Quilting

Thanks lots for the advice - gratefully received! I have just had a go with a friend's hoop and found it a total pain, so I don't think I will use that and I too am concerned about distorting the fabric and the wadding.

The main difficulty I have is finding where I left off when I have to visit the loo/make tea or whatever. There are lots of fabrics in the design and it is very hard to find your way back.

It is indeed keeping me arm as I sew - a definite bonus!

Put a safety pin where you finish - easier to see than a needle. Tie a ribbon onto it to make it even easier !

Perhaps an obvious, but useful (I hope) piece of advice: use a lot of tacking to hold your layers together for quilting, in order to prevent the top layer from "walking".
Alternatively, use 505 glue to hold them together. I started using it after I saw it being used on an American quilter on her excellent blog, and it saves so much time!

Another thing that I do is use hair clips to hold the fabric together at the edges instead of pins. Firstly, they save you from pricking yourself, and secondly, they remove the danger of a sharp pin accidentally ending up inside a finished quilt!

Oh, and when I'm free-motion quilting (which I am still not very good at!), I wear gloves to give grip between my hands and the fabric as I move it around under the needle. Mine were actually intended as gardening gloves, but the sort that have the rubbery palms for grip, and they do the job perfectly.

I use giant duvet pegs from Lakeland . Worth their weight in gold.

Thanks for the tips MamaCaz - I had never thought of hairclips ( or Stansgran's giant duvet pegs) or the gloves idea. I shall give them a try !

Agree with you about the copious quantities of tacking. It always seems to take ages but is well worth the effort and saves time and temper in the long run!

Hello ladies
I'm new to this site, but not to quilting or patchwork. I've always done sewing of some sort or another, but I love quilting. I prefer to hand quilt, although my aim this year is to learn how to machine quilt.

At the moment I am 'tying' my king size quilt instead of sewing it - rather a nice change I think. My daughter's was tied, and was a great success.

I started by joining a group in our local Arts Centre, and then moving onto an evening group in a local village. I learn a lot from You Tube, and have started following a lady called Rose Smith, who will send you tutorial videos at no cost.

As was mentioned earlier, exhibitions local and especially the N.E.C. are a great way to see techniques and learn from others. My friend and I take ourselves off to Birmingham every summer for a complete 'get away 'day and come back much lighter in the purse. We take a packed lunch and this year sat with 2 fabulous ladies on a tour from America. We actually learnt quite a lot about their techniques, different to ours entirely.

Shop sites, like the Cotton Patch (mentioned) and our favourite shop - The Bramble Patch have many ideas and materials as well. But the best thing I think is to get into an existing local group. We are all great friends and help each other too.

Since starting this thread I have finished my first quilt and started on my second. First one was single quilt for my latest DGD. I did not make it childish, but something she could go on using until she finds someone to share a double bed with!

I am now making one for my other DGD. It is very restful I find - and very satisfying.

I bought a Toyota Quiltmaster machine a couple of years ago and it includes a walking foot. I also have a good amount of cotton squares I have bought over the time from Ebay. Have I quilted any? No! I really wish I could get around to it, even cushions for the garden furniture. i have always loved the look of quilted items and would feel it quite an achievement to create soemthing. Maybe a New Year's resolution then.

Quiltingnana, thank you SO much for Rose Smith recommendation.

It's now on my 'favourites'.

you're welcome squaredog - she's very good. I have lots of her videos in my 'saved' file.

I've just finished 'tying' my king sized quilt. If any of you have read the Jelly Roll books, it's the one on the cover of the 2nd book, but with sashing in between the chevrons. I'm sooooo pleased with it - and the cats have approved it too!
I do however have split fingers from the needle - small projects for a while I think.

Does anybody else manage to get to The Bramble Patch exhibitions in Weedon Northants? We, as a group, go twice a year and have a lovely afternoon. A lot is learnt from the exhibits, and in the workroom, and of course we never get out without a good spend-up!!

Patchwork and Quilting is my main hobby and I love it. I am the Secretary of our local patchwork guild and last weekend my husband, (a wizard with all things computer based), helped me to build a website for our guild - Lagan Valley Patchwork Guild. Do please visit this site and say hello.
www.omni.org.uk/patchnotes

Nairn - it's a lovely site, Ill investigate properly later.

My husband has put up 2 shelves over my sewing machine, and so this week Ive been sorting out, throwing out and re arranging the room - haven't finished. One job leads to another, and so on and so on.

Sherish - I have a Quiltmaster too but I had to buy a walking foot for it. Now my son has it - LOL. He has a degree in costume design and tailors lovely clothes, but he wanted to make a couple of quilts. A very good job he's made of it too - nothing too difficult, just squares to start with.
When it comes back I'm going to experiment.