Posted by sharopooks on 2005-08-05 11:36:20
Post Subject: Introduction
Though you are ahead of me as far as # of posts, I registered before you, so I believe I'm qualified to say WELCOME! and to introduce myself as well.
I'm 34 and have recently found marital bliss (last summer feels like recently). He's a social worker/guitarist, I'm a former bass player who works at an entertainment law firm in NYC. We both still enjoy live music whilst now laughing back at our former music-scene selves, circles and antics. We are also thinking of thinking of conceiving...!
My crafty side has been dormant until recently due to long work hours. Fortunately, I just worked out a deal w/ work to hire a night assistant so I can leave before 7:30 at night and have a life again. It's a paycut, but worth it in re-gained quality of life.
Reduced work hours will equal enough time to:
-Crochet and foster a general obsession with cool fibers and textiles. One day I will put those applique, dyeing and quilting books I bought over the years to use!
- Journaling, writing detailed fun accounts of various life events to distribute to family members.
- Create collages (I wanna post a pic of one that means a great deal to me but cannot find it in our apartment! I am slightly freaking out over that fact and have my fingers crossed that it turns up, soon!)
- Embark on my own style of scrapbooking, I have a vision of indie-scrapbooking. Nothing against traditional scrapbooking - some of it is awesome - but a lot of it doesn't resonate with me. One day I saw a nontraditional scrapbook page that a getcrafty member posted. I was like, aHA, THAT'S the kind of page I wanna do!
- Play bass - my strength and dexterity have faded and my interest in band life has diminished w/ age, but even if I just jam with the hubby at home, that'd be great.
- Creative healthy cooking, step aerobics, cardio kickboxing and general working out, snowboarding.
- Spend too much time on various message boards!
- Enjoy life, traveling, friends, music, etc with the hubby.
That's me in a nutshell. karlaBOO, see ya around...!
Posted by Nancy Flynn on 2007-03-15 20:29:23
Post Subject:
yes! i agree with xuli. i think the Denyse Schmidt book is great-- thorough, easy to understand instructions/tips, and more modern and graphic than some "old fashioned" quilting books (not that I have anything against traditional quilts--i love them).
and if you really want to get into the quilting immediately without stressing about fabric, there is also a "Quilt-It Kit" that has some of the same Denyse Schmidt instructions on project cards and enough DS fabric for a small quilted project...
Posted by Karen1948 on 2006-09-05 12:05:20
Post Subject: Beginning quilting
I started quilting when a friend invited me to a strip quilting class in our small community. It was so much fun! That was about 10 years or more ago and I love this craft -- as well as manhy others. I will look up the names of some of the strip quilting books I have purchased an send that along once I get back home from my holiday visiting my kids. ENJOY! Its a great way to spend time with others or alone.
Posted by fenestrelle on 2004-10-07 12:36:27
Post Subject:
hi there. usually i'm not a big fan of the "for dummies" series, but "quilting for dummies" was actually very helpful when i made my first quilt.
definitely check with your local library -- i'm sure they will have tons of quilting books. alex anderson has written a lot of books & has a quilting show on HGTV, so that's another name you might look for.
also, you might try http://quilting.about.com/ -- they have a TON of resources and projects for beginners as well as a good message board.
good luck! quilting can be both fun and frustrating, but i was really chuffed with myself when i finished my first (and, um, only) quilt. the last time i checked reprodepot, i wanted to cry because they had such awesome fabric and i had such an awesomely restricted budget. boo.
and I am going to try it for the quilt I'm working on now--which will be my first one I ever made and finished all by myself. I have no idea how easy they are but I like the idea of being able to bind with a fabric of your choosing.
I'm waiting for a couple of quilting books to come up on hold at the library, because I don't own any. Do you have any that have binding info in them? Maybe if the ones I check out are any good I'll PM you with the titles.
Posted by Diana on 2006-11-29 14:58:07
Post Subject:
All the Judith Montano crazy quilting books. Wonderful instructions and incredibly inspiring just to look at. She also has some nice videos out as well. Titles--Crazy Quilt Odyesey, The Crazy Quilt Handbook, and several others. I own them all and they would be the first ones I would grab from the book shelves if I had to evacuate my apartment.
Posted by karikazo on 2004-08-02 13:32:36
Post Subject:
someone's talking about QUILTING *pantpantpant*--here I am--!!! uh. sorry.
Your top sounds great. I learned to quilt out of books (public library always has a lot of basic quilting books), so I don't know the best sites, but BH&G has some stuff here: http://ww4.bhg.com/bhg/category.jhtml?catref=cat40013
I just wrote something incredibly long and detailed and decided it was too much info. Here's the short version of what I suggest:
I'd suggest tying your quilt (BHG has a section on that) instead of quilting the layers together. It's faster, easier, and would be less frustrating than trying to learn to hand- or machine-quilt for the first time on a bed-sized project. Plus, I think it has a casual, old-fashioned look that would work well with the way I'm imagining your top.
(I meant I'm imagining your quilt top, not "your top" as in "your boobs"....uh....anyway.)
PLUS, I think this would work with any kind of backing fabric you use. Many sources say not to use sheets for backings, as the tighter weave of sheeting fabric can be hard to quilt through (though flannel has a looser weave, I think, and might be perfect). I think tying would work with sheets or anything just fine.
Just putting top & backing together without batt sounds great, if you aren't concerned with warmth. It will save you the money of buying the batt, and means you'll have fewer layers to baste & tie. I've also heard of using polar fleece as the backing (sans a batt), so you could try that if you want something warmer.
I haven't tried this, but here's a technique that might work for you. You can put the top and backing together, wrong sides out, and sew along the edges (like making an envelope). Leave an unstitched section big enough to turn the whole thing inside out, and voila...the edges are put together, and you don't have to worry about putting on binding. Then you can do the tying (or quilting); you might want to baste it with thread or safety pins first.
I'm sure there are some more detailed sites; I'll have to hunt around.
Posted by pteryla on 2005-09-02 08:23:26
Post Subject: in dire need of sewing-machine help
i am a beginning quilter. i have tons of great fabric, some great quilting books, and a great new machine: a simple, sturdy workhorse called the Janome MC3000. trouble is, i haven't used a machine in years, and when i sat down yesterday to thread it and start getting the feel of things, it was a disaster. i thought, of course, that i'd followed instructions. but the needle immediately unthreads, and either nothing much happens except needle holes in my fabric, or the bobbin and upper threads knit into a scary braid. can anyone help? if no one has ideas for what i'm doing wrong, does anyone know about a class i could take?
Posted by xuli on 2004-10-01 11:32:12
Post Subject:
I've been trying to teach myself how to quilt for a few months and having a *ton* of fun with it. Like you, I'm totally intimmidated by the quilting shop and taking a class isn't an option for me, so I've been browsing quilting books pretty obsessively. My bf likes going to Borders a lot, so I just go with him, plop myself down in the craft section, and check out the different books until he's ready to leave. I'm planning to buy a book eventually, but I'm trying to figure out which one has the clearest instructions and best information before I do. In the meantime, I've learned a *ton* just from browsing.
Also, you should look up a thread I started a few months ago asking for online links for first time quilters -- some great experienced craftistas put some links in there that have been invaluable to me.
ETA: Oh, and congrats on the sewing machine find! That's awesome!
Posted by pteryla on 2005-09-02 21:47:14
Post Subject:
two excellent beginners quilting books are: Start Quilting with Alex Anderson: Six Projects for First Time Quilters; and Quilter's Complete Guide, by Marianne Fons and Liz Porter.
