Finishing All the Quilt Tops
 

Is finished truly better than perfect?

My drawer of finished quilt tops is nearly full, but my UFO draw has barely done down. I was originally planning on saving most of my tops for when I can afford/have room for a long arm. But realistically, that probably won't be for another 10 to 15 years away. Maybe I should try to find a local long armer to baste them up for me and then I just quilt them all up. (I hate basting!) I want something more than overall patterns or stippling. But choosing the right pattern is challenging too! I've thought about big stitching a couple, just for fun. So, question is: is finished truly better than perfect? Should I save them for the "perfect" time in my life, or just do a simple stipple or meandering pattern and call them done? Surely I'm not the only one of us with this delimma.

Now I know you don't possibly have enough tops to work on, so I am sending you mine also. That should keep you busy.
I keep telling myself from now on to only make Quilt As You Go quilts!! so far, I haven't listened!
Just do what ever makes you happy and you have enough time and energy to do. free motion, straight lines, etc. Something different for each quilt until you run out of ideas! then start over!
I must buy some more spray 505 basting. was thinking of the basting powder but it's not for me. small items maybe but not a whole quilt.

Yes. Finished truly IS better than perfect. You can't enjoy those quilt tops while they're sitting in a drawer. Better to have them meander quilted or straight-line quilted or whatever works, and on the bed. Maybe you could save one or two to send out to a long arm quilter, and do the rest yourself. As for basting, have you considered basting with Elmer's Washable School Glue? I started doing that a couple years ago and now never use any other method. I spread out the backing, batting, and top on my dining room table, brush thinned Elmer's (the "washable" kind only!) with a basting brush, let it all dry, then quilt. The glue all easily washes out in the washing machine afterwards. I love this method.

My theory is that a top is not useful until it's finished, and it doubles in beauty by being quilted and bound. I don't have UFO's because it's my nature to finish each project before starting another. But it's also my nature to want to do all the piecing and quilting myself, and like you I hated basting (and that was before spray basting was available). So for the few years before I had a longarm I quilted in sections from Marti Michelle's book Machine Quilting in Sections. (That is definitely not the same as QAYG.) You could look into that. Or you might ask a talented longarmer to accept some of your tops as payment in return for quilting some of them. But it's also perfectly okay to decide just to make tops, if that makes you happy, and dream of finishing them someday. I think the big stitch quilting is lovely, but I suspect you would still need to baste.

I think there's several questions to answer. How big are the tops? If smaller than bed size then you might want to have basted(or glue baste yourself) and do them on your DSM and save bigger ones for sending out.

Are all the tops calling for custom quilting(other than pantographs or stippling)? I think there are two schools of thought on quilting. If you want the piecing to stand out on the finished quilt then an overall pattern with neutral thread for the quilting will do that. If you feel the quilt calls for special quilting that will stand out, again sending out(or learning to do at home) will be the way to go. And there's actually a third way to look at it. I often do ruler work on my quilts as I feel the design will look better if I stitch around a block or motif to make the design look better overall.

Another question is how much quilting do you like? I prefer the less quilting the better for most quilts. Some prefer extensive quilting. If you like heavy quilting you might want to wait to get a longarm as the more quilting, the more expensive it will be to have it done.


So, a lot has to do with your personal preference on how the finished quilt will look.

I like to completely finish a quilt as soon as pieced but have a couple of tops that have been waiting for years now to get quilted.

Yes - finished is better than perfect. Who are these tops for? They're waiting. Oh, you are just going to donate them? Still waiting.

I would start with the simplest patchwork designs and straight line walking foot wiggly line and diagonal crosshatch.designs. You can knock out at least a 3rd of them.

set up a basting station in front of the TV and put on the entire Lord of the rings. (I use my 6' folding table). Heck - how many avengers movies are there now? Rather binge watch Brigerton or all 25 seasons of This Old House? You pick!

Basting and quilting the big guys might be worth working with a longarmer for. I think you can quilt and base anything yourself up to about a twin size. After that it really does start to get challenging on DSM. But if you finish the smallest with the above 2 tips (TV basting and straight line quilting) you will truly realize the potential of the quilt.

PS. Also fabric degrades over time- even if put away out of direct sunlight. Critters can get in and make nests also. Best move all those quilt tops along.

I always wondered why so many people say "finished is better than perfect". No, nothing is better than perfect! That saying, to me, is a cop out for doing your best work on every quilt. Sure I could slap together some mess and leave all the wrinkles in the quilting, but is that supposed to be better than perfect? Of course not!

Take your time and get it right. Rip and sew over, whatever it takes. Then the person who is "waiting" will get something worth giving, rather than just anything you could quickly throw together.

NZ, I do recommend you try QAYG on your next quilt. Make big blocks (or join smaller ones into a big block) and quilt them individually on your DSM. Then join the quilted blocks. There are several tutorials for this method in our Tutorials section of the board. It's a fun method.

P.S. I pin baste with safety pins.

I don't have any quilt tops that haven't been quilted. I have sent a few large quilts to my LAQ but if also use my walking foot to do pretty designs on my quilts. Check out Melissa Marginet by MelissaMarginet on Etsy

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