Interested in quilting

Hi everyone. Firstly, don't laugh at me -_- Not that I expect anyone to, but everyone I've talked to about this has had a giggle at me so far as I have a reputation for not following things through. I've been knitting a baby blanket for 18 months so far..

The thing is, I just adore patchwork quilts. Everytime I see one, I can't help but stop to take a good look and really admire it, and if I had the money, I'd probably end up buying every one I saw! I'd love to be able to make them. I want to be able to make them for my family, you know, be able to make a special quilt for my sister, our children when they come along, etc etc. I also want to make what I'm calling my grandparent quilt. My grandfather recently died, and my grandmother died a few years ago. We're a very close family, and I was particularly close to my grandparents. I want to make a quilt which tells their story. I already have the basic outline in my mind of what I want it to look like, starting with my grandmother being born in London and migrating here, and my grandpa growing up on a dairy farm, through the wars, them meeting, having children..right the way through. I feel very strongly about this.

The only problem is..I'm not much of a sewer. I don't own a sewing machine, or many..supplies really, and when I've looked at books on quilting and so on, it looks..a bit overwhelming.

So I suppose what I'm asking is, is it as hard as it looks? Is it worth trying to learn the whole thing, does anyone have suggestions? Help!

Lisa xx

Hi there. I havent done quilting, although I do admire the people who do it, they look wonderful. I do a little bit of patchwork stuff, by hand and by machine. I know that quilting takes ages, it can take many months to finish a quilt. I think it's a great hobby though, and the reward you get once it is finished is long lasting, it's something you have made all by yourself, you know how much effort, time and tears have gone into it!
I never thought I would get into sewing, my OH suggested it, and I've loved it ever since, I have about 5 projects on the go right now, but it's something that I can do whenever I feel like it, when I want to chill out or sitting in front of the tv.

I think if you want to have a go, by all means go for it, it's a wonderful gift to give, or keep, and something that can be passed down to your kids and their children... It might be worth investing in a sewing machine though, ask around at your local sewing shops as they sometimes have 2nd hand machines for sale, you could even leave your contact number and get them to give you a call when something suitable gets traded in, as some of them can be quite expensive. My mum and I went halves in my sewing machine (a Bernina, she wouldnt let me get anything else!), we got it on special around Mother's Day for about $1200, normally it was anywhere between $1700-$1900, so a great bargain.

Acria, I don't quilt either - actually I don't sew but wish I did. But I have an Amish quilt that I bought in the US and I love it. I think they are great and I say go for it. Let us know how you go - hopefully you'll have a great quilt to show the knocker and say I told you so.

Hey acria:
I am like you, love the look of quilts but not much of a sewer!!! I found a cheats way to quilt...on ebay, look up "quilters kits", you can bid on pre-cut fabric in simple designs...(i tried cutting myself, takes way to much concentration for someone with 2 kids), and you can actually get them pretty cheap. they can come in really simple designs, so a good learners trick i reckon!!

You could hand sew these if you don't have a sewing machine, I have one but not much good at using it (why didn't I pay more attention in home ec?)

they also come with instructions

good luck!!

Another good way to start is by going to a basic patchwork class, if there is a sweing shop or a spotlight (assuming you are in Aus now...I cant remember) near you they normally run them and they are not that expensive, and you can pay by the class. You can also sometimes borrow their tools too so if you find its not something you really love, you havent wasted a lot of money.

My MIL has made heaps of them, she also teaches patchwork at the local community centre and has been teaching me.

I don't machine sew mine, I hand sew, it takes a while, but I love being able to sit in front of the TV and sew while I'm watching my favorite shows. I started with a few basic block patterns - there's plenty of free ones online and sites like crafster offer tutorials as well. Spotlight often have great sales on fat quarters to help get started.

The only part I machine sewed was the outer onto the batting.

I started with small projects like dolls blankets then cot quilts. Hoping to have a QS bed one done for my bed this winter.

It's a great hobby, although takes a while to finish the first few and get the hang of it!

I wish I could hand sew. I tired a couple of times to hand sew my blocks, but the pieces just fall apart :(

The trick is a fairly small needle, and only 3-4 running stitches, then add a back stitch to secure it, then a few more running stitches and a back stitch :)

My first one kept falling apart too, until I had the needle sizing and stitching explained to me properly!