Do all your black quilts now. As your eyes get older, it's harder to deal with the darker fabrics, especially black. (This from someone who has had great vision all my life and three years into declining vision I'm still in denial about it.) :)

Start sooner and don't procrastinate. Sometimes I seem to think I'll live to 150!

don't wait, Don't Wait, DON'T WAIT!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!! Dive in head first and wallow in the fun! Good equipment, as good a quality as you can afford, makes for productive and satisfying quilting. You are limited by your imagination only!

I think the only thing I would have told my 10 years younger self is, the same as now; why wasn't I introduced to quilting when I was in primary school? I

If I could talk to me 10 years ago I would say:

Firstly,.. uh start sewing - you'll enjoy it. (I think I'm about 5 years in)

You'll encounter much healthier personalities in the arts/crafts than in your current career of IT...

Take that machine your dad bought you when you were 10 and get it serviced and get yourself trained! There's nothing (much) wrong with it, you two just don't know how to communicate with each other. Call it couples counseling.

Invest in your tools - buy quality which doesn't necessarily mean the newest or the most expensive - and maintain them. This is your sewing machine, your rotary cutters AND blades, rulers and scissors, etc. These will be with you (or should be) far longer than one project or hopefully any fabric you buy. There's no point being frustrated right out of a project (hobby, job, whatever) by having tools that aren't up to the job, tools that aren't in good shape and more often than not end up hurting you, or tools that reached their potential before you reach yours (a certain skil saw comes to mind here...).

A LOT of opinions are sold as fact in this industry. (think of your service center who says you should only use X brand of thread - which coincidentally is the only brand they sell, or the manufacturer's bobbins, etc.) If it works for you, go with it. Opinions of others are great but at the end, it has to "fit your hand" not theirs to work for you. Everyone is different. That's what keeps life so interesting. Also, some opinions/facts only serve to enhance someone's financial bottom line.

If you didn't like something you tried (I'm looking at you - paper piecing!), promise you'll revisit it in a year, two years, etc perhaps learning another method of doing it. If I had begun to learn to quilt by learning to paper piece, I wouldn't be a quilter today. The first experience was -that- bad. Nearly two years later, I just finished a simple Judy Niemeyer top and loved the process.

Crafting, Sewing and Quilting keeps you young and your mind healthy.

And because I'm finally "approaching" that age and realization: Time for you and you alone is not selfish!

Lastly - PAY ATTENTION! - Not only is it important to be engaged in what you're doing for full enjoyment - but some of your tools can bite faster than you can move your hands out of the way if you're day dreaming.

Me too. I have many years of sewing but only a couple in quilting. I used to say it was too boring. I think once you let your creative juices flow then its so much more fun.

Only commit to one BOM at a time. Complete a project before beginning another

Great advice from everyone!

Don't wait until you have time, take the time now -- today --to learn, grow, enjoy, and just DO--appreciate your health and don' put yourself down; you will get better. I waited too long and I lost my eye sight. It could be so much worse I know, but I wish....

Me too. I only started getting interested in quilting about 4 years ago when I found out you could machine quilt. What a concept. I wish I had started a lot sooner than I did.

Don't be too frugal to take a few quilting classes. You'll learn more quickly, be less likely to develop bad habits and feel like you're part of the quilting community. Be choosy about what fabric you purchase. The cheap stuff is just that, cheap, and more likely to cause problems down the road. Don't buy fabric you don't love, just because it is on sale. It will sit in your cabinet for years, with no purpose in sight.

Have fun with whatever project you pick. Don't fall for the gimmicks and there are a gazillion out there. Stash is good, but too much can result in SABLE. Don't be too hard on yourself when something goes goofy, that is why there are seam rippers.

.Join some type of quilting group. You will enjoy the inspiration you get from others, and have experienced quilters to answer your questions.
.Don't buy every piece of fabric you think is pretty. It's easy to get too much stash. It can be overwhelming.
.Finish one project before starting another. I wound up with 25 UFOs and spent 3 years completing all of them before I would let myself go on.
.Buy quality thread and tools.

Buy only good quality fabric. Yardage or precuts----let that decision be YOURS not what someone else prefers.
You will make mistakes along the way---learn from them and enjoy the process! NO ONE will notice that your points don't meet perfectly. Buy the fabric that makes YOU happy.
START YOUNG because quilting becomes a part of your life and there is a lot of fabric and patterns calling your name!
ENJOY every step of the way. Learn from those gifted quilters out there with more experience than you. IF YOU LOVE IT, that is all that matters. Appreciate how important it is to receive something handmade by mom/grandma and teach this to your children.

I second, third and fourth that! I keep trying to tell my newbie friends this all the time.

Read the complete directions from start to finish to the pattern before purchasing the fabric.
I did this or rather didn't do this, when I pulled it all out to cut my pieces--BAM! the directions are so poorly written I have lost motivation to start the project.

GingerK, Totally agree with this!!!! Made me laugh...Exactly what happened with my sister. We are going to the houston quilt show this year. Last year it was the sister's show in oregon......Next we are hoping to go to paducah.....

Being perfect is over rated and probably makes you fat.

Some very good suggestions. If I could start over, I would be more adventureous and would do machine quilting right away and not worry about uneven stitches. I would also not buy all this stash fabric. I've given away fabric to people's projects and charities. Have fun!

1) Learn to cut straight! If you're cuts are off, then your quilt will be off.

2) Do not watch the needle go up and down while you are piecing. It only goes up and down; that never changes. Instead, make sure you fabric is feeding in straight under the needle. Your seams will be much straighter if you do that.

3) Forgive yourself for making mistakes. That is why the seam ripper is the most used (not necessarily most popular) quilting tool we own.

4) I'd say, "Buy less fabric!" except that I only quilt as an excuse to buy fabric.

One last little thing to add, if you have some kind of 'difference', so what? I am color blind and quilt all the time. I tried a very complex, many fabric quilts once, but got so lost that I eventually donated it as scraps. Then I learned what type of quilt I can do without frustration, and that's what I do. I'm happy, the quilts look happy, and I hope the recipients are happy.

Can't do that...my hands hurt way too much to hand quilt. But otherwise, I might have taken it up.

Nah - I'm too impatient.

Just do it! Longed to do it for years before I actually did. Now I wonder what was I afraid of? I'm enjoying the process and the stress relief it brings at the end of the day and proud feeling of a quilt well done and the encouragement from family and friends get the next one started.

I love your "go for excellence, not perfection. Excellence is attainable, but perfectionism stunts growth." I want to use it on a placard if you don't mind--both my DIL & one g-son have some perfectionism issues.

don't wait to give it a try! And don't plan to build stash--it will happen when you aren't looking! Purchase the best tools and fabric you can afford and upgrade when possible--it pays in the long run. Change your rotary cutter blades often. expect to learn something--either about quilting or yourself, with each project. Press,press,press!

Start quilting now and forget about the dishes in the sink - they'll be there in the morning. Lol.

Start now instead of five years from now.

I wanted to learn to quilt as a teenager, but put it off as school, work and family took up so much time and energy--I could have been doing this for an extra 47 years! Now I'll have to live another 40 healthy years to use up all my fabric, which will be great if it happens, but also a miracle with headlines such as "Congratulations, suzanprincess, on celebrating your 109th birthday and still happily making quilts!"

I don't think I would do anything differently to be honest. I built a great stash of diverse fabrics - knowing that the day would come when those fabrics would be over $10 a yard. I am so happy to have my stash. I have great quilt friends and have belonged to my guild for over 20 years. I have done what I could do when I could do it. It has been a great ride and it's not over yet :)