I enjoy quilting and some days can spend hours just cutting up fabric to re-sew it all back together. For some reason I got these sewn but just couldn't make ME put the binding on them to finally finish them. I had lots of excuses for me not doing this but mostly it boiled down to me being the "L" word (lazy) however today I got it together turned on the machine and sewed away. Feels good now to be finished. This is for the Granddaughter for Christmas. The pink is alot paler pink than came out in the photo These are placemats for all the Grandkids for Hallowe'en And this is a "just cause" twin size blanket of all scrap fabrics
Also finished this guy a lap throw afghan. Kinda bright but "Colour is ME" And lastly I got binding around this one too
Lazy? I don't think so. When the mood moves you, things get done, and those lap quilts and placemats are wonderful!
Those are gorgeous, good job. I have not quilted in a few years. I hand quilted and after a few years I found that pushing the needled through the top,batting and backing was really hurting my needle pushing finger so I stopped a few years ago. Still have lots of fabric staring at me silently asking me when I am going to get around to using them.
Thanks I enjoy machine quilting and have a rule for me which is to finish a project before I start another. Technically I talked myself into 'almost' finishing these and "yes" it makes much more sense to put binding on a bunch all at the same time but then the job is way too big and on and on - BUT - now that the unfinished are finished I'm onto the next one @toni - I tried hand quilting vy way of a local quilting group but it was hard. Didn't seem to have the power in my hands to push and pull the needles so after a couple tries I went back to my machine. One day I'll learn how to do freestyle quilting as right now I'm pretty much sewing/quilting in straight lines.
Toni and Island, I quilt by hand, and use a leather finger stall. Most quilt shops will have the stalls, which are easier to use than the metal thimbles. The stalls are also more "finger friendly". Netty, that is certainly what you need--one more thing to do!
I had metal thimbles and leather ones but not a stall, I don't think even that would have kept the first joint of my pushing finger from hurting. I think over the years I was quilting I hand quilted at least 25 quilts ranging in size from baby to king size. I have lot of snowflake print fabrics....I mean A LOT!! Hubby gave me the nickname snowflake years ago since I really LOVE snow...don't see much down here but snowy days are my most favoritest kind of days. Any way next year I want to get quilt tops made for my daughters and grandsons, not going to quilt them but I will also give them the batting and backing fabric and the money to have them machine quilted. I have done some machine quilting, but I really miss hand quilting. Have you noticed in your area that quilt shops have all but disappeared ? There used to be at least a dozen of them in my area, every year they sponsored a Quilt Shop Hop which was fun. But over the past 10 years or so they have all closed except the one downtown where I live but it is not nearly what it used to be. Even the majority of online quilt fabric sellers no longer exist.
I don't think I even know what a "stall" is but will have a look see. We have two quilting shops and last week I noticed our "Michaels" craft store is preparing a entire back corner of their store to carry fabrics. They had about a third of a shelf filled with Batiks (my favourites) with a price tag of $20/meter (meter is 3" longer than a yard). Batiks in our two sewing shops run approximately $26/meter so I guess Michaels is setting up competition. We had one huge Fabric store chain that closed about a year ago. The word on the street was that they couldn't afford the rent in their building anymore but ? Was optimistic they're re-open but am giving up on that happening.
Michaels carries some good quality quilt fabric. 30 years ago we had Cloth World stores, I was the weekend manager in one for a couple of years, then the parent company sold out to JOANN several years ago. I have several pieces of Batiks and wooooow I did not pay that much for them! But they are gorgeous. Get on Michaels mailing list, they will send out coupons for certain amounts off individual items and total purchase and that includes fabric. Or sign up for their app, ours sends the coupons to our cell phone so it's really easy to use and we don't have to remember to take the coupon in with us. Actually when you check out, hand your phone to the cashier and they will scroll through the Michaels app and apply all the coupons that your purchases qualify for.
@toni - Thanks for the tip. I do get the Michael's coupon and I fully intend on using it for their batiks. I think the 'deal' is one cut per coupon but that cut could be 10 yards (or meters as is the case here). On the Island here we have/had "Fabricland" but in my town it closed. I can get to one but it is a 45 - 1 hour drive south to the next one and is in a direction I rarely go. I, however, do tend to go to the States often and I usually buy most of my fabrics there. I love JoAnn's Fabrics and am on their email lists too. I'm still sitting on some marvelous batiks I bought in Hawaii about 6 yrs ago. I periodically take them and think about what I'll make but so far haven't come up with a pattern to do them justice. SOON! I also have a few really lovely batik panels. I think about how to best frame them up in a quilt but I'm still at the thinking stage. I'm only fairly recently retired a couple years ago so have really just acquired the time to sew sew sew and sew more if I am sew inclined. I'm not an avid sewer but I truly love quilting and making blankets. Can't say I'm too much into making clothes anymore (did that when my kids were young and I had to) but I find it very satisfying to make quilts
I started sewing clothes for my doll when I was 6, then for myself, then daughter (made her three prom dresses and a wedding gown), then other daughter. Sewed two different fingers in separate incidents. Not eager to get back into sewing clothes again. Our niece once asked if I would make a dress for her, told her pick out the dress and I would buy it...but I will not sew it. I loved the one cut coupons.....that's when I would buy quilt backing and binding fabric, saved a fortune.
Not a quilter here, but I have been making mittens out of old sweaters and giving them away to friends. I have given away 15 pairs so far and have another 10 ready to go. I am really having fun with it.
