You'll get there! I've made many quilt tops in a day, but not a finished quilt except maybe a small wallhanging. The secret is to have everything in one place, including the iron right next to you at sitting down height. It makes life easier than getting up and down to press each seam.

I congratulate anybody who can make a quilt in a day. I have come to the conclusion that Eleanor Burns is talking about sewing together the quilt top, which does not include cutting and quilting. I am also reasonably new at this, and I came to understand when someone says I finished a quilt, they usually mean the top. Also, there are times I need to remind myself, when I run into a speed demon quilter, that quilting is not a speed contest. I don't get a reward if I knock out one quilt in 35 hours or 40 hours or 50 hours. What matters is that I finish it from cutting to binding before I start another one and do it at my pace.

Yes, you can make a quilt in a day depending on size, pattern, etc you choose. I recently taught a friend who had never sewn before to quilt using the 10 minute block pattern to make a throw size quilt. She used a layer cake to make 6 blocks, set them together, added a 6 inch border to make a generous size throw, pin-basted, marked and quilted a simple pattern and completed the quilt in one long day. I did help her pin and some on the cutting (it was her first time using a rotary cutter as well). It took her about 10 hours to a beautiful completed quilt. Why? There is a lot to be said for instant gratification, especially with a beginner. She didn't have time to get frustrated or discouraged. The quilt is beautiful and got tons of compliments from family and friends. She went in one day from "I can't do this!" to "Will you teach me another one?" (Of course! We did a jelly roll races quilt the next day!) She may eventually decide to do a more complicated or bigger quilt that will take a long time to make but never will she make a quilt that will excite her more than that first one. For right now, she is gaining confidence making 10 minute block quilts and jelly roll races quilts for all her kids.

My daughter was 12 wnen she followed Eleanor's Single Irish Chain pattern and she finished the top in one day!

I love being creative. I can crochet, needlepoint, macrame to name a few. When I do anything creative, I like enjoying the process, not rushing through.

Years ago I watched a video of Eleanor doing a quilt in one day. She started early in the morning and I think it was around 11:00 p.m. when she finally finished. I think it was a quest for her being she titled the book that way. My Quilt in a Day took months.

When I first started quilting back in the 80's, I went on a quilting weekend retreat. we all finished a Trip Around the World top on my first day and a Lone Star top on the second. These were both done using Eleanor Burns books. But don't forget that on something like this you're going steady from the time you get up til bedtime. These were the first quilts I ever made, it was a beginner's retreat. The Lone Star was too big for my bed, would've been more suited to a king.

I usually take one day to cut all my fabric. Then it takes me a day or two or three or more to piece the top. I like spending time with my quilts. I get to know them and I never forget them.

EB's QINAD is based on 24 hours. So if you work three 8 hour days you should be able to get the top pieced. I do not think it will inclue quilting. I have make a quilt in a 8 hour day, but they were 10 inch blocks sewed together. Very simple and quilt. No boarders.

I've seen Eleanor Burns do workshops where everything is like an assembly line in the manner that she does it. So things go very fast. But it is the top I believe that gets done. I am like the rest of you here, I might be able to put a simple top together in one day but the quilting will take waaaaaay longer then one day. LOL.