Worst advice: You always have to put patterned next to plain....

All advice I take with a large pinch of salt. Do I need to do it or not. I make my own mind up about comments and pick those that help me. The worst advice I have heard is teachers telling ladies how to cut or pin fabric and the ladies trying to say but my hands want do that. Arthritis is a problem as we get older and younger quilters fail to understand and give bad advice.

I think the one about poly thread "cutting" cotton fabric made my mouth drop open when I read it on the internet first. I laughed and went on.

. I'm with you. It's to stressful other wise.

I think this advice meant not to "iron" the seams but to "press" them. Ironing can distort the block, especially if there are bias seams or edges.

I still cringe at some poor advice I gave to students in a beginning garment construction class. One astute student, followed my advice literally and could have ruined her garment. But the garment was much too big, so the seams had to be redone. In my inexperience of teaching others, I told them to "trim all INSIDE seams"
to 1/4 inch. Well that was the wrong choice of words. (After all, ALL seams are inside the garment.) We were attaching a facing to a neckline. The word I should have used was to "trim all ENCLOSED seams to 1/4 inch."

The person who advised not ironing may have just not elaborated and said that pressing was a better choice.

To me, the worst advise is what I see in magazines for "skill level". I've never taken a class...only done reading and researching and a LOT of trial and error. Some projects I've done were set for skill level of intermediate to advanced, but the project wasn't that hard. Here's one example that I made after only quilting for a few months.
The only time something is done 'wrong' is if you do it and you don't like what you created.

Finish one project before you start another. If I did this, I might still be stuck on that first bad project. New advise: if you don't like something, get bored or stuck, put it away and move on. If you will NEVER like it, pass it on to someone else.

When I first began quilting, I went to a workshop at my local quilt shop that was being conducted by a Janome consultant. When I said I was working on my first quilt and it was a queen size, she laughed and then told the entire group that was something a beginner should never do: begin with a gigantic quilt. I was mortified. That quilt turned out just fine and I've made queen and king sized quilts over and over again since that day without having any problems. I didn't like her at all, and if she hadn't embarrassed and ticked me off, I probably wouldn't have continued quilting. She just made me that much more determined to do it and do it well. :)

Pat - I 100% agree!!!

I have been quilting since Oct 2005, and it this has ALWAYS been my
sewing room motto:

It is MY money
It is MY fabric
It is MY project
It is MY time
It is MY way, not YOUR way


However if YOU want to be the person to PAY for everything then YOU
can tell me what and how to do things. Until then keep you opinions to
yourself UNLESS I ask for it.

(No I am NOT a nice person when it come to someone telling me I MUST
do something a certain way).

There's the problem - a color catcher - I use 5-8 depends on how big the quilt is. I've also heard that you can use muslin yardage and get the same results. I made a completely scrappy red/wh and had not an iota of color fading. BTW, try oxiclean to get the pink out of your white. I did have a piece of damp white sit next to a red and it colored, but the oxi took it right out.

My worst advice was being told "you need to pick up and clear out your sewing area after each time you sew, so you have a nice clean area to work in the next time you sew." I have wasted time, energy and frustration doing this. No longer, Well, dust, lint, threads, cutters, rulers, piles, books, and stuff and I now live happily with each other

I was told that you have to use bias binding to bind your quilts. Now I only use it on curve boarders. If someone tells me I have to do it a certain way I'm aready thinking in my head of a different way it could be done.lol No rules,quilting police just have fun.

I really can't think of any bad advice I've received. I take all I can get!

I was told that you do not have to pin or trim the blocks or press...BIGGEST mistake I ever did was listen to that person,who thought she was a teacher(she was not). I was new and didn't know any better.

I learned the techniques from a pro and found out that you must pin and trim the blocks to size after they are pressed.

suzyquilter
 

I had someone help me sandwhich a quilt. (She was an instructor) She had me "stretch" each layer of fabric using excessive amounts if spray between each layer. Needless to say I almost ruined a quilt that I'd used very expensive fabric on. I had to salvage it by using a high loft batting, but first having to wash and rewash the fabric. The good thing that came out of this is, a friend taught me how to properly pin a quilt. No more spray for me.

I am still using rotary cutter towards me. Bad habit i need to break.

He's a really great guy, you ought to marry him.

[QUOTE=catmcclure;5802346]He's a really great guy, you ought to marry him.

HA HA HA HA HA HA I read that twice before I actually got it! I was trying to put it into a quilting situation.

love your horse!

when first started to fmq they said pedal to the metal it does not wowk for me i have to slow it down

I agree with Hopeto quilt! The worst advice one will get starts with either "you must always", "the correct way to", "never do it that way", etc. The majority of quilters know that there are no quilt police, and that there is often a different way to do something, and the way that works best for each is the best for that quilter!

The BEST advise I ever got "Enjoy the Journey". And I do.

diamonddee and catmcclure: I am still laughing out loud over that one--I went back and read it three times before it rang in for me.....

LOVE IT!! I have heard it 4 times..LOL..Now if I can everr FIND the last one, so I can divorce him!!

I like your attitude way!

Best advice - if you make a mistake, make another one just like it and say it's suppose to be that way - heard Liz Porter say this.

If an instructor ticks me off, I don't take a class from them again. A few years back I signed up for a quilt as you go class and bought all my supplies and precut the batting. She was extremely upset with me over the poor quality of my batting. All the supply list said was batting. I was new. Good grief, when I was a kid we bought wool blankets from the Salvation Army and that was our batting. We used old cotton sheets for foundation strip piecing.

I say, if someone gets real snooty, tell them to go to a quilt museum, like the one in Paducah, and look at the quilts made more than 50 years ago. You will find that the points don't match, some seams are crooked, mixed fabrics because they used the good pieces of worn out clothing. Yet, all these quilts are beautiful.

So, my advice is, don't stress on the small stuff and enjoy quilting. Now a days when I take a quilt class, I don't argue with the instructor, I learn new stuff, if I don't like a certain procedure, I don't do it that way, I find a way I'm comfortable with.

LOL I also thought this was the worst advice I ever got.

"That fabric you picked is just wrong for that pattern and it won't work" an insistent and very self-assured sales lady told me at an LQS. I was new to quilting and allowed this "expert" to convince me to change course. The fabric she suggested worked but it wasn't what I had in mind and I never finished the quilt. Ended up passing the top on to community service at the guild. Now I take my DH with me when I need color advice. He has a good eye for color and he has my best interest at heart.

My Home Ec teacher I HS told me I was making a mistake taking physical science instead of another year of home ec becauses I would never see the inside doors of a nursing school. Ha----I am a retired RN.

[QUOTE=diamondee;5802368]Yes! Excellent :-)

the last bit of bad advice was a worker at handcocks told me that a serger doesn't have to have a special needle just use the regular machine needles. I was trying to do a QAYG with my serger. nice idea but I just ended up messing my machine up so never again. also my old machine wants serger needles or the other just break. I don't know bout the new ones but i learned that those who know it alls---- don't. I read and watch and i'll try different ways but then I go with what works for me. I just wish some people could be a little bit less snooty when they want to stick their nose up and give advice. and I don't show my work to anyone here cause this family only believes they can do anything and play quilt police on everyones elses stuff. I'm not the quilt police so i say my oooohs and ahhhs and just enjoy looking. but learned not to say anyone else did a good job to the one where i am at. don't want to get onto there competition or take sides. both do nice work as far as i am concerned and they quilt traditionally I usually paper peice and applique so we have total different taste.they also like speedy things and i go slow and just relax with my work. I just put binding on a wallhanging and added some buttons of animals as embellishment. it is a farm scene and orchard on the road side type. I need to learn to take pictures and put on here and see what you all think. since my stroke i stick with something small. that is why the last quillow i need to get don't takes so long. all three got done but for some reason this one will end up animals beds and i ordered more material to start over. after this i don't want to facer another quillow for a while LOL.

You can't use THOSE colors together!

I figure any advice offered is neither good nor bad, its just advice! I make the assessment and decide which advice to take and which to ignore. I also try to always politely thank the advice giver, even when I know that I am never going to follow up on the advice. If I am unsure of something, like what needle to use, then I listen, and try to some research on my own ( bless the internet!). I find that advice is mostly offered with good intent, and a desire to help. So a simple "thank you" goes a long way toward keeping the peace at the fabric counter! (Works with my family, too!)

I was almost affraid to look at this post, thinking about what bad advice I may have given:D

Press, press press!
peace

I think the worst advice was to not bother to pre wash fabric.

That there is only one way to do something! There are as many ways as there are quilters and you need to do what works for you!

I have been told over and over again by a quilt police masquerading as a friend that "You can't mix colors all together in a ____________ and expect the end result to look good." "It has too much movement/color, etc." is another favorite piece of her advice. However, at Christmastime she told a friend in my hearing that I used excellent colors when I quilted. HUH?????? Whatever!!! I use colors that appeal to me and want to play together (even if not nicely) and I quilt with crazy colored thread that usually show up both on the front and on the back.

You know, with hand piecing it isn't as important to press each seam during assembly because you don't sew into the seam allowance. You assemble by sewing point to point, not sewing across any seam allowances, so it's a lot easier to press them later when the block is assembled and you can see which way they should be pressed.

But machine piecing...I do press those.

Don't computerize your long arm because that isn't real quilting and isn't really artistic. I love my Intelliquilter and I feel just as artistic using it.

Yes the "MY WAY" thing works with pre-washing fabrics, why/how to press seams, etc. Try it and find what works for you.

i dont remember getting any advice and something wrong happen when i tried it , but then again if it doesnt sound right to me i dont try it