what do u do that would bring the quilt police?
 

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.

I "eyeball" some measurements instead of actually checking them.
I don't baste my smaller quilts before I quilt them.
I sew my bindings down by machine; unless a judge is going to see my binding I opt for efficiency.
If I cut off a point, I cut off a point.

i leave extra backing around the edge so i can pull it to the front for binding. at least on most quilts i do that on special ones i cut separate binding and i also machine stitch my binding using one of those pretty stitches on my sewing machine. what can i say im a rule breaker. i also eyeball some measurements too. im a mostly kind of girl not a perfectionist. it always turns out great in the end so i figure the quilt fairy is watching over me )))).
carla m

All of the above!!!!!!!!
:D

Well now this list could get quite long for me :o LOL But since you asked here are a couple quick ones- I don't care if my seams match - unless it is batiks I don't usually prewash - Points... what are those ????? LOL

I think I've done all of these things at least once, and some of them habitually (machine sewing binding, wrapping it around from the back - yep, yep!!)

I "approximate" a lot of things too, and then just square them up at some point in the process. Nobody seems to be able to tell. ;-)

I don't prewash, since I am starting with mostly scraps.

I use "whatever" color thread to sew the seams, most of the time.

I always quilt to my tastes, always take every shortcut I can think of, Always do the binding on the machine, sometimes I miscut and will sew a scrap on to make it the correct size. I give my quilts to family. If they like it, good, if not, do not tell me and just put it in the closet.

Just gave my BIL one on Thursday, a valor quilt as he is retired Army, retired educator and has been honored by the office of the President of The United States of America as the Outstanding Citizen. Told him he could have this quilt one of two ways: 1...He could pay me $450 and he could say bad things about it, point out where I missed a point or seam or whatever. 2...He could have it with my love if he did not do all these things and it would not cost him anything. He thanked me profusely for the quilt and told me how great he thought it was, so its his.

I appreciate all Veterans and thank them for service to our country.

delma

If my borders are wavy I fold the excess along the seam and glue it. I make sure the border is quilted over the fold and it is not noticeable at all and I have super flat borders.

When I make pinwheels my points in the center hardly ever come together in the center.

have y'all been looking at my quilts? LOL i'm guilty of all of these at one time or another

I've made a couple of quilts with some patches of polyester fabric. Not a blend but the real 100% thin woven polyester.

GASP!!! WHAT?? THAT'S PRETTY MUCH QUILTING SACRILEGE.

Wait. I can hear the sirens screaming outside my door right now. Now there's pounding on my door and a loudspeaker blaring, "THIS IS THE QUILT POLICE. WALK AWAY FROM THE SEWING MACHINE AND COME OUTSIDE WITH YOUR HANDS IN THE AIR."

Gotta go. Looks like I'm in real trouble here.

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 ;)

I don't prewash my fabrics. I don't square up my blocks. I often use scissors to cut my fabric. Sometimes I mark with ink. And, the list goes on and on.

If my seams don't match up... then my seams don't match up. :)

Using scissors is bad?? i use scissors all the time to cut fabric.

while rotary cutting towards myself, and holding the ruler down with my other, i forgot to move my ring finger and sliced off the side of my finger. did i learn my lesson? nope. ER doc said, next time leave the surgery to the surgeons..

and i must share this gal's story about swallowing a pin http://lolaagain.blogspot.com/...emergency-rooms.html

measure once, cut twice, um sometimes three times. http://boards.hgtv.com/groupee_commo...on_biggrin.gif

I rip. Rip, rip, rip. I don't prewash. If it bleeds after the quilt is done, tough. It's just a weird color quilt then.

I quilt and I am sure the quilt police would be very unhappy with my calling what I create quilts.

Oh forum-ites! You have made my day! I do so many of these things for the sake of gettin' 'er done that I sometimes don't even consider myself a quilter. A dear friend started quilting at the same time I did - we took a beginner class together. This was almost 2 years ago. I've made 64 quilts since then and untold number of table toppers, placemats, etc. She has made 17 beautiful quilts - not any more complicated than mine, in fact I've moved on in the area of pinwheels, triangles, applique, etc - but hers are just NEAT. Everything matched up. Separate bindings that are hand sewn in back - gorgeous things. Mine are .. well ... done and gifted!

My worst offense that I REALLY wish I didn't do is scan the directions of a pattern and then take off. Think I know what I'm doing then hit a brick wall. Rip, Rip, Rip.

I do all my bindings as self-bindings now. Used to do separate ones, but never hand sewed them. Put the pedal to the metal and go - that's my style!

I like my points to match and am happy when they do, but .. if they don't ... oh well!

Yes, I have done everything that is listed and I am sure I will do them again. Quilt Police are welcome at my house, I have plenty that they can help me finish!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!

"Good enough" and "Close Enough" are my most used phrases when peicing. Horrors of horrors I iron more often than I press. I don't square up my quilts when trimming down after quilting and before putting on the binding.

Sometimes when paper piecing, and something is too short, I glue a little piece so it doesn't show. Shhhh don't tell anyone, or I might fined by the quilt police!

Oh, wow, THAT one hit home! lol

I just don't care what color thread is on the machine. If I'm in the mood to sew, who wants to waste time changing the thread? Otherwise, I guess I'm still too new at this to have learned much bad stuff, but I can see that reading this blog will eventually corrupt me. lol

This thread has been tooooo funny! Run the stinkin' Quilt Police outta town! I do the best I can in my projects. I also do whatever it takes to get the job done and if it means breaking quilt rules or reinventing the wheel to accomplish a finished quilt, so be it.

i don't change my rotary cutter blade until it is skipping.
and i tug on the fabric to get it just right and steam the hell out of it to make it flat.
handcuff me now, i have more UFO's than i can count, all waiting for binding which i hate to do.

I share my sewing room with sleeping pets. Then I only have to give my quilts to other pet people, right?

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 buy fabric from Walmart and covet fabric from Hobby Lobby.

Well, so far I don't see a thing that's new(s) to me...are we all bad, or just super good???

I bet all you <find the shortcut quilters> get tons of work done! I'm the opposite! I look at a pattern and try to change it. I pick out fabric and want to change colors midway into a project. I actually spend more time starting projects and less time finishing! I wish I was more carefree in my quilting.

I do think those that don't use safety devices when using a rotary cutter should be given a hefty fine. LOL.

All of the above!! I can't believe how many new tricks I have learned!! Thanks!

Thank you I feel so much better now. I am a new quilter and always see other peoples work as perfect and unhappy with my skills. Now I'm going to do more sewing and less appoligizing.

I pretty much do all of the above, so if there really were Quilt Police they would be busy 24 7 arresting all of us 'guilty' quilters and the jails wouldn't be big enough to hold all of us, LOL! .

I wish there was a "like" button because as I newbie, I'm already figuring out some of these tricks and I'd have to like most of the posts lol

This is a great thread!!!
I try always... to live by the rule that my quilting is in the spirit of what quilting was always about... using up my fabric and having fun, while being creative... NO MISTAKES... only "creative opportunities".... i feel sorry for those that cannot allow themselves the ability to relax and have fun.... God is the only perfect person... why not just enjoy!!!!

Sew my binding on by machine.

I NEVER square up my quilts! I sew my bindings on by machine. I don't always check for the grain of the fabric before cutting. I change my needle whenever.

you name it I've done it!!!:D