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beginner quilter needs advice
donella Member since 12/11/08 Posts: 17	Login to reply to this post Like this post Date: 1/15/13 11:08 AM Hi,I am wanting to do some quilttops but am scared to try.I need advice on easy quilt tops to piece on the machine that are not too boring but not having to be percise on all seams and such.Everything I read seems overwhelming to me.I am use to using a sewing machine so that part is ok.
PattiAnnJ   Advanced OH USA Member since 12/3/06 Posts: 4982	Login to reply to this post 5 members like this. Date: 1/15/13 12:29 PM Grab a bunch of colors you like, preferably cotton. Cut blocks and start stitching at random. This should get you out of the "can't do it" funk!
clotheshorse   Intermediate BC CANADA Member since 3/24/10 Posts: 632	Login to reply to this post In reply to donella << 2 members like this. Date: 1/15/13 12:48 PM Jenny Doan of the Missouri Star Quilt Co. has some great free utube tutorials. If you go to the Missouri Star site, they have the tutorials listed in categories form beginner up. Jenny shows very easy but cute beginner patterns and is very encouraging! ------ Viking D1, 1+, Pfaff 7570, Singer 503 Rocketeer, 66, 15-91, Featherweight 5 Flock, Babylock Enlighten & Coverstitch and Pfaff Creative Performance
goodworks1   Advanced IL USA Member since 7/19/03 Posts: 3300	Login to reply to this post 1 member likes this. Date: 1/15/13 1:55 PM Jelly Roll Race... You could do one of these quilts. Do you have fabric already? If not, buy a jelly roll.... Have you tried a class? Some people do best when they see it done and then try it themselves. You could try a local one or an online one.... ------ blog: goodworks1.wordpress.com
CM_Sews Intermediate CA USA Member since 9/18/04 Posts: 1476	Login to reply to this post 3 members like this. Date: 1/15/13 2:20 PM You might want to try an offset brick or offset square layout. Here's a free Amy Butler pattern (opens a PDF) for an offset brick quilt. Offset squares also look nice. Color organized offset brick quilt. Random color layout offset brick quilt. This is a pattern/layout that is very forgiving in terms of seam accuracy. There are NO seams to match. You do want to match the seams on the bricks to the middle of the brick "next door", but if you miss it by a bit, no problem. This will give you lots of practice cutting bricks or blocks, sewing and pressing 1/4-inch seams, and even matching seams to mid-brick or mid-block. Even if you "mess up" a bit, you'll still have a very attractive quilt top. I'd sewn garments for years before I started making quilts. I found that I really needed to practice sewing accurate 1/4-inch seams. I'd never sewn a garment where being one or two thread widths off the seam allowance made a difference in the final product. "How hard can a 1/4-inch seam be?" I thought. Well, harder than it looks at first, but easy enough to learn by practicing. Quilting has improved my sewing accuracy in everything I sew now, but I did need to practice and to experiment find the 1/4-inch stitching method that worked best for me on my sewing machine. CMC
quiltingwolf Advanced MD USA Member since 12/15/02 Posts: 4994	Login to reply to this post In reply to donella << 3 members like this. Date: 1/15/13 2:21 PM Don't ever be scared to do something creative. What's the worst that can happen? Except that you find out you might not like it.It's a hobby and people do hobbies to have fun and relax and learn new things.There is tons of stuff to help you with quilting from beginner to expert (if there is such a thing) and all kinds of people to help also. Check out you tube videos,websites, blogs, podcasts and good old fashion message boards. And then of course the library. -- Edited on 1/15/13 2:22 PM -- ------ quiltingwolf.blogspot.com
Learn To Sew   Intermediate WA USA Member since 4/12/05 Posts: 7987	Login to reply to this post In reply to CM_Sews << Like this post Date: 1/15/13 3:24 PM I like the browns one. The others did not talk to me, but that one sure did. Now I want to know what fabrics you used for this random color offset quitl. What size are the bricks? I want to add this one to my short (shorter) list. Now I'll look at the free pattern you linked to. ------ Quilting is relaxing to me. I love to play with fabrics, patterns and colors. Bernina 630 machine only Pfaff 2036 Babylock Molly Bernina 1200DA serger Unique Sewing Cabinet 450L
CM_Sews Intermediate CA USA Member since 9/18/04 Posts: 1476	Login to reply to this post In reply to Learn To Sew << 1 member likes this. Date: 1/15/13 4:37 PM Oh, goodness, that is not actually MY quilt, but a photo I found online. I have made a brick quilt. My SIL gifted me a bunch of fat quarters that included a some 1930s-ish reproduction prints. They were all mediums and had a very similar shading - nothing too bright or too pale. Any fat quarter collection, where the colors and designs blend with one another, would work well for this type of quilt. However, I think offset bricks would work for a random scrap quilt, too. It's a very pleasing design to the eye. I prefer bricks that finish up twice as long as they are wide. My finished bricks were 3 x 6, and I cut the bricks 3-1/2 x 6-1/2. For the half bricks at the ends of the rows, I cut 3-1/2 x 4. You could make bricks any size: 4x8, 5x10, 2x4, etc., and add a half inch to each dimension to determine how big to cut each brick. I cut the bricks and sewed them together in long strips, short-end-to-short-end, mixing up the fabrics as much as I could. Then I draped the long strips over the stair railing and arranged and moved them until I liked how they looked, then sewed the long strips together. My rows ran from the top to the bottom of the quilt, but you can also make the rows run across the quilt from side-to-side. It's up to you! Eleanor Burns (Quilt-in-a-Day) uses a variation of this technique for her Quick Trip Quilt pattern. You can watch a QiaD episode (#3101) here where she demos the technique. She sews fabric strips into tubes, sub-cuts the tubes, then opens the tubes at different spots to make the colors offset into the "V" pattern. It's an easy technique that gives a very dramatic result. One of these Quick Trips is in my future, I think. CMC
Learn To Sew   Intermediate WA USA Member since 4/12/05 Posts: 7987	Login to reply to this post In reply to CM_Sews << Like this post Date: 1/15/13 9:17 PM I copied your reply and put in in my documents. I want to make a quilt in the brick pattern. All fat quarters sounds easy and fun. Any excuse to get me into the LQS is a good one. ------ Quilting is relaxing to me. I love to play with fabrics, patterns and colors. Bernina 630 machine only Pfaff 2036 Babylock Molly Bernina 1200DA serger Unique Sewing Cabinet 450L
quiltingwolf Advanced MD USA Member since 12/15/02 Posts: 4994	Login to reply to this post In reply to Learn To Sew << Like this post Date: 1/16/13 7:18 AM I like that pattern also. You can make the "bricks" any size perfect for adding machine embroidery to. ------ quiltingwolf.blogspot.com

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