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I love this thread ! I thought I was the only one who did these things..whew...! So happy to hear I have lots of company! I am quilty .. I never prewash fabrics..my quilts/squares are never perfectly squared.. I never follow a pattern..I make up my own design..usually as I go along.. I never change my needle or my rotory blade..until it won't work any more...ha.. oh the list goes on and on... and my seam ripper and I have become best friends ! Let's just say, I try hard.. but everything I make is make with lots of love, and usually gifted.. is that the quilt police I hear at my door?? no... they will never find me...hee..hee
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If the quilt police came to my house when I was making a quilt, they would have a heart attack & I could go on and continue quilting the way I wanted! haha
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I had to piece the backing. 3 big giant "strips". Well, I was putting said backing on the frame yesterday (First time I've ever used the frame too... so glad I did, because I would have missed this) and saw that I sewed a tiny bit of flap into the seam. Seriously, it would not have been noticed if I'd basted it!! And once it'd been quilted, it would have looked like a regular ole pucker. So I picked that seam out at that spot and I used Iron-on seam stuff to patch it with a matching scrap! You know, I forgot to check that when I took it off the frame yesterday.... Oh well, I'm sure it will be ok!!
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when I put blocks together they do not always match for the pattern like the way my points don't always meet. I figure if yu are looking that close you don't get another quilt. LOL....
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Guilty of all above as charged.
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Wow.. i did not realize how much I really fit in. I thought all your guys were perfect. What a relief! I don't think I have ever sewn 1/4"seam - I grew up in metric system so i just use the width of whatever foot I have attached - nobody ever noticed. I ALWAYS machine sew my binding, and I rarely if ever baste anything. Some may say i am lazy, whatever. If quilting is your hobby my bet is you are anything but lazy. I am all for cutting corners, pun intended - there, now quilting police come and arrest me.
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What a pleasant after-church surprise for me this afternoon. I turned on my computer, went straight to this site, and have been sitting here, entertained, for an hour or more.
I am guilty of all of the above, and a few more, if there are any. My thought is, "what does a 5-year-old know?", or anyone else that I love who has one of my "special only for her or him" quilts.... I sometimes see something that I have done wrong, but I am good a shrugging it off, because the washer and dryer will take care of that one.... Love to you all now that I am back after a busy summer of beach, lake, parks activities with the grandkids..... |
I pay someone to do my binding. YES I do!!!! The owner of my quilt shop did the binding on my last quilt. I hate binding. And I just recently found out about squaring up your quilt. Never knew it before! Oops!!! And I just started squaring up all my pieces before adding them to my other pieces. Now I'm actually squaring up my blocks. I've not been doing this for years and years. And I don't wear safety gloves until I slice my fingers and then I wear them for a few days only. And not all of my blocks are 12 1/2". I have to steam the h*ll out of them to stretch them to fit. And I have a project in every corner of my sewing room right now and I haven't sewn in 2 weeks. But I keep ordering online. I keep the packages coming.
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I loved reading all of these posts. They made my day. Thanks to all, LOL. I feel better.
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Y'all make me laugh. I'm guilty of all of the above--well, except the hammering, and only because I've never thought of it. It's nice to know that when I go to quilt jail, I will have lots of good company.
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I guess I am as normal as most of you, have read the postings and I do those things too. As for the quilt police, you don't have to do anything, they just sneak up on you, they are nosey. When I see other peoples work, I don't pick it up and inspect the stitching on the back, nor do I point out the small flaws I see, I just look, enjoy and praise them for their work. Yet the quilt police is always lurking in the shadows , so pretend you don't see, hear, etc.
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Well I guess I AM a quilter!!!
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I love it. No wonder I feel at home on this board. I plead guilty to many of these transgressions.
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I don't like to follow directions, so if I have a pattern to work from, I might adjust anything in that pattern, including but not limited to:
changing block and border sizes, creative cornerstones and sashing, changing color patterns from block to block, replacing alternate blocks with (or adding) complimentary blocks, making it scrappy, tying to finish instead of quilting, adding applique... honestly, I just have trouble using someone else's plan from beginning to end! I feel so much better when I take that risky step, and more often than not I'm pleased with the results because I made it MINE! lol Slap the cuffs on me now... |
Geez, you gals have made me feel like I could become a professional quilter. I do strive to 'get it right' cause my mother always taught me to do everything as if I had to put my signature on it. I am very careful with the rotary cutter because I have an awful fear of slicing off body parts. I do hand bind my quilts, because they are so pretty when finished and I use the time to sit in the living room with my husband and decompress after all the months of quilting in my sewing room. I find it relaxing and enjoyable. My points are getting better, but that could just be my eyesight ain't as good as it use to be. Same goes for matching seems. Not sure of the last time I changed my sewing machine needle but it seems to be doing OK. Haven't heard any bad noises or seen any skipped stitches. The way I figure it, if I am going to go to the expense and all my time to make a quilt, I'm sure going to do the best that I can. But perfect, not likely. I still want it to look hand made and not like something bought in a store.
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Originally Posted by MacThayer
(Post 5382825)
Well, so that's what the other side of the fence looks like! Gee, I'd like to be there! I'm one of those "a tad too obsessive compulsive types" who will re-do a whole block if it doesn't turn out perfect, and will rip out a whole set of blocks if they don't line up perfectly, and I drive myself absolutely nuts getting everything in perfect alignment, with perfect points, and everything square, and the binding properly sew on, with the back done by hand, and so on, and so on, ad. nauseum. This is why one person can do 40 - 60 quilts in one year, and I'm lucky to get 12 or more done. I would love to "sew with abandon" and not care if they line up, and just get something finished. I've even taken to making smaller quilts. So if anyone has a magic wand that could fix me up, I'd appreciate it! I did talk to my doctor to see if I should be medicated, and he just laughed at me and told me it was just my personality type, and please let him know if I start anything strange like washing my hands 50 times an hour, or performing rituals prior to each bite of food. I think the word he used was "meticulous". I can tell you that "meticulous" people have very clean and neat homes, awesomely organized sewing rooms, and make very few quilts every year because they spend just as much time with their seam ripper as they do with their sewing machine. So positively revel in what you have ladies! It's a gift! Trust me, it's a very wonderful, very freeing gift, and I envy you!
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Is the "using the backing for binding" wrong?
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I'll be honest. My philosophy is finished is better than perfect. I machine bind all the quilts I don't birth and I piece with whatever color thread I have in the bobbin. I quilt with a color that loks good all across the quilt top, usually a variegated, and something on back that looks good even if it doesn't blend in.
A couple of Christmases ago, I made a tablerunner for a dear friend of mine. After it was all piced, quilted and bound, my then 16 yo DD shows me where you can see the selvedge edge of one of the fabrics. I still gifted it anyway and the recipient loved it anyway and still thanks me for it when we see each other. That table runner was as close to perfect as I'll ever get and it was more about therapy for me than perfection in quilting but it was relatively perfect - minus the selvedge edge.:D |
my list would be to long that is why I have become the lady of fix it or change it to suit what I need to. no one else needs to know though so shhhhhhhh.
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After reading all the posts I've come to realize...I'm a quilter, I'm gifted, I am a free spirit when creating, and most importantly...I have fun! You all have made my day. :thumbup:
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I quilt by two rules:
(1) That's good enough. (2) That'll never be seen from a galloping horse. froggyintexasw
Originally Posted by CookieZenmilk
(Post 5382167)
if my seams don't match up, i color the fabric with a sharpie or magic marker.
i rotary cut towards myself instead of away from myself. i don't always iron the fabric before i cut my fabric. i often see bowed strips but i "make it work" i only change my needle if it breaks. |
If they come for me, I'm ready. I just finished a very simple quilt (6 in squares) for my soon to be born Grandson (my first). I looked at the quilt, the corners matched, it was bound and quilted using the pillowcase method. My stitch in the ditch had pretty much stayed in the ditch and the colors were just what I was trying for. It was as 'perfect' as I could make it ... and I looked at it and it was wrong!!! So I fixed it by running down to joAnnes and buying some baby blue polyester "satin" blanket binding. And I machine sewed it around all four sides using a zigzag stitch and tucking in and top stitching the corner edges. The outside squares now look like rectangles, the quilt police hate it and my son still remembers the satin binding around his favorite blanket when he was a toddler. It's really perfect now. As I told my son and his wife, If it is falling apart in five years I will be thrilled - if it is in perfect condition my feeling will be hurt.
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Originally Posted by MacThayer
(Post 5382825)
Well, so that's what the other side of the fence looks like! Gee, I'd like to be there! I'm one of those "a tad too obsessive compulsive types" who will re-do a whole block if it doesn't turn out perfect, and will rip out a whole set of blocks if they don't line up perfectly, and I drive myself absolutely nuts getting everything in perfect alignment, with perfect points, and everything square, and the binding properly sew on, with the back done by hand, and so on, and so on, ad. nauseum. This is why one person can do 40 - 60 quilts in one year, and I'm lucky to get 12 or more done. I would love to "sew with abandon" and not care if they line up, and just get something finished. I've even taken to making smaller quilts. So if anyone has a magic wand that could fix me up, I'd appreciate it! I did talk to my doctor to see if I should be medicated, and he just laughed at me and told me it was just my personality type, and please let him know if I start anything strange like washing my hands 50 times an hour, or performing rituals prior to each bite of food. I think the word he used was "meticulous". I can tell you that "meticulous" people have very clean and neat homes, awesomely organized sewing rooms, and make very few quilts every year because they spend just as much time with their seam ripper as they do with their sewing machine. So positively revel in what you have ladies! It's a gift! Trust me, it's a very wonderful, very freeing gift, and I envy you!
I admit to being one of those meticulous quilters as well. My seams match, points are pointy and not cut off, and I square up as I go along. I pre-wash always and press the fabric before cutting and I attach the bindings by machine, but finish them on the back by hand. My goal isn't to just finish it in order to make as many quilts as I can, but to do my best to create a beautiful quilt. I make probably less than 10 quilts a year along with a few wallhangings and maybe some smaller projects like candle mats or placemats. I think each of us should follow our inner spirit to create quilts that we love to give to those we love or to keep for ourselves. After all, it doesn't matter that one quilter makes 60 quilts a year and another only makes 5. We all get satisfaction and joy from the process. So the quilt police can just take the day off - don't judge us!! :) |
Sounds like we are all same. Some areas short cuts can be taken and others can't. We do the best we can.
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Ahhhh, it's nice to be normal. My philosophy is that if you can't see any problems at 20 miles an hour the quilt is perfect. As to hammering the bumpy seams to flatten them, I bought a dead-blow hammer just for that use. I nice big mallet type of hammer. Works great. My goal is to finish a quilt, not get obsessive about the matching of seams or points. I have been guilty of using fleece for the backing, it eliminate the batting. Horrors! As to binding by hand, no way! Machine sew baby, machine sew it down.
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Oh my, that's a loaded question!!! LOL... Everything! I don't use all cotton (but I do stay with the same type of fabric in each project, unless it's a crazy quilt); I use serger thread to sew with (mostly in the bobbin); I don't use the colors the patterns show, my bindings are sewn on...customers..if they want hand sewn, ok...but I charge them more to do it by hand.
If there is a mistake that can be done...I've done it...and kept right on going...they are MY quilts & I love them all!
Originally Posted by CookieZenmilk
(Post 5382167)
if my seams don't match up, i color the fabric with a sharpie or magic marker.
i rotary cut towards myself instead of away from myself. i don't always iron the fabric before i cut my fabric. i often see bowed strips but i "make it work" i only change my needle if it breaks. |
Originally Posted by CookieZenmilk
(Post 5382167)
if my seams don't match up, i color the fabric with a sharpie or magic marker.
i rotary cut towards myself instead of away from myself. i don't always iron the fabric before i cut my fabric. i often see bowed strips but i "make it work" i only change my needle if it breaks. cindy gerstl |
Originally Posted by Deborahlees
(Post 5382537)
When all else fails and I can not trim a seam well enough to get it to flatten, I hit it with a hammer, works every time ;)
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Yup Yup yup me too to all of it:p
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Originally Posted by ghostrider
(Post 5384012)
What do I do that would bring the Quilt Police? Easy. I offer them room and board for free...except here they're called the Quality Control Department.
They live in my studio, are strictly barred from the rest of the house, and every so often I bring them something to stamp "Rejected" on. I take those items back, fix them, and all is well. It makes the QC people feel worthwhile and keeps my feet firmly planted in reality. I wouldn't ever want to quilt without them. :) I think WalMart has some very nice fabrics. I also think most garage/yard sale fabric is 'safe' to use. (At least as safe as most 'new' clothing that may have been tried on by how many people) |
If my blocks don't all match in size, I pick the smallest one and cut all the rest to that size...who cares what the ending size of the block is....
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I have made enough mistakes and done enough things bass-ackwards to have learned being careful and accurate really does save time and effort in the long run.
My partial list of stupid mistakes: cutting a quarter inch circle off the end of one finger with a rotary cutter, using fray chek to oil a machine, cutting pieces the wrong sizes, misreading a pattern, believing that pattern instructions were always correct, intentionally sewing over pins, assembling several blocks incorrectly - even though the pieces 'went' together okay, that wasn't what I meant to do - I had forgotten how the pieces were 'supposed' to have gone together, bought too much or too little fabric, used my Gingher scissors to cut things other than fabrics, poked a hole into a piece while unsewing, forgot to look and cut more than I intended to. That should be enough humble pie for one sitting. |
I'm glad to see someone admit to using odd colors of thread. I have an abundance of all colors of thread given to me by a man whose wife had died. I've been using that thread where it doesn't show. I can't bear to spend $2.00 or more for a spool of thread when I have hundreds of spools of different colors at home.
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I have really enjoyed all of these responses. I am going to print them out and post the booklet by my machine to read when I start getting stressed! Bless all of you for reminding me about the fun of quilting!
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Originally Posted by Betty Ruth
(Post 5386068)
I'm glad to see someone admit to using odd colors of thread. I have an abundance of all colors of thread given to me by a man whose wife had died. I've been using that thread where it doesn't show. I can't bear to spend $2.00 or more for a spool of thread when I have hundreds of spools of different colors at home.
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I sew the binding by machine to the back, fold it to the front & then use the decorative "rick rack" stitch to sew it down. Most of my quilts are for children or to take on picnics & I love the look. No one has ever complained & they use the quilts, only complainer is a quilt police acquaintance who is appalled, totally appalled & &
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If I come up short paper piecing, I add another seam. Try to make the piece big enough so it isn't obvious.
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Not perfect piecing and breaking rotary cutting rules...Miscalculating measurements and either shorting or buying way to much fabric...Not paying attention when assembling rows and havering to unsew because the layout mattered ( was for a show ) what I get for multitasking....
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I always buy more fabric, than I need. If I don't, I'm sure to make a mistake and have to go buy more. If I already have more, I won't make nearly as many mistakes! :thumbup:
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I have enjoyed sitting here tonight reading this, and it making me think of my dear mother who passed away in March of this year. She always sewed and quilted thinking others work was better. It wasn't though, and she would rip out anything she thought she had missed. She put her whole heart into it. I am a newbie in the quilting world, but I love every day I have been on this board. The Lord himself directed me here. I feel encouraged here, and meet so many nice people from various places. I get to enjoy the work and creativity of so many. I make most of these mistakes, but enjoy every single thing I am working on knowing that with more practice and challenges I take part in, the more I will improve, but most important to me is the more I will enjoy myself, and stay close to the thoughts of my precious mother who talked to me about loving to go into a fabric shop, and feel the fabric on her hands. My precious dad made her several quilting frames. He has a little workshop, and is very talented in this way. I loved reading these comments so much. I guess too, I am a quilter. Wow! That makes me happy. lol....
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