thats right, quiltting! I love it and got 2nd in our county fair! Anyone else out there quilt?

I am not able to sew a button on but I love quilting as textile art. Maybe you could show us pics??? BTW I love your hair itīs gorgous!

I quilt too. I do everything by hand though, so each quilt takes me about 4 years. I'm in the middle of a king sized Double Wedding Ring for our bed. It's been 2 years so far :D

I've done a couple quilts--nothing big enough for my bed, though...but I save all my scraps from sewing and I used them for small quilted projects.

Edited to add: I wanted this to be its own topic and didn't realize I was still under the quilting topic. Under the many unfinished sewing projects are several quilts in various states of completion.

I knit quite a bit. I have also done quite a bit of needlepoint over the last few years. I have made several braided rugs. I am currently making a shirret rug in pretty pastels. I got into making melt and pour soap about a year and a half ago. I would like to make the real McCoy but need the right place and time to use the lye formulas. I want to get back to some sewing projects that lie unfinished . . . Did I say "some"? I meant many.

I used to make really marvelous bread, but stopped because of Carpal Tunnel and tendonitis problems. I now have a heavy duty kitchenaid mixer, so I would like to get back to it, but breadmaking with a mixer is a little bit different than by hand, and I have yet to make a good loaf this way.

Burning desire-to hook a couple of rugs. I have a mountain scene I found a preprinted burlap backing for cheap at the thrift store. But did anyone catch sight of the beautiful hooked rug behind Frodo at the end of the Return of the King where he finishes writing the book? That is my new rug hooking heart's desire.

Ill have to have my hubby bring the camra home from work to take a picture. But ill try. My quilt took 3 years! mostly cause I had a child inbetween. Thanks for the comment about my hair! Im thinking of starting a gean quilt or an asian quilt for my dad, who is 1/2 japaneese( i can't spell) oh well :oops:

I would love to see the double wedding ring quilt too. I love looking at crafts, expesially when there's no chance I can bye them. It's safer that way. :P

I have quilted for about 30 years off and on. I love to quilt :D and have made quilts of all different sizes. I started with a baby quilt for my daughter who is now 29 yrs. old. I have a king size quilt that I need to get back to after I do some cleaning in my sewing room. I have also made several wall quilts.
I mostly piece the top on the sewing machine and hand quilt. I think I have machine quilted only about 3 quilts and they turned out better than I thought they would.
I never thought I would machine quilt anything but wanted to make a quilt for my Grandmother while she was in the nursing home. She wasn't doing well and I wanted her to have it. She really enjoyed the quilt.
I don't know how many quilts I have made over the years, probably over 30.
Have you ever heard of Kumiko Sudo?
I saw some of her books at Amazon and really want to try her 3-D flowers.
Your hair is beautiful!!!

thanks for the hair comment! I have just resently heard of her. She has interesting patterns. If I could stop reading these boards I might have time to start a new quilt! :P Still don't have camera, sorry. :(

Congrats on your county fair ribbon!
I'm a beginning quilter; I've made 2 as gifts. I really should make some for the family.
I made one using the Rebecca Wat book. It wasn't too hard, but more time consuming than I planned because of the necessary handwork. I was pleased with the result though.
Happy quilting!

terri, I also like making bread, but haven't for a while from lack of time. It too makes a good gift. Do you make sourdough?

I would like to learn to quilt. But I don't know how to go about it. WHere it confuses me is How do you get the quilty top seams? all over it? Do you put batting in between the back and front? hmmm, I guess I should say, anyone know of a good how to quilting website! LOL :)

wtchmel, I mostly learned from books (check your public library), but I also have a "quilting mentor" to whom I go with my questions. It is so helpful to have someone really show you how to do something. If you have a quilting or fabric store nearby, they often have classes.
Some quilting websites:
http://www. quilterscache.com/ (caution, loud music)
http://ttsw. com/MainQuiltingPage.html
You can find many more by doing a search for quilting.
HTH!
J12

I just knew there would be quilters here! I've been quilting for about 10 years. It's my meditation, and my therapy, and my art. My most recent projects were a black/white/grey tipsy nine-patch with bright primary color accents for my son (it's king-sized, absolutely huge, I really got carried away because the blocks were such fun to make! Machine pieced, hand-quilted) and a lap-sized quilt in fall colors for my mom, also machine pieced and hand-quilted. Those were both given as Christmas gifts.

In April I am taking a machine-quilting class. I have so many quilts in my head, the only way I'll get to even a fraction of them is to learn to machine-quilt adequately.

Wow! I really admire your ambition! :)

ooh! i quilt too! (...yeah, it feels kind of weird to bring up a 4 month old topic and wonder if anybody's still interested...)

i'm currently working on a grandmother's flower garden, my first hand-pieced top. i'm really enjoying the handwork, which was a surprise; i expected to get bored with it, impatient as i usually am.

i've made three quilts before--a log cabin for me, and two double wedding rings for friends who got married. in fact, i need to finish the second double wedding ring. her wedding's day after tomorrow. :oops:

Question for you quilters - has anyone hand-quilted a project with flannel as the filling instead of batting? How does it needle? Could this be done?

A friend has asked me to make a quilt from her mother's dresses (her mom died some years back), and they are a very non-quilting fabric, all slippery polyester, and one has teeny-tiny little holes woven in. Regular batting would beard through like nobody's business. I thought of using fusible interfacing, but the lady at the fabric store said anything heavy enough to prevent bearding would be nearly impossible to needle, and lighter weights would not jprevent the batting fibers from migrating through.

So I thought I might try flannel as it would not beard through, but I'm a little worried about trying to hand-quilt through it. I just don't machine-quilt very well, I'd rather hand-quilt this one, since it is meant as a sentimental keepsake. What do you think?

i haven't tried it, but i've heard of it; i've also heard of quilters using polarfleece instead of batting. flannel's a pretty tight weave, i imagine it would be tough to quilt. you could always make a sample and try it out. :flower:

Yep, hipjazz, that's what I'll do, I'll make a little sample and give it a try to see if I can manage it. Thanks for the suggestion. I'll let you know how it works.

Yup -- quilt, tat, spin, knit, crochet ... love textile arts. :-)

UPdate - using flannel as a filler does NOT work very well. It just bunches up and it very hard to quilt through. Back to the drawing board.

lol--thanks for sharing, i'll be sure not to try it! sorry it didn't work out.

do you think bonded batting would beard through?

Yep, this fabric has teeny-weeny little holes in the knit - it's one of those old polyester knit things, altogether nasty to work with - I'm thinking just about anything will beard through. I finally decided to line those pieces with thin muslin. It will be very hard to quilt through, but if I plan my quilting design carefully I can minimize the amount I have to do, I may even just use my sewing machine to put a small decorative motif in the middle of each of those squares to secure them so I don't have to quilt through them at all.

I'll be glad to get this project done, it's making me very anxious. I hope she likes it when I am all done.

Yep, this fabric has teeny-weeny little holes in the knit - it's one of those old polyester knit things, altogether nasty to work with - I'm thinking just about anything will beard through. I finally decided to line those pieces with thin muslin. It will be very hard to quilt through, but if I plan my quilting design carefully I can minimize the amount I have to do, I may even just use my sewing machine to put a small decorative motif in the middle of each of those squares to secure them so I don't have to quilt through them at all.

I'll be glad to get this project done, it's making me very anxious. I hope she likes it when I am all done.

I don't know if you are done with it, you probably are, but the warm and natural batting might work or a blanket already made might work inbetween too.

I am acually working on my father's quilt now. I will try to get pics up soon.

Littlehideko! I was wondering how the quilt for your dad was coming. Please keep us posted and show pics when you can!

I finished the quilt in question; I ended up using the lightest-weight fusible interfacing I could find to "seal" the fabric. It was a bit more difficult to needle, but since the fabric was so porous to begin with, it wasn't too bad. I used regular MountainMist batting, in the lightest weight I could find. My friend is very happy with her quilt.

So, what is everybody working on now? I am marking a black/white/grey lone star with celtic knot applique in the corners of the inner border, in preparation for quilting. I pieced it several years ago, and finally I am getting around to putting it in the frame for quilting. It started as a "test piece" to get a feel for the Lone Star technique, using fabrics leftover from a previous project, but I worked so hard on it and liked it so much I decided it deserved to be a finished piece. It is turning out to be one of the showiest pieces I've ever done.

So, what is everybody working on now? I am marking a black/white/grey lone star with celtic knot applique in the corners of the inner border, in preparation for quilting. I pieced it several years ago, and finally I am getting around to putting it in the frame for quilting. It started as a "test piece" to get a feel for the Lone Star technique, using fabrics leftover from a previous project, but I worked so hard on it and liked it so much I decided it deserved to be a finished piece. It is turning out to be one of the showiest pieces I've ever done.

I am working on finding the time to set up my new machine... :lol: Not easy to do when you get called to work for extra days, and need the money.

Once I do get her set up, I am going to start working on a Goddess Quilt. A personal project using my own artwork and embroidery for the quilt blocks. Each block will be based on a log cabin design, but have a larger center block with an Goddess symbol embroidered on it.

Rather ambitious I know..but something to work on... :lol:

I don't know if you are done with it, you probably are, but the warm and natural batting might work or a blanket already made might work inbetween too.

I am acually working on my father's quilt now. I will try to get pics up soon.

Your hair is beautiful. What more can I say? I am speechless. It is beautiful.

Another quilter weighing in...

I figured there would be a thread on quilting in here somewhere, and now it's bobbed to the surface :)

I started quilting when my younger daughter was born 4 years ago. I definitely found my niche...now a partner and I have started a quilt retreat here in Costa Rica. I'm hoping to find enough quilt-related ways to make money that I don't have to go out and find a "regular" job now that my daughter is starting preschool!

Here's our website: http://www.CostaRicaQuilts.com

At the moment we also have pictures of about 50 quilts made by (mostly) Costa Rican women for an exhibit called Shapes and Colors of Costa Rica: http://www.CostaRicaQuilts.com/iowa.html

Jennifer

Sorry, forgot to say: mine is titled "Rosita" and is about the 7th one down on the right. Or you can go to the "About Us" page of the website and see it there.

LBD, what a wonderful website you have. Those quilts are true works of art.

My daughter was in Costa Rica in August, and she loved the country... the scenery, the people, the food, everything! Oh, how I'd love to come to your quilt retreat, it sounds wonderful.

I can't quilt, but I wanted to chime in and say how much I enjoy seeing these beautiful works of art! One of my goals in life is to make a quilt. My grandmother quilted(I never met her, she died before I was born) and we have some of her work. This a direct link to her and the things she thought were beautiful. I am greatful to have these quilts she made.

A friend of mine's mother made a great quilt for her grandson out of his baseball uniform shirts and it is really cool. I have a picture of it that needs to be developed. When I get I will post it if ya'll are interested.

I just knew there would be quilters here! I've been quilting for about 10 years. It's my meditation, and my therapy, and my art. My most recent projects were a black/white/grey tipsy nine-patch with bright primary color accents for my son (it's king-sized, absolutely huge, I really got carried away because the blocks were such fun to make! Machine pieced, hand-quilted) and a lap-sized quilt in fall colors for my mom, also machine pieced and hand-quilted. Those were both given as Christmas gifts.

In April I am taking a machine-quilting class. I have so many quilts in my head, the only way I'll get to even a fraction of them is to learn to machine-quilt adequately.

Seabear, and alla you quilters:
I don't have the patience to piece or quilt, but I tell you, i reconsider it every time I read (read: stare at and drool over) Quilting Newsletter (I think I have that right) at the library. Wow, this is fabulous art! and i am a tightwad, a sometimes buy fat quarters because I love fabric, but i never quilt.
I know people who quilt in different ways and I am relieved to know that people still quilt by hand. There was just a page about quilting in my Art book for class, too.
Good for you! Thank you for the beauty!

I would really love to get into quilting but the problem is I can't even sew! Does anyone know any good books that would help me get into this. I have been thinking about buying a sewing machine so maybe I could do a quilt that required basic sewing skills. Ultimately, I would like to do a really beautiful quilt for my king sized bed. I've even looked to see if there are classes where I live and I can't seem to find any.

I would really love to get into quilting but the problem is I can't even sew! Does anyone know any good books that would help me get into this. I have been thinking about buying a sewing machine so maybe I could do a quilt that required basic sewing skills. Ultimately, I would like to do a really beautiful quilt for my king sized bed. I've even looked to see if there are classes where I live and I can't seem to find any.


I live in California too. All you have to do is go to your local fabric store and ask for a list of quiltting classes. They also have sewing classes. They might even offer one free if you buy a sewing machine, they did when my sister-in-law bought one. Or ask about the local guilds. They often have classes. There are a lot of books out there. Find one with a quilt that you like and go to town. lol just make sure that its not to hard of one first. Most of the books have really good instructions, but if you have questions you could post on here or ask someone in a fabric store. A smaller one(not a chain like Joanns) might be more helpful. But Joanns is defanatly a better deal price wise. Walmarts one dollar table is great too.

Ohhh cool, thanks for that tip! I had been wondering about this for sometime, thanks for the info!