Teeler, this is for you. Don't get me wrong- I totally love this quilt, but at the time, it felt like a nightmare. The other thing I learned when making this- i was worried that my star and snowball sections didn't line up perfectly. Then I watched QIAD program and saw E Burns' Tennessee Waltz quilt. Hers didn't match up all the time either. I figured if she could show hers on national television- I could be happy with mine! I also love her galloping horse rule too![ATTACH=CONFIG]390195[/ATTACH]

One of the first quilts I made was in a LQS class 25 yrs ago, an Amish Roman Stripes quilt with black background and backing. The teacher (shop OWNER) recommended the batting to use, so we Newbies all bought it from her. It was an unbonded polyester, white (just before black batting or W&N came out) ...
Our lovely Amish quilts were soon all BEARDED, that lousy white poly batting migrating through. We were quilting by hand, back then, but I stopped and started over with another batting. Never took HER advice again !!

Pressing means LIGHTLY done with the iron, up and down movements ONLY ... vs IRONING all across the block, horizontally, like we do with clothing ... which stretches it out of shape

Guess I was just lucky all those years ago when I saw a picture of a braided quilt in a magazine & just had to make one,king size to boot.Had no clue how quilts were made,so cut out a couple strips of cardboard & went at it with my scissors & trusty Sears $ 60 special.There were maybe 3 paragraphs of instructions.
I sewed & sewed using Walmart fabric.
By the time a friend's Sis offered to quilt it for me,I had 2 more tops done,a Log cabin & and a Roman Star,all K size.When they were returned,I cried.They looked beautiful to me & I was so proud!
From there,I went to the library & found books on quilting.Along with magazines,they were my teachers.What worked for me was asking questions,but also using common sense.

By the way,I still have my 1st 3.They are wonky for sure,but still beautiful to me.

The worst (and best) advice always begins with "you CAN'T". Worst because it's usually wrong, and best because then I am determined to prove how wrong!

Someone told me the way to sandwhich a quilt was to layer everything wrong side out like a giant pillow case, then turn it and slip stitch the open end. Needless to say, it also didn't get quilted right. It was a case of someone that didn't know what they were doing telling someone else how to do it. I still have that quilt in a closet waiting for me to take it apart and fix it.