I have washed them after and they turned out ok.
I find it easier, and just as much money to find a pattern, pick my own fabrics and go from there!!!
Plus if I get a bit extra fabric then I have a 'fudge" factor!
Kirsten

Sorry you are having problems with the kits! But I want to know do you know what you are having yet? Boys girls are they identical or fraternal?
We have twin grandsons and it is an experience!! I used 2 of those long low plastic bins that slide under your bed for cots for them til they outgrew them. Lined them with blankets and set them on the dining room table out of any drafts. Worked great!
Hope everything goes well! Hope you post pictures of the babies!!

How frustrating for you. I have a couple of quilt kits I have bought and haven't made yet. Just spend time thinking about those great new grand babies you have coming. That should bring a smile to your face.

Henry, in my avatar, who is now 18 months, will have 2 brothers in 2 weeks! The bin idea is great! Part of my nervousness is I live in Illinois and my daughter lives in Seattle. I will be going there 8/2 for the C-section scheduled for 8/4. Her sis will be coming down from Alaska, too. Her brother already lives there. I am a wreck!!

Pam, have you tried starching the fabric for the fussy cuts? I'm working on a panel piece right now, and the panel isn't printed with the grain line of the fabric (it happens) - that can make the pieces a bugger to work with because they can be off grain enough to stretch pretty easily. Stretched fussy cuts will definitely lead to trouble.

A quilty friend of mine told me to try Mary Ellen's Best Press (because those cans of spray starch or sizing like to spit at me!) and I just love the stuff. Any of those three will work, since the baby quilts will be washed before being given to the babies. I starch the pieces twice on both sides; that seems to help a lot. If it gets a bit loose after handling it, starch that puppy again! :lol:

The other thing I'd suggest is to resist the temptation to press with steam - if a piece is cut off grain, stream tends to increase the distortion not tame it. Just a bit of distortion in each piece sure adds up when you put them together.

You're not a lousy quilter, don't even think that. These are things that we usually learn through terrible experience or by word of mouth from someone else - who has had a terrible experience :wink: Off-grain printing is just something we run into, that's all.

I made a quilt for my grandson once and it would not lay flat either. His response was "gramma, it does'nt matter as long as it keeps me warm" I love that boy.
Remember you are doing it with much love and it really doesnt matter if its a little off. They will love them. Relax and enjoy.

I do remember you talking about this now that you mention Henry. Do they have names picked out? My son and his wife had one name picked out and when they learned they had twins they had to scramble to pick out another name.

Yes they do! Wesley, which is a family name on Gabby's dad's side, and Trey, meaning 3. If they have middle names picked out, they aren't telling us. Steven, Gabby's husband has no middle name. He said English aren't as into middle names. Henry's middle name is Wolf.

Wesley is a family name in my husband's family too. My grandfather didn't have a middle name either. Trey is a cute name. They didn't go in for names that sound alike I see. Ours are Daymon and Devon. When they were first learning to talk they called each other Dayvon. Didn't have seperate identities yet in their minds.

How cute that they called each other Dayvon! There have been no twins in any of our families until now, and I have heard they have some special abilities between each other. Gabby wasn't even going to dress them alike but now she's changing her mind, at least while they are little. She is going to keep them in the same bassinet by the bed for a while. Poor Steven is relegated to a twin bed in Henry's room so he can get some sleep! Steven also said English (his parents are from there and now live in Vancouver) name children after parents a lot. His father Gerry was named for his father and his mother, Mary, was named for her mother. I told him that has to make family reunions pretty interesting!

Twins run every 3rd generation in my family. My aunt and uncle have twins and Jarren(one of the twins) and his wife had twin boys 5 mos before our twins were born. What is more interesting is both sets are fraternal but both sets strongly resemble the other set. They would be third cousins I believe.
Daymon and Devon are as differant as chalk and cheese. They were inseperable as infants. I took one outside and sat on the swing and the other one did not see us go outside as he was in another room but my DH said he bawled and bawled until I brought his brother back in the house. I forgot and stepped outside another time with the one that cried and the other one did the same thing even tho he didn't see me go outside.
Now they are 5 and they fight alot!! But they still think of themselves as one most times. Devon especially will always say we instead of I.
My DH named their dad when he was born after himself. So we have always called our son Little Glen. Well he is 6"3" and when Devon was 3 he heard me call him Little Glen and 3 yr old short! Devon looked up to his dad's face and said he doesn't look little to me!!! Yes it can be ve ry difficult having someone named after his dad. We have had problems with banking accounts and bills going to the wrong one and When people would call I would always ask which one do you want and people would be dumbfounded and not know what to say.

MP, I am so sorry about the quilts. I think it is probably because you prewashed the fabrics. I know that most people on the board do, but I was taught not to, and have never had any problems, and I always wash the finished quilt. I think with a kit, the best thing to do would be not to prewash, but wash the finished product. I am sooo sorry, I know how frustrated you must be. Here's a hug!

Just want to say Thanks! My baby quilts will turn out okay and be a good lesson, and something to cuddle. Who could ask for more? I feel so much better now and I have a healthy daughter and 2 cuties on the way! Thank you that I have this board to rant to. No one else could understand. Pam

I have heard more than one horror story with kits...thus why I refuse to buy them. It doesn't help you at this point, but is yet another reminder for me. :shock:

I probably wouldn't wash fabric if you bought it in a kit. Just finish the quilt and then wash it.

But just relax. The babies won't know the difference if you miss your own established deadline!

"But just relax. The babies won't know the difference if you miss your own established deadline!"

....This is true. The quilts don't have to be there to welcome the sweeties. A month or two down the line they would be just as appreciated! Enjoy them. You have a lucky family!

Dina

So sorry about your experience, I certainly can relate to your feelings of frustration! (You are probably also anxious about the upcoming birth of the twin grandbabies, and after they are here and everyone is OK you will feel better.) My first grand baby is due any day now too, and I know I will feel better after the delivery is over and I know everyone is OK! Loved your 'steam roller' comment--LOL!! Hang in there....