stefanib123

I love everyone's advice! Not to mention the support!

I finally got a local quilt shop(yay!) and I am taking a class starting Aug 9th. There is also a club that I'm going to join, but they had to cancel last week. So, I'm looking forward to all that, and I think it will help me a lot.

I learn so much on here, too. I can stay on here for hours and hours, LOL. I can cut the half square triangles pretty accurate now, its the sewing of them that I have trouble with,I wanted to ask you guys this: I have little corner trimming template, do you guys use it with your triangles? It's supposed to help join them up better, but I've never used it.

And I'm trying the starch today. Every now and then I will starch a wrinkled piece, but not too often. I'm going to try that since everyone is recommending it.

Thanks, again, everyone for all the words of encouragement!

ETA: Thanks to who posted the link to the printable triangle paper! That site is awesome, and somehow I've never came across it!

bejay28

Great, you are getting into a class, ask all the questions you need to, most of the ladies at the quilt stores are very friendly and will help you out with any of your questions. Don't forget we all on this board are here to help you out to.

I starch every piece of fabric before I cut it....

oatw13

I'm sure your quilts aren not nearly as bad as you think they are. In fact, I am sure they are lovely. You should post some pictures. I am sure others will tell you that you have done a great job.

Just finishing a quilt is a huge accomplishment that you should be proud of! Even a simple pattern requires a lot of time and effort.

Don't worry about what others do. Admire their work, but don't compare yourself. That's like comparing apples and oranges. Everyone had to start somewhere.

Just keep practicing, you will gain more confidence with each quilt you complete. :)

angelarose

Your quilts will get better! I've been at it for a few years only. I find I do my best work if I work consistantly so I don't get rusty. A 1/4" foot is a good investment. Also putting tape on the machine as a guide to feed the fabric for 1/4" seam. Slow and easy does it. My first experience with the church sewing/quilting group was a lesson in humiliation. I stretched the fabric as I ironed the Bejeezes out of it. I learned how to press rather than iron, learned the importance of consistant seams, and alternating direction of pressing seam allowances. Practice sewing straight seams on scrap fabric. Practice, practice, practice your sewing skills. You'll be fine!

sunflower2011

hello from south carolina i am trying to figure out an easy quilt pattern for 10 year old dgd help pleasa

DeneK

Boy! Did I need this thread today! I was just sitting at my machine this morning feeling defeated by inconsistent 1/4" seams. I asked myself the very same question... Will I ever get better? Truth is I am "better", just not perfect. Thanks to everyone who joined this thread and made me feel all better.

MsSewer

Just remember "A beautiful thing is never perfect". It's my motto in quilting and I'm never disappointed.

sahm4605

I use the spray starch in the can but you can make your own or use sizing. If i wash my fabric I then spray and iron, but my rule of thumb is if you are going to iron your should spray before hand. I saturate mine and then let it dry. I then iron my fabric flat and cut out my shapes. i sew my fabric together then when i go to press my seams i spray the fabric wet again and let dry. then iron the seams and fabric flat. I keep doing this till I am completely done with the quilt. Then when i go to quilt the quilt, I spray the backing several times till it is fairly stiff as construction paper/ cardboard and then pin everything together. then go at it. i have found that it helps a ton to get everything looking very nice. I even do this with the binding. I make sure that it is fairly stiff to get nice crisp edges. try it once and you will be inpressed. but you can starch at any point, just make sure that the starch is dry so it doesn't burn/scorch/ or flake on your fabric and i would iron on the wrong side just incase.

noveltyjunkie

You can tell from my user name that I like trying new things, and you can bet that I always experience impatience that I am not getting good as quickly as I would wish. Over time I have begun to realise that this is something I have to work on inside my own head. It is precisely because these things are challenging that it is worth investing my attention and effort in them. If it was that easy, there would be no satisfaction in it. Part of becoming good at something is honouring those who are better than we are. If we expect to achieve perfection in one, or five, or even twenty years, what does that say about those who went before us and devoted whole lifetimes to their craft? It is a feature of western society that we have this impatience. You don't see that in every culture. In some cultures we would not be allowed to even try new techniques until our simpler work was of sufficient quality. Now we think we can master everyting by watching a tutorial on YouTube. This impatience is drummed into us from childhood- the Disney movies showing a child becoming a star dancer or footballer or rider in the space of 100 minutes. We have lost the capacity to honour the journey towards competence. Western society embodies an arrogance that 'anyone can have that if they work hard (and/ or pay enough). Mastering something takes time. Your brain works in mysterious ways and it takes practice, and lots of it, to become good at anything. Recognizing that is one of the most valuable lessons I have learned from my various artistic experiments, and it makes me respect the masters even more. I also respect those, including of course myself, who make mistakes. Mistakes happen. We learn from them and we do better next time.

klgreene

I've been quilting for 28 years, and I'm still improving on my quilting. And I learn something new with every quilt. So, never give up...