seems as late i have been cutting,cutting,cutting, but nothing to show for it!
when you have chosen a pattern for your project, do you spend more time on--fabric choices, cutting, layout, actual sewing, cleaning up, or procrastination...? OR WHAT?

Second guessing.

Me too!!!

lollollol.,...all of the above!!! esp w/large project. i preview fabs after i have drafted pattern. take pics...then preview how they look from that perspective. i use eq6 + drafting pad...at same time. even for how i want to do the backing...eq6 esp for that. then i make sample block...hmmm...no like? try another color approach...oh yeah! like that...or hmmm....both good... but essentially i try to have everything in order before i start cutting out all pieces...from fab selection/combination, block[s] sample, design layout and then start cutting when i have all organized...i have an online quilt chat freind in europe that say that i tend to over-organize [esp my bookmark files lollollol] but i think that it makes the whole process sooooo much more enjoyable...and since i quilt for fun [and sometimes profit] that is the bottom line for me - FUN :)). and of course procrastination at every step...ya just gotta step back and think about it - sames time and money in long run. and i clean as i work...helps keep organized at each step of the process.

I get bored very quickly. I don't usually cut out everything for a quilt and then sew all pieces in a certain set then go to the next step. I cut a while, sew a while and finish a block or two and then repeat. I know it would go faster to finish all of step 1 then step 2, etc. I'm not after speed. I just want to see results and enjoy the process.

it makes you crazy but when you finally get to the sewing part it goes so fast. =)

roguequilter you sound like such a perfectionist! and i'm sure your work shows it! you GO girl!

All of the above :roll: :D:D:D

me too!

"me too!

erstan947 wrote:
I get bored very quickly. I don't usually cut out everything for a quilt and then sew all pieces in a certain set then go to the next step. I cut a while, sew a while and finish a block or two and then repeat. I know it would go faster to finish all of step 1 then step 2, etc. I'm not after speed. I just want to see results and enjoy the process."

Me too!!

I've been going crazy all day today trying to coordinate several batiks for a Bento Box wall quilt. I thought it would be so easy- NO!!
I still haven't cut them and I'm mad!!! I know once they are cut the sewing will go well, uh, maybe I shouldn't say that LOL :D

All of it. Procrastination and indecision are my middle names :?

I cut a little, sew a little. Hate cutting.

You must be my Aussie twin!!!

Yes all of the above.

When I do a rotary cutting piece, I usually spend about three days cutting. Bleh. It helps make paper piecing more enjoyable. :0)

Yes, again all the above

This is how I work as well. I have to keep moving, so doing a little of everything accomplishes that nicely. If I try to cut everything, I don't take the necessary breaks I need & overdo with a 3 day setback before I can continue.

Gee, we'd get a lot done if we were quilting together.....not :lol:

It depends, sometimes everything goes together like buttering toast other times it's like making a twelve course meal. Sometimes a fabric will tell you what it wants to be and which ones it wants with it. Other times it's just a struggle and the fabrics fight you.

I've spent the last few days cutting scraps into usable 5" squares and have yet to start sewing, so right now I'd say CUTTING!

Well, I'm one to finish cutting before going to piecing, etc. I took a class with Ami Simms and was told I was anal because I had everything cut and ready to sew. NO ONE else had done this!! Oh, well!! Just for the record, I didn't end up farther on my quilt than others. I am a presser as well and am sure this took up more time than most. By the way, Kay England states not to press until the block is complete. I hang my head in shame as I can't do it!!

It takes me days to choose fabrics - I have a huge stash so I "shop" in my stash. If I can't get the right combo of colors together, I move on to a different group of colors until I get something I like. I enjoy this process! It also takes me days to cut because I get bored and have to take a "break"!!! I also have a bad wrist due to surgery in 2003.

Fabric choices and layout. I can spend days on these. The layout is the most difficult part of the process for me. I'll layout the blocks, take pictures, layout them out a different way and take more pictures. I refer to the pictures when I sew the blocks together.

Okay so I am a pattern designer and a quilting teacher. I teach a color theory class. I love picking out fabrics. I love designing quilts. I love the complete process. I also have a very arty daughter. She will come over and pull fabric from my stash for my projects. I trust her choices. She is a graph design artist. She is making sculpted cakes and they are awesome, see Jennylu's on FB. She has a degree in Art. All that being said I do occasionally second guess my decisions. Feeling comfortable in the correct choices is very important. I feel first impression is usually the correct one. Go with your gut! But most of all Enjoy the process! Remember we are artists and our medium is fabric!

I cut what comes first. Sew that and then go to the next. I sew block by block. Not multi-stip-piecing. I think I stretch out the project longer than most. In no hurry.
Rita

That's what I did today. First impression on the fabric I bought. Rose, gray & black.

I take a class with a lady who teaches mostly Thimbleberries. These books tend to have you cut a section and then sew it, cut and then sew- for me, gratification to see where things are going BEFORE i commit to every single color in the project. I have avoided some pretty ugly mistakes this way.

Mine, too! AND Self-doubt!

Yep, I have lots of that too :|

definitely procrastination- i get an A+ in that department

Me too...I spend way too much time trying to decide on which pattern, I start it then change my mind AFTER I have cut. You would all probably have nightmares if u say wall the fabric I waste. I look around at all my "stuff" and wonder if I'm really in the right hobby :shock:

Definitely procrastination!

where did u find that wonderfull butterfly? I love it.

Me too too

Depends on the day and my mood...Some days you just want to sew and get to it...some days you just want to cut it all and save the sewing for the next day...

Picking colors. Most of the time once I get going it moves pretty quick. Most of the time I have the pattern I want to use but then have to decide on the fabric. Once in a while fabric jumps out at me and then I have to decide on a pattern.

LOL, Yup I think that would be me too. I spend a lot of time looking at the layout trying to decide if I should change a color of a piece or not. Especially in scrappy type quilts.

Sewing and pressing seem to go on forever sometimes!

The thing that takes me the longest is figuring out the pattern on 1 sq. per inch graph paper. After I've gotten that down, I then figure the size of the quilt I want.

For me the colors just pop right in & I have no problem. I cut at the same time ALL of the fabric because I KNOW that I'm happy with my choice of colors. Sewing it doesn't take too long either - BUT I spend a LOT of time with my iron!