I like to sew a lot. I wanted to make my friend's first baby a special quilt. I made the flock of geese pattern. The quilt was unique and I had a lot of fun with it.
Update: Here is what I mean by "turning". When you make your squares, you turn one square opposite the other square so that one side goes horizontal and the other square the sides go vertical, and there is no need to match the seams.
My 85 year old mother-in-law lives with me. We've been buying fabric and notions at thrift stores for about a year now, costing us 2 dollars a Walmart sized bag. We decided it would be neat to make the family quilts for Christmas.
Make the quickest most accurate quilt you'll ever make using a gridded stabilizer. It's made with one inch squares, but you can use any size squares you want.
Each year, our family honors my grandmother who was a great seamstress and quilter by having a gathering we call the Barnhouse Bees. Every time we meet, we choose a theme for the following yearly bee.
When making quilts, I use old (clean) mattress covers for the fill. Cut to the size that you need.
Everyone who sews has lots of small scraps. I use mine to make quilt tops. Cut muslin or light color fabric into strips 4 inches wide and as long as you want the quilt (maybe 3 yards).
When quilting with thin, flimsy fabrics, use "used" fabric softener sheets as an inexpensive backing. It gives it body and makes it a whole lot easier to work with.
When hand sewing, I am partial to quilting, I like to thread several needles to be ready when I have finished with one length of thread. To be even more organized, I prefer to use a magnet to keep the needles and threads straight so I don't have to stop what I am doing just to thread another needle.
When cutting several of the same shape, staple several layers of the paper needed or fabric needed and cut several at one time. If you are cutting paper put your staples outside your pattern lines on three sides.
I do a lot of quilting and, as you know, you have to iron a lot of quilt pieces. I was always running out of water for the iron.
When you are working on quilt squares, a perfect carrying case for all your stuff you need is a pizza box. The squares stay nice and flat and all your tools and thread fits just fine.
For drawing quilting paper-pieced blocks, I take a piece of template plastic (available at Joann's very cheap), and then cut small grooves using an Exacto knife and a cutting mat, corresponding to the lines of the pattern.
I use iron on backing to make the quilt pieces easier to work with.
If you have grid paper, it's fun to design your own quilt squares. Keep it simple, but make sure you have lots of colorful fabric, and you'll be sure to have a great quilt.
Before starting a quilt, be sure to iron the scraps you plan to use.
Take the small pieces of soap that are left over in the shower, dry them out and presto, you've got a great marking tool for fabrics and quilting.
