1. I have stopped buying quilting magazines because they all look the same and many of the projects are designed to sell something, usually something expensive that I would stick in a drawer anyway. (Seriously, Accuquilt should start its own magazine already.)
2.The best thing my grandmother ever taught me? "Don't worry--it will quilt out."
3.I really, really dislike pieced backings.
4.Sometimes I plan or doodle quilts or designs during meetings. It's possible that I have lost track of the meeting topic once or twice while doing this.
5. I feel guilty about how much fabric I own.
6. I often love the process much more than the finished product.
7. I love my longarm quilter but secretly think that edge to edge designs make my quilts look like they came from a store. I can't afford custom quilting or my own longarm, so the alternative is unfinished quilts because the big quilts I make are too much for me to quilt on my own. Yes, shame on me.
8. I like quilt shows but the idea of competition between quilters turns my stomach.
9. Paper piecing? Yes! Applique? Sure! Hexies and EPP? Why not! Traditional? Absolutely. Modern? Maybe, if you get rid of all the gray and fill up those empty spaces. Civil war? No. Wonky? Please get out of my sewing room.
10. I break every quilting "rule." I use lots of steam, sew over pins, iron with abandon, use cheap needles and thread, never prewash, cut the 'wrong' way, and use rotary blades until I can run them across my hand without getting cut. I also buy some of my fabric at rummage sales. Pretty sure that's a no-no.
And a bonus secret (that I bet a bunch of people share):
11. Even though I've been doing this for a long time, I secretly worry that I'm not very good at it.
That's it for today! Share your secrets in the comments!
12 comments:
OMG, I can readily agree with your entire list :)
Love your list. I am with you on 2,5 and 8 for sure.
Mari, excellent list! I agree on most points except the pieced backing. I love pieced backings-it's like getting two for one.
I don't feel guilty about the amount of fabric I own. I just can't wait to use it up. I love getting fabric at garage sales, thrift shops etc. What treasures are out there to be found.
Possibly my favorite line in your post is
Wonky? Please get out of my sewing room. That was great!
you mean there is a right and wrong way to cut? I think I'm probably happier not knowing the rules :)
I have to totally agree with #8, I love seeing what others do, but have no real desire to be judged. I will also say on #7, I love the look of an all over meander, but not a pantagraph or edge to edge, just a random meander. You might see if you long arm quilter does those. It makes it less "structured"
I am a long arm quilter and I find if the patterns are quite narrow then they look like from a store. Does your long arm quilter have some wide patterns that interlock? These are better than the narrow ones. Or ones with larger designs like Cascade which really gives a feeling of quilting but not too much of a structured design. Or can your long arm quilter do free hand over all designs as these would be more economical and less boring. Even just a basic all over free hand swirl?
#3 and #9 - we could be twins! :)
How do you feel about this:
Using only co ordinated fabrics from a single fabric line in a quilt.
Isn't choosing fabrics part of the fun?
SewingLadyDI
I can't quilt a king size on my home machine unless I design it to be quilted in sections then put together. You can't tell where the joins are, and I do the work myself. Something very important to me, since I am a quilt maker not a top maker. Sounds like you are too. There are some good books on ways to quilt as you go, but I took a class about 10 years ago on 12 ways to do it and still made up my own! LeeAnna at not afraid of color lapaylor.blogspot.com
You are absolutely positive good at quilting - not just good, but par excellence! I too try to save every piece of the fabric and use the supplies until they absolutely can't take it anymore. They are too expensive to use just once or twice.
#1...Amen sister....
Great post! I'm right with you on 9, There is a wonky medallion quilt out there that's popular right now and it drives me nuts. It would be terribly impolite to say what the center circle reminds me of....
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