humbird

Hand quilting is so relaxing. I'm sure you would enjoy it once you get started. I was self taught, but now days there is so much on the internet that I'm sure with a search it could get you started. Your stitches may not be perfect to start with, (mine are still not, and I've been doing it for maybe 40 years!) but as said many times here on the board, there are no quilt police. All I can say is "just do it!!"

CarrieAnne

I wish you were closer, I'd help you hand quilt! I love it too, it is relaxing. Mine isnt the best, but I enjoy doing it.

Candace

Do you have a quilt guild in your area? I'm sure some of ladies there would love to help you learn how to hand quilt.

Oklahoma Suzie

I have some ready to go, I want to learn to machine quilt.

katier825

You might be able to get a generic walking foot that isn't too expensive. I've seen them under $20. I am planning on doing just the tops during the summer because it's too hot here in FL to be under it quilting. Once it starts cooling off again, I'll do the quilting on the larger ones. Baby quilts or small things I'll still go ahead and quilt.

Start with stitch in the ditch or 1/4" away from the seams and work yourself up to the free motion. The more you do, the more comfortable you get with it. :)

pollyjvan9

I have a LOT of tops that need to be quilted. It is just so much more fun to me to piece the tops, but at some point you have to get them quilted. I taught myself to free motion quilt by checking books out of the library and watching tutorials on the computer. I have gotten to the point where I am pretty satisfied with my work. It won't win prizes at the quilt shows, but I don't intend to enter any!

I started out using a quilting foot and stitched in the ditch. This got pretty boring, that is why I changed to free motion. I started out with a loop-de-loop design because I could draw that real easy. then went to things like loop & star and leaves and flowers and water, etc. It really isn't hard unless you want perfection like the prize winners. I can quilt a twin size in about 2 days and a small table topper in a couple of hours. Saves hundreds of dollars! And the project is ALL MINE!

Good luck whichever route you take.

I go To The Sea To Breathe

I will try hand quilting as long as my hands hold up.

MadQuilter

Can you find an add-on walking foot for the machine? The ones I have done SID were completed on a regular-sized machine. Usually, I roll the quilt sandwich to the center and sew one line at a time until one side is finished. (I make sure that the sandwich is nice and tight to avoid puckers.) Then I turn it around and roll the other side. It is definitely do-able.

Maride

You tube has tons of videos that can help you learn how to do it. I am self taught by reading and watching videos. In a couple of years you will look back at this message and laugh. I joined a guild to learn to quilt and took a class on machine quilting with my 20 years old Kenmore. I walked out of the class in tears because the machine wasn't helping and I didn't get it. Today I teach specialized techniques on machine quilting. Just don't give up. As for stash, keep an eye open. Opportunity appears when you are not expecting. Either a post on the classifieds here, going to you local thrift shop, yard sales, etc. Find your local frecycle (www.freecycle.org) and join. You may find someone giving away fabric or post asking for it. Sometimes people has it, they just don't think that anyone needs or wants it. Good luck.

Lisa_wanna_b_quilter

You can buy a universal walking foot for your cheap Wal-mart machine. I did. It makes straight line quilting easier. I also bought a FMQ foot for it. They were about $12 each. I can even do a sort of respectable FMQ now. Quilting gloves ($4 at Joann's) really helped, too.

Give it a try. I'm pretty sure Wal-mart doesn't sell a junkier machine than mine and I can do at least 52 x 72. That's the biggest I've tried.