ANY Quilters?

[SonWorshipper]

I have been a quilter for about 10 years, but have slowed down in the past year or so because of my eyes. Because of back problems I have limited my production of large quilts and discovered that I can be more creative with minis. Here are a few pictures of my creations.

So do we have any quilters here?

 

[Loki]

Just getting started; first project, strip "experiement" Second, double nine patch. third, mom's old quilt she didn't finish.

 

[SonWorshipper]

Oh, I love strippy quilts. So much fun and you get to use up lots of odds and ends.

 

[Senta]

I am working with minitures too. My first one is not completed it is an 8 inch by 10 inch that I hand pieced using paper foundation method. I hand quilted but only "stitched in the ditch" (I guess that means stitching where over areas that I pieced... like along the border and in the outline of the middle heart, etc.)

The first one I did has a ton of mistakes. One of the major mistakes I made was not ironing the pieces as I went. I plan to make a set of four of them.

 

[cat57]

i would love to learn how to quilt.

 

[SonWorshipper]

That sounds coold Senta, I have done the "standard" sized minis, but started doing the macro minis and I now have over 100 of them. I've also sold alot of them at craft shows, but didn't do any this past year.

 

[Loki]

Cat, if you've access to a machine, some thread, and some scrap fabric, it's really easy to teach yourself how to make a little quilted something (pillow, pot holder, placemat, wall decoration). Or if you don't hav access to a machine, hey, why not try hand piecing. Your local library probably has how to books on quilting; I know I frequent mine; two are sitting next to me as I type. And It seems we've got some experienced quilters here who'd probably be able to give good advice to newbies (I know I still need all the advice I can get).

Questions for the old hands:

What exactly is stitching in the ditch? Is it right over the seam, where the pieces are put together, or to the side of the seam?

Do you recommend prewashing batting?

And are there any tricks to dealing with the sheer bulk of a queen sized quilt while actually trying to quilt the blessed thing?

 

[SonWorshipper]

Questions for the old hands:

What exactly is stitching in the ditch? Is it right over the seam, where the pieces are put together, or to the side of the seam?

Do you recommend prewashing batting?

And are there any tricks to dealing with the sheer bulk of a queen sized quilt while actually trying to quilt the blessed thing?

I gots old hands so I will try to answer!

Stiching in the ditch is what you said, right in the seam line. This is good for beginners to try as it doesn't show up as much, it is basically used to hold the batting in place and highlight the shapes with this "outline". Now you can also quilt 1/4" away from the seam, and this is called "shadow quilting".

Now about batting. I use 100% cotton 99% of the time and no, I don't pre-wash it, because I like the "wrinkled look" of older quilts and that is what happens when you wash your finnished project, instant wrinkles and instant aged look. However if you like a smoother look , pre-wash. This of course is not for the polyester batts, NEVER wash them!

 

[SonWorshipper]

I just went and took these pictures for you to illustrate what I mean.

The first quilt is a miniature, measuring appro 18"X 18". It is machine peiced and machine and hand quilted. The little white squares are hand quilted "In the ditch" and the white octagons have a hand quilted medallion in the center and are "shadow quilted" on the perimeters. The outside edges have a machine done "Stippling quilting".


The second picture is a hatchet pattern and has each diamond square ( white background) "stitched in the ditch" while each anvil or hatchet has the shadow quilting. This one is totally hand-quilted.



Make sure you click on the thumbnail pictures to enlarge them!

 

[judy]

A friend of mine got me started quilting about 2 years ago. I had avoided it because I don't like using a sewing machine AT ALL. I saw her hand-piecing one day and said, wow, you mean you can do that by hand? Since then I've made a bunch of quilts, including baby quilts for my sisters newborn, quilts for my kids, and a king-size quilt for me and my husband, as well as lap quilts. I also don't like following patterns or doing something someone else has already done. I love looking at quilting magazines and books though, for inspiration.

I really enjoy making quilts the way they were made hundreds of years ago.

I'll attach a picture of my son with the quilt I recently made for him.

 

[Auntie]

You ladies do beautiful work!!

My granny was an avid quilter. She always had a quilt going. I love to design and piece the tops, but the quilting part was always a struggle for me.

 

[mountaingoat]

I agree everything is beautiful. I want to learn how to quilt, but I am worried that my eyesight will go bad or that it will be to hard. Anybody have any suggestions for starting off???

 

[Loki]

It's not hard, but it's not a cakewalk, either. Start with strips. What I did for my first quilt was use old strips from old sewing projects, but it's doable if you just go to JoAnns or something, also. A roman square is about the easiest block you can make; it's just three parallel strips, and cut so that it's a square. Do light in the middle and dark outside. You could get away with about a yard of a dark fabric, a half yard of a light fabric, a half yard of a background fabric (muslin, for example), and about a yard for a backing. I don't typically go by instructions; I just go until I feel that the quilt is a good size. Start with something fairly small; a baby blanket or wall hanging is perfect since it yields results quickly.

 

[SonWorshipper]

Judy , your quilt is beautiful! and all hand done, I can't imagine doing anything that large all by hand!

 

[judy]

Judy , your quilt is beautiful! and all hand done, I can't imagine doing anything that large all by hand!

Thank you!

 

[Danaweeze]

I have been a quilter for about 15 years. Have been a teacher for 8 or 9 years. Have many UFO's, unfinished objects! Hope to concentrate on these this coming year.

 

[longhair75]

good evening friends,

sunflower (mrs. longhair) and i are both quilters. we are pretty new at it, but sunflower has four that she has completed and given to nieces and nephews. she has five or six current projects going now.

like friend judy posted, i am a hand quilter. my work is done by a method called english paper piecing. the fabric is basted onto thin cardboard shapes, then sewn together at the edges. once you have completed an area, you remove the cardboard form and trim the excess fabric.

i have three projects in the works. as a newbie, i am unable to post links yet, but when i can, i will link to pictures of our stuff.

longhair75

 

[GodFreak43]

I love to quilt!

 

[judy]

good evening friends,

sunflower (mrs. longhair) and i are both quilters. we are pretty new at it, but sunflower has four that she has completed and given to nieces and nephews. she has five or six current projects going now.

like friend judy posted, i am a hand quilter. my work is done by a method called english paper piecing. the fabric is basted onto thin cardboard shapes, then sewn together at the edges. once you have completed an area, you remove the cardboard form and trim the excess fabric.

i have three projects in the works. as a newbie, i am unable to post links yet, but when i can, i will link to pictures of our stuff.

longhair75

It's nice to know I'm not the only one who enjoys quilting by hand. I haven't tried paper piecing yet, but I intend to.

(Have a few blessings, I think you may need them to post photos.)

 

[longhair75]

friend judy,

thank you for the blessings. when i attempted to post the image, i got a screen explaining that i need a few more posts to be able to post images and links. i will post an image as soon as i can.

longhair75