Newbies challenge
01-30-2011, 02:31 PM
#1552
Junior Member
Join Date: Oct 2010
Location: Washburn, North Dakota
Posts: 257
Originally Posted by stevendebbie25
Quilters, especially new ones, if you like reading, there is a wonderful series "Elm Creek Quilts" 13 books, by Jennifer Chiaverini, starts with Apprentice Quilter. Then there is also a cookbook & 4 pattern books in her set.
You get the enjoyment of the stories which are all around quilters. But the explaination of step by step quilting is very good. They also come in audio books. I like to listen while I quilt. There are several good quilt related novels, from mystery to romance. This series reminds me of a TV series, a nice continued flow one book to the next, following the main charectors & their quilting.
If you really enjoy study of the scriptures, there are 3 series "Names of Jesus", "Women of the Bible" and "Psalms"
each has study guide & a block for each "name" or "woman", so you can create a sampler style quilt. These are also fun to learn & create as you go.
Most quilt classes are technique or pattern specific.
But most BOM are sampler style, learning many different blocks for each month. This way you get to find the blocks that you enjoy most. I love log cabins, they come in dozens of designs, and changing the blocks a little creates dozens more complete quilt looks.
When your ready to challenge yourself, try a mystery quilt.
You dont' know the end 'look' until the end. Each step from fabric amount, cutting, piecing blocks then sections, sashing & binding, are given one step at a time, the end is always fun. I love how just changing the fabric choices creates completely different quilt looks, even with the exact same pattern.
Try taking 4 blocks, aligning them differently, twisting and swapping. Now take 2 blocks the same fabric, but 4 blocks total (2 + 2), see all the variations. It's a fun way to learn, and not have to waste a whole quilt of fabric.
Use FQs or fat 1/8ths to learn from until you build up a fabric stash (supply). Go online to craigslist or ebay and dozens of online quilt shops, fabshophop is one collection of shops, to buy fabrics on sale & build/add to your stash.
I watch for free shipping, I'd rather spend a little more on the fabric if I'm not paying shipping. And I like paypal, safer in my opinion.
Watch garage sales, thrift shops, and buy jeans (I only go .25-.50 cents for fancy color jeans, or sparkle. But friends & family will usually donate old jeans for your project). Watch for prom dresses or brides maid dresses, crushed soft velvets of holiday outfits, these make nice crazy quilts. I collect mens neck ties also, and women's hankies.
For a beginner quilter, who's probably not entering any quilt show contests at first, or just wanting fun quilts for kids/grandkids, I know some have strong opinions on where fabric is bought, but children change their intersts faster than a quilt is warn out, even dragging it around & needing several washings. JoAnn fabric you can sign up for their flyer & always has lots of sales. Walmart, just feel the fabric, get something not thin & flimsy. Hancock is also good. These places usually have fabric collections that blend together, taking the guesswork out of picking the right fabric, a nice way to get started. After a while, you'll catch onto what to look for blending our own selections.
Quilt with a friend. I encourage joining quilt guilds or groups, check your community or local quilt shops will probably know who to contact. But if the time don't work out for you, find a friend to quilt with, even if your both beginners, once a week or once a month. It's nice to put together a few hours quilting with a friend. We rotate houses, have a lunch, take a break and take a walk. Or just share tea & dessert. Make time for yourself and your new hobby/craft. "If mama aint happy, nobody's happy". Instead of the computer (oops, here I am), or watching a TV show your really not interested in, schedule that hour or so for your quilting. No matter what, remember, nobody makes a perfect quilt. Everyone will be impressed by even the simplist pattern. We all had to start somewhere.
There's always time for the fancy star points and bargello quilts in the future. For now, enjoy and KISS (Keep it Simple Stitching).
You get the enjoyment of the stories which are all around quilters. But the explaination of step by step quilting is very good. They also come in audio books. I like to listen while I quilt. There are several good quilt related novels, from mystery to romance. This series reminds me of a TV series, a nice continued flow one book to the next, following the main charectors & their quilting.
If you really enjoy study of the scriptures, there are 3 series "Names of Jesus", "Women of the Bible" and "Psalms"
each has study guide & a block for each "name" or "woman", so you can create a sampler style quilt. These are also fun to learn & create as you go.
Most quilt classes are technique or pattern specific.
But most BOM are sampler style, learning many different blocks for each month. This way you get to find the blocks that you enjoy most. I love log cabins, they come in dozens of designs, and changing the blocks a little creates dozens more complete quilt looks.
When your ready to challenge yourself, try a mystery quilt.
You dont' know the end 'look' until the end. Each step from fabric amount, cutting, piecing blocks then sections, sashing & binding, are given one step at a time, the end is always fun. I love how just changing the fabric choices creates completely different quilt looks, even with the exact same pattern.
Try taking 4 blocks, aligning them differently, twisting and swapping. Now take 2 blocks the same fabric, but 4 blocks total (2 + 2), see all the variations. It's a fun way to learn, and not have to waste a whole quilt of fabric.
Use FQs or fat 1/8ths to learn from until you build up a fabric stash (supply). Go online to craigslist or ebay and dozens of online quilt shops, fabshophop is one collection of shops, to buy fabrics on sale & build/add to your stash.
I watch for free shipping, I'd rather spend a little more on the fabric if I'm not paying shipping. And I like paypal, safer in my opinion.
Watch garage sales, thrift shops, and buy jeans (I only go .25-.50 cents for fancy color jeans, or sparkle. But friends & family will usually donate old jeans for your project). Watch for prom dresses or brides maid dresses, crushed soft velvets of holiday outfits, these make nice crazy quilts. I collect mens neck ties also, and women's hankies.
For a beginner quilter, who's probably not entering any quilt show contests at first, or just wanting fun quilts for kids/grandkids, I know some have strong opinions on where fabric is bought, but children change their intersts faster than a quilt is warn out, even dragging it around & needing several washings. JoAnn fabric you can sign up for their flyer & always has lots of sales. Walmart, just feel the fabric, get something not thin & flimsy. Hancock is also good. These places usually have fabric collections that blend together, taking the guesswork out of picking the right fabric, a nice way to get started. After a while, you'll catch onto what to look for blending our own selections.
Quilt with a friend. I encourage joining quilt guilds or groups, check your community or local quilt shops will probably know who to contact. But if the time don't work out for you, find a friend to quilt with, even if your both beginners, once a week or once a month. It's nice to put together a few hours quilting with a friend. We rotate houses, have a lunch, take a break and take a walk. Or just share tea & dessert. Make time for yourself and your new hobby/craft. "If mama aint happy, nobody's happy". Instead of the computer (oops, here I am), or watching a TV show your really not interested in, schedule that hour or so for your quilting. No matter what, remember, nobody makes a perfect quilt. Everyone will be impressed by even the simplist pattern. We all had to start somewhere.
There's always time for the fancy star points and bargello quilts in the future. For now, enjoy and KISS (Keep it Simple Stitching).
Jumping in on a full/queen quilt can sometimes become overwhelming & discouraging, even confusing with larger patterns. I hope to encourage all our newbie's.
01-30-2011, 02:56 PM
#1553
Member
Join Date: Jan 2011
Posts: 4
You know I have been quilting and sewing for years, and I feel like a newbie daily. Others seem more talented than I. So I guess its when I dont know how to do something and then learn from someone else, it makes me feel like a newbie. Anyone else feel that way?
01-30-2011, 07:18 PM
#1554
Junior Member
Join Date: Oct 2010
Location: Washburn, North Dakota
Posts: 257
Originally Posted by PaulaLovett
You know I have been quilting and sewing for years, and I feel like a newbie daily. Others seem more talented than I. So I guess its when I dont know how to do something and then learn from someone else, it makes me feel like a newbie. Anyone else feel that way?
01-31-2011, 06:38 PM
#1555
Member
Join Date: Jan 2011
Location: Palatine, Illinois
Posts: 16
Hi, you would surely have some insights to help me. I wonder how you hand sew the top quilt to bottom using a template design. The material of the quilt is mostly black and gold. I chose black felt for back. It is my first and the size is 16 x 16 only. Just want to see what I can do. What do you use to see the design? I've used purple disappearing marker but that I can't really even see. Thank you in advance.
01-31-2011, 09:07 PM
#1556
Junior Member
Join Date: Oct 2010
Location: Washburn, North Dakota
Posts: 257
Originally Posted by nan
Hi, you would surely have some insights to help me. I wonder how you hand sew the top quilt to bottom using a template design. The material of the quilt is mostly black and gold. I chose black felt for back. It is my first and the size is 16 x 16 only. Just want to see what I can do. What do you use to see the design? I've used purple disappearing marker but that I can't really even see. Thank you in advance.
Clover now makes a White Marking Pen that erases with water or ironing. It won't rub off. They are not cheap, $6-7, but it works great, easy to see on dark fabrics. When you use it, it takes a few seconds to "show up" and it is a nice thin line.
I just marked a feather vine on a dark blue border for hand quilting (4 borders of a bed-size quilt), and it didn't run out until almost the end. The barrel is clear so you can see how much ink you have left. Keep it capped so it doesn't dry out. A lot of my friends use it for hand applique, to mark the seam allowance, so I imagine it would work well for hand piecing. Just remember not to iron it or wet it until you are finished stitching.
That said, I have white pencils, silver pencils, no leads break. The white is marked "General's pastel chalk", the silver is marked "Sanford verithin". Both use regular pencil sharpeners.
I have used the "White Marking Pen CLOVER" and it is as BlueBars says. The ink takes a minute to dry, but then can be seen as a fine, opaque line that doesn't rub off easily. It washes out easily with cold water. The ball point means that the line can be drawn with great accuracy. I think this is a gel pen. This makes me wonder if a glittery gel pen might be even more visible on black fabric, but I'm not sure how well it would wash out. Sounds like I'm gonna hafta run another test! ;-P
Another thing I like: At Joann Fabrics, they have a set of chalks, in assorted colors, with a plastic holder. The chalks can be sharpened separately from the holder, which means less breakage and a finer point. I sometimes use emery boards (nail files) to sand the point, for an even finer line. This rubs off relatively easily, so is of limited use.
I have not tried any silver pencils yet. I read that a particular brand of silver pencil is very good. I wish I could remember which brand it was. I think it was Aquarelle. It was an artist pencil, at any rate. It might be available singly at Joann's, in the section with the watercolors and paintbrushes. I'm going to put that on my shopping list, as I have been meaning to try it one of these days.
I ran a search to try to find the name of the silver pencil, and this might be helpful, (if you enlarge the font!)
Marking Pencils
It seems that more than one brand might work just fine.
If it is straight lines...I use painters tape ..comes off easily and leaves no marks. If it isn't straight lines...I use a very thin point chalk pencil which I found at our local fabric store here in Winnipeg, Man. I'm sure you could find them in the States as well....
Now these answers should all work on black fabric.
If you need something for other color fabric's, I found a pen set (black, blue, red) you buy at an office supply store like Staples/Office Depot, it's "Frixion" by Ball/Pilot pens.
When you iron over the ink, it completely disappears, better than the above mentioned 'quilt' markers. But, I haven't seen it in a light color that would work on black fabric yet. Hope these ideas will help.
02-01-2011, 07:06 AM
#1558
Junior Member
Join Date: Oct 2010
Location: Washburn, North Dakota
Posts: 257
Originally Posted by Trinity
I am a newbie and would love to be adopted. Now if I can only figure out this chat thing, I will be good!
If you want to PM someone (Personal Message direct to only that person), click on their name top of their avatar (photo) to left of this message. When their name opens up, there is a place for "send a PM" click that, and it opens like sending an email direct to that person only. When she responds, you'll get an email, you open the blue link and it takes you directly to her message to you, you respond there, the same as you do here.
If you want to jump in on any conversation on this group, find what your comment pertains to, don't even have to be the last message, but it's helpful if you "quickquote" to that message, the answer will be printed in the same box, theirs is lighter, yours bolder, so we know what your responding to. OR create your own new question or new topic at the top of Main (for topic) and bottom of last page in these postings is an open box, put your title & message and send to the particular group your in at the time.
If it's Chat Room, it's at the top of the page. Click it and wait a minute it takes a little to upload. Then your name pops in at the top of the list of people there at that moment. There is a place on the bottom for you to type a mini message. Send. Everyone will see it. some come up in colors. Read what's being talked about, jump in with a question or comment and join the conversation.
I hope this helps you navegate the group. Enjoy and make friends.
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