The worst advise I ever got was when I was making my first quilt. The shop owner talked me into a dark printed backing. What did I know! It was a log cabin quilt and with the dark fabric on the back you couldln't see all the had quilting. I was very disapointed. I think quilting is a personal thing and everyone should make their own decisions..we all see things differently.

It's got to be perfect. No, it doesn't, it only has to make me happy!

It means if you have one piece longer than the other "baggy" to put it on the bottom so the feed dogs will ease it in.

When I wanted to learn, no one I asked to show, wanted to help. All I heard was, "Oh, you need to take some classes!". Well now I realize, they just didn't want to be bothered. I finally took the plunge, found a quilt pattern, easy one, in a quilt mag, & made it all by myself. Haven't stopped since. Tried to classes & they must have too easy, cause I was really with both of them. Now, I keep an eye out for better, more interesting classes, but the local LQS doesn't offer those kind. So, I buy lots of books, get info on sites like this, & am still doing my own thing.

I never measure. Never. I do pin the borders on from the center out and I always sew with the border on top. My quilts start out squarer to start with since I don't sew my blocks into big long rows. I have measured in the past and found less than an eighth of an inch variation from the center to the sides.

I think you may have just solved a problem I have been having with a quilt I've been working off and on for about 5 years. The border isn't right and I get frustrated and put it away. I've tried a lot of things but didn't think of this.

absolutely!!!!! It belongs to you, and you are the queen of your project.

The worst advice I got recently was from an employee at a quilt shop. A quilt shop was offering a BOM for a Baltimore Album quilt which is something I have always wanted to do. I called and the person I talked to advised me that since I had not done a Baltimore album before that maybe I would be less frustrated if I did a simpler project which I did not like. She also told that I might want to do the project by machine instead of hand applique. This project, for me, wasn't about finishing each month but about the process of making a Baltimore Album with hand applique. It distressed me to think that the person I spoke to did not take the time to determine what I wanted before offering her advice. I bought the BOM in question from an online quilt shop instead. I got the blocks cheaper, they come to my mailbox, and I don't have to drive forty miles out of my way to deal with this "helpful" person who didn't know me or my abilities. Unfortunately, this quilt shop also lost all the money I would have spent there after I got there as well as the BOM fees.

Same here! The best quilter I know could only spare one lesson for me and that was just to make a 12" block of DNP. I had to sandwich it myself and she never got around to helping me with the binding so after 3 years (gasp!!!) I bought "Quilting For Dummies" and read it through the 12 week recovery bed rest I had after 2 back to back surgeries. I figured out the binding and then I found this board and I haven't needed to call that friend back.

I would call this quilt shop back, ask for a manager, and let her know all of this. Let them know that they lost your business, you went elsewhere and that's the fault of this helpful employee. I always find people to be more helpful with critical feeback.