I went to get my kidneys ultrasounded yesterday.... turned out to be a not unpleasant experience! though I'm not expecting any great joy in the results! Anyway, afterwards we stopped by Patricia's Fabrics, mainly to exchange my recently-purchased metal thimble for a soft one I liked more!
Of course I couldn't help coming away with a couple of fat quarters and a couple of pre-cut squares, 8 squares of each I think... all the fabrics will go with a centre panel I got with cats and sewing motifs on... that's going to be quilt #2 I expect!
we also got to see their long arm machine, and I think I may well rent that to put my quilt top, backing and batting all together... though at $18 per hour it's a little pricey. I also know that the quilt club I'm going to join in September has a quilting machine - I don't know for sure if it's a long arm thing, but I can wait to find out since it'd be free to use! :)
I could think of lots of cricketing puns (all bad) relating to batting, but I'll be good and spare you all the cringes of that! So here's a photo instead, the rows of batting I could choose from at Patricia's! ... except it appears to have vanished! well, suffice to say, there were about a dozen different kinds and thicknesses... I didn't see any cotton / bamboo mix which I'd read about and been a little intrigued by, but lots of cotton and cotton / poly mixes.
Had a productive night at work. The phones were quiet and I got to sew 2 pairs of rows together - that gives a section that is two thirds of the whole quilt! The remaining 2 rows are ready to be sewed together and then joined to the 4-row section to complete the quilt top!
here's an unrelated question: those of you who like to quilt, what size of individual squares do you like best? My first quilt has 6" squares, but I see some fabric bundles online using 5" and 10" bundles and I wondered which you like the look and feel of best...
How to sew a straight line when you're blind or have low vision, and other adventures. Follow me as I try my hand at sewing after 25 years, beginning with quilting class .
Oooh roll on September! Quilting group with a quilting machine? That sounds like it'll be great fun!
ReplyDeleteAs for the square sizes... well, finished size on a quilt top my faves are 4" and 2", but to do them its much easier to buy the 5" or 10"! For instance, if you keep in mind a 0.25" seam then you're taking 0.5" off the cut size to get your finished size. If your square is 2 or 4 bits joined together, thats another 0.5" off! Basically I love the 5" cos that's what I feel I can do the most with, its not so small that I'd feel daunted by the massive amount needed for a top!
I am so glad that you mentioned your blog in your comment on my blog. I think you need to be one of my upcoming interviews (I love the idea of interviewing a new quilter!!) Anyway...on to your question. I don't buy too many precut squares but I can see the convenience of them and Sarah has some very good points about cutting them up and using those sizes. The size of the square for me is really all about proportion to the size of the quilt and the pattern I am using. I really like "big block" quilts because I like a quick finish. Check out some big block books at your library if you get a chance. Oh and look online at the 10-minute block that uses the 10" blocks that one is fun too.
ReplyDeleteFound your bog via Quilter in Gap and Quilting Revolution.... Your first quilt looks a lot like my first quilt. Quilting helps keep your mind occupied and expanding into new avenues... Keep up the good work.
ReplyDeleteNonnie
Hmm. I use both 5" charms and layer cakes (when I can afford them!), but I rarely use them as is. Sometimes I cut squares out, sometimes rectangles, and sometimes strips. Just depends on the pattern. The nice thing about larger squares is the quilting space, though. I used to own a longarm and a business - for ten years. I loved having a "canvas" to do thread painting on, and plain large squares allow room for a lot of beautiful quilting. It takes a little time to learn, but there are also templates you can use - there is a pointer on the machine that will fit into grooves on the template and make the pattern. I don't know if you would wind up needing someone to keep setting the template for you, or you could put notches or bumps into the edge of the table that would tell you where it had to be moved to in order to begin again. Maybe that would be trial and error to figure out the best way, but I don't see any reason why it couldn't happen.
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