Is it time to call it quits?
06-19-2011, 06:30 PM
#51
Banned
Join Date: May 2010
Location: Midwest
Posts: 527
Originally Posted by SharBear
Thank you all for the kind words of encouragement and advice.
I've finished the 12 squares for the swap. I may have to add a border to get them to the required 12 1/2 inch size but I'm ok with that. I have done some practice with seam allowance and have found that moving my needle position over one tic to the right gives me the correct seam allowance.
I know I can do this - just have to remember that Rome wasn't built in a day and quilters don't have perfection for a very, very long time - if every. De-stashing sale is cancelled!
I've finished the 12 squares for the swap. I may have to add a border to get them to the required 12 1/2 inch size but I'm ok with that. I have done some practice with seam allowance and have found that moving my needle position over one tic to the right gives me the correct seam allowance.
I know I can do this - just have to remember that Rome wasn't built in a day and quilters don't have perfection for a very, very long time - if every. De-stashing sale is cancelled!
Glad you figured it out and are still one of us..
06-19-2011, 06:43 PM
#52
Super Member
Join Date: Aug 2010
Location: Grant Park, IL
Posts: 1,151
Don't give up. What block are you making? You may need to try a different block. Maybe someone showing/helping you in person would make a difference. Mostly, remember, your quilts do not have to be perfect. Relax...maybe you're trying too hard!
06-19-2011, 07:17 PM
#55
Super Member
Join Date: Jul 2010
Location: Lebanon Missouri
Posts: 2,668
This happens to every one whether its their 1st or 101st quilt Try it on some scrap fabric so you don't waste what you plan to use This usually works because you're not worried about ruining the fabric and before you know it you figured out why it wasn't working Besides Quilters never give up..Some of us just take a coffee/tea/chocolate/wine/beer break til the offending block submits to our will :D
06-20-2011, 02:43 AM
#57
Senior Member
Join Date: Feb 2011
Location: Victorian Sweatshop
Posts: 863
If I'm making a rail fence 6 1/2 inches, I cut 7" strips, the middle the exact measurement, the outside ones wider, sew them together, then lop off the extra with the rotary cutter. Not only is perfection overrated, most of us cheat.
Keep going with small projects and give yourself time to get better.
I have about 300 minature blocks and half of them don't quite measure up. So I'm sewing strips around them, and adding a tiny sashing in between. Everyone says they are beautiful and no one has gotten out their tape measure yet.
Keep going with small projects and give yourself time to get better.
I have about 300 minature blocks and half of them don't quite measure up. So I'm sewing strips around them, and adding a tiny sashing in between. Everyone says they are beautiful and no one has gotten out their tape measure yet.
06-20-2011, 02:53 AM
#58
Junior Member
Join Date: May 2011
Location: Reston, VA
Posts: 165
The teacher in my first quilting class told me to press the seams open instead of to one side. Then it's easier to line up the seams and get a pin exactly in the middle. You might want to try an even feed attachment for your machine instead of the regular presser foot, because the even feed is more likely to keep the top and the bottom lined up. Also keep in mind that, unlike math, in quilting "1/16th is good enough;" you don't need "exact."
06-20-2011, 03:01 AM
#59
Senior Member
Join Date: Aug 2010
Location: East Tennessee
Posts: 640
Don't quit.....Perhaps it is your seam that is giving you problems. I have a terrible problem with keeping seams at an even 1/4 inch. A piece of moleskin stuck 1/4 inch away from your needle helps (or any one of a lot of ways on this site to keep that seam even.)
I use two rulers to cut, which is a tad more accurate. I can not use the grid on the mat, messes me up, every time.
Good luck.
I use two rulers to cut, which is a tad more accurate. I can not use the grid on the mat, messes me up, every time.
Good luck.
06-20-2011, 03:03 AM
#60
Super Member
Join Date: Jul 2010
Location: Glenmoore, PA
Posts: 7,941
Originally Posted by SharBear
ok, I'm having a crisis of ability.
I WANT to be a quilter. I understand that cutting is the foundation that quilts are built on and that accurate cutting leads to accurate piecing leads to accurate block sizes leads to quilt tops that lay flat leads to quilts that rock.
I'm making blocks for my first swap and am ready to put them in the bonfire. The points don't line up no matter how many times I take them out and put them back togehter. I've made sure all the seams are pressed correctly - I think I have used a whole bottle of Best Press on 12 not-yet-assembled blocks!
Maybe it's time for me to admit that for the first time in 46 years I've tried to do something that is just beyond me. I keep thinking this should be the perfect fit for me - I love, love, love Math (I have a degree in Applied Math!) - and jigsaw puzzles - if one is out I'm banned from the room it's in because my family knows I will stay up all night finishing it!
There may be a giant de-stash sale hitting the classified board today ....
:cry: :cry: :cry:
I WANT to be a quilter. I understand that cutting is the foundation that quilts are built on and that accurate cutting leads to accurate piecing leads to accurate block sizes leads to quilt tops that lay flat leads to quilts that rock.
I'm making blocks for my first swap and am ready to put them in the bonfire. The points don't line up no matter how many times I take them out and put them back togehter. I've made sure all the seams are pressed correctly - I think I have used a whole bottle of Best Press on 12 not-yet-assembled blocks!
Maybe it's time for me to admit that for the first time in 46 years I've tried to do something that is just beyond me. I keep thinking this should be the perfect fit for me - I love, love, love Math (I have a degree in Applied Math!) - and jigsaw puzzles - if one is out I'm banned from the room it's in because my family knows I will stay up all night finishing it!
There may be a giant de-stash sale hitting the classified board today ....
:cry: :cry: :cry:
Thread
Thread Starter
Forum
Replies
Last Post
Stitchnripper
General Chit-Chat (non-quilting talk)
22
09-04-2011 08:19 AM
