Tips from a seasoned quilter…
01-20-2011, 12:03 PM
#53
Member
Join Date: Dec 2010
Location: Boise, Idaho
Posts: 17
thanks for those quilting tips Patticake & MomtoBostonTerriers: I printed out those tips!
I am a newbie quilter but I have been creating art for many years.
Here are a few tips from me. Patticake is so correct it is the journey that counts. This is the same no matter what medium you are working in.
I find sometimes that giving the finished art piece is a tad anticlimactic.
I find I feel like a new mother showing off her new born baby.
Hearing people say oh wow isn’t she beautiful.
When you know they are really saying wow I could have made that better ;).
No one will ever appreciate your art piece as much as you do.
You are the one that was there at it's conception, you created it piece by piece.
Fretting over every little detail.
If you wait and expect others to give you that pat on the back, with the same enthusiasm in which you created the art piece in the first place? you will be somewhat disappointed.
I create art for me first:
If someone finds some pleasure over my art piece, that is a bonus.
Here is to creating art that makes our souls sing!
I am a newbie quilter but I have been creating art for many years.
Here are a few tips from me. Patticake is so correct it is the journey that counts. This is the same no matter what medium you are working in.
I find sometimes that giving the finished art piece is a tad anticlimactic.
I find I feel like a new mother showing off her new born baby.
Hearing people say oh wow isn’t she beautiful.
When you know they are really saying wow I could have made that better ;).
No one will ever appreciate your art piece as much as you do.
You are the one that was there at it's conception, you created it piece by piece.
Fretting over every little detail.
If you wait and expect others to give you that pat on the back, with the same enthusiasm in which you created the art piece in the first place? you will be somewhat disappointed.
I create art for me first:
If someone finds some pleasure over my art piece, that is a bonus.
Here is to creating art that makes our souls sing!
01-20-2011, 12:07 PM
#54
Member
Join Date: Dec 2010
Location: Boise, Idaho
Posts: 17
Originally Posted by ArtisticDesign
A testiment to starch: My cousin got hired by a lady who had verrry old blocks that her grandmother had made and she wanted them made into a reversible wall hanging.. Just to explain how difficult this was...The grandmother was not the best quilter..One half squ triangle was almost twics as big as another within the block..The stitching was hand done and very shakey/uneven...Every block was exageratedly unsquare..
My cousin was brainstorming several ways on how to do this..She tried adding borders to the blocks ( so didnt work) She thought about fusing them onto muslin (which would have exagerated the wonky lil blocks and been permanent)...She tried squaring one up (looked really bad)..After a few more attempts she called me freaking out..
I went over and we brainstormed some more... I finally grabbed the heavy starch and starched both sides of the blocks/ironed, twice. As well as the border strips...Then we took the squ ruler and squared them up..They cut like butter, so easy..She took a deep breath and sewed one of the border strips on, also went so smooth she didn't even need pins...
The lady got tears in her eyes when she seen it..Not even caring that some of the (too big) half sq points were cut off lol.. If starch worked on these wonky blocks it'll make anything easier lol
My cousin was brainstorming several ways on how to do this..She tried adding borders to the blocks ( so didnt work) She thought about fusing them onto muslin (which would have exagerated the wonky lil blocks and been permanent)...She tried squaring one up (looked really bad)..After a few more attempts she called me freaking out..
I went over and we brainstormed some more... I finally grabbed the heavy starch and starched both sides of the blocks/ironed, twice. As well as the border strips...Then we took the squ ruler and squared them up..They cut like butter, so easy..She took a deep breath and sewed one of the border strips on, also went so smooth she didn't even need pins...
The lady got tears in her eyes when she seen it..Not even caring that some of the (too big) half sq points were cut off lol.. If starch worked on these wonky blocks it'll make anything easier lol
01-20-2011, 12:10 PM
#55
Super Member
Join Date: Dec 2009
Location: leavenworth, ks
Posts: 3,093
Here are a couple of my tips aka 2 cents worth:
Cats, contrary to their belief, do not actually help you sew better BUT they are good for destressing.
Buy a good stitch ripper. That, too, can be your friend. (I, personally, named mine after one long weekend.)
A backup machine or two (or more) can be your friend when your main machine dies, or won't work, unexpectedly.
I agree with create for yourself and if someone else happens to find it beautiful, or even art, that's just an added bonus.
Cats, contrary to their belief, do not actually help you sew better BUT they are good for destressing.
Buy a good stitch ripper. That, too, can be your friend. (I, personally, named mine after one long weekend.)
A backup machine or two (or more) can be your friend when your main machine dies, or won't work, unexpectedly.
I agree with create for yourself and if someone else happens to find it beautiful, or even art, that's just an added bonus.
01-20-2011, 12:10 PM
#56
Member
Join Date: Dec 2010
Location: Boise, Idaho
Posts: 17
Originally Posted by Midwestmary
Great advice - I have personally been lax about squaring up. I realize I need to slow down the process and take a little more time to work on accuracy. Can't say enough about the helpful things I've learned and continue to learn from this board :)
I hear you I also need to slow down: ;0
01-20-2011, 12:27 PM
#57
Power Poster
Join Date: Dec 2010
Location: California
Posts: 14,723
Originally Posted by leonajo
tips r great, and I am going to buy some starch!
01-20-2011, 12:31 PM
#58
Super Member
Join Date: Jan 2011
Location: Knot Merrill, Southern Indiana
Posts: 5,781
Originally Posted by MomtoBostonTerriers
Starch often during the construction process. Don't worry about starch flakes on dark fabric -- wash the quilt after it is completed, and that will solve the problem.
01-20-2011, 02:04 PM
#60
Super Member
Join Date: Dec 2010
Location: Colorado Springs
Posts: 7,583
Thanks for the great tips. I didn't understand for a long time how important it was to square all the blocks after they were sewn until I did it the first time and lo and behold, my seams all matched!! I especially agree with the last tip.
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