I've been a quilter for the past 10 years ... took a hiatus for about 2 years (not completely of my own volition) and am getting back to the needle and hoop! I've done a few nine-patches, eight-point stars, a couple of Baltimore Albums (love Mimi and Roxanne) and a few trapuntos, whiteworks and "Amish-style" quilts. My absolute favorites to do are appliques. I'm also an illustrator, so if anyone needs any help with applique patterns, I'd love to help! :)
Welcome Connie! This is the bestest quilting bee and quilting guild you'll ever find. We always have room for more quilters.
I'm Leslie with My HairyButt Gang and currently not quilting due to complications from a second right hip replacement. I hope to be back at our cyber quilt frame shortly.
Hang around... we have so much fun, great quilting information and some really hilarious discussions- where else can an OT post about fat-free homemade ice cream deteriorate into various types of honey and the bees dying off and the joys and pitfalls of making mead? LOL
Welcome from Down Under! I am sure you have already lurked a little and seen how friendly and helpful this Rtcq Group is. I've even got to meet some of the gals on a trip to the US a few years back so keep on reading and staying in touch.
Welcome Connie! What a generous offer, to help with appliqué pictures. You might get swamped with requests!! Do you have any pictures that you can share? - in some form of website? your own or one of the free photo-share sites? (We can't put pictures on the newsgroup itself). Your work sounds very interesting, and different from what many of us usually do. . In message , Connie writes
Hi Connie, whereabouts in Florida are you? I'm Debi, also in Fl and I'm still teaching myself how to piece and quilt. Slowly but surely, I'm improving, just don't look too closely at what I make! Appliqué is something I've only just tried and never finished the block so maybe someday soon I'll try it again. Glad to have you aboard. This is a great place to talk about quilting, ask questions or just talk!
Welcome, Connie! The first and only applique I've done is a Wee Ones wall hanging which I ended up giving to my granddaughter for Christmas. I loved it! You can see my quilts at
Thank you!!! I've only been here a couple of days, but I have to admit already that I think you're absolutely right! :)
I'm so sorry to hear that ... but your quilting frame's loss is the group's gain (more time to talk)! :)
I read your post about Simon ... I almost peed myself laughing ... this is the kind of talk I LOVE - and that you won't usually find in a typical quilting guild (at least not the ones I've belonged to!)!
That sounds awesome! :) I am visualizing lots of fabric, lots of thread bits on the floor (no pins on the floor, hopefully), some coffee/tea, plenty of chocolate and laughs aplenty! :)
Do you guys ever do round robins? If so, I'd love to join! :)
That would be a bit on the hard side ... most (with the exception of about 4 "functional" quilts - for keeping warm on cold days) I've given away. Many for gifts, weddings, births, etc, but even more baby quilts for local hospitals - preemie quilts and Infant Bereavement quilts. THOSE would be my best work ... I'll take some pics of the ones I still have around the house, though they're really not my best work ... hopefully, ya'll won't tease me about how awful they are! :)
Most of the quilts I've made have been given away ... about 20? The only "babies" I kept were the functional ones (simple nine-patch, eight point star, etc, and one English Rose wallhanging ... not functional, but it was a gift for a loved one who, when they passed away was used as the "guest book" at the funeral and given back to me) ... the ones I kept aren't much to look at, but I'll take pics and post them some how! :)
I'm working on another applique quilt - a wall hanging for my dining room - from the book "A Quilter's Garden" that I'd love to share when it's done! :)
But most importantly, I'd love to see ya'll's work! :)
Hey Connie! I'm new to quilting and new to this group and loving both. I'm Louise (the one in eastern Ontario Canada, not the one in Iowa or the one in Washington state). I love bright colours and mathematics and geometric patterns and shortcuts like strip piecing and chain piecing ... so I don't know why it took me so long to try quilting. (Well, I kind of do -- I didn't have room where I was living before, I didn't have my own sewing machine until this winter, and I was busy knitting.)
People here are really kind. Not to say that they don't tease, but it's more about cats and shopping and stuff like that.
And making quilts for infant bereavement? Bless you.
I haven't made any quilts to give away yet. But I've been wondering about keeping records of what I make. So far, mostly what I've done is take little bits of the fabrics and stick them on a card in a binder along with some of the sketches and calculations. It's not as organized as it sounds -- the binder is basically one more WIP sitting on the floor beside my sewing stuff. And I have digital photos of everything at various stages.
What do other people do about keeping records of their projects? Especially people who give quilts away.
LOL, you should see the first quilt I ever made (What? seams in an eight point star are supposed to line up??) - I quilted it with a double-strand of thread! Took forever and popped holes in the fabric! :) Talk about an "ugly quilt!"
I love applique - it's the only kind that I can do sitting in an easy chair, getting lost with the adventures of Gil Grissom (CSI) or Dexter (Dexter) - YUMM-O!
When you get back to it, I hope you'll share some pics!! And I promise I'll try very hard not to nag you about it! :)
Absolutely it is! I've been reading ya'll's posts and laughing, crying, and just smiling like an idiot the whole time! :)
ARGGH! It wouldn't open for me ... it said "there's no member with that name" ... can you repost the link? I'd LOVE to see it!!
I took a picture about 6 years ago, with all my quilts, and it's lost to the ages (or in my photo box - which is infinitely worse) ... but I'll try to find it (if I don't come back in a week, send help - my photos box is THAT bad) ... I only have a few leftover that I haven't given away ... I'll take a few pics of those, but they're not anything to write home about. :(
Quite a full selection of my quilts are on our website (I don't keep it under my sig. as it is such a general one). I am (honestly) building up a photobucket site which I can add to myself (without the aid of DH!). On the website, please follow the links on the homepage to get to my work (and/or the pets!). Pets is sadly a bit out of date, we have had some losses this past year.
Wow, Connie, you've accomplished a lot in 10 years, minus two! WELCOME!! The only rule you really need to know: Send a pound or two of chocolate to the Official Chocolate Tasting Office, conveniently located here in my Palace in Virginia, USA. I will taste test if for you and report via E-Mail. No need to thank me! It is my selfless volunteer service to the RCTQ Community.
PAT, Official Chocolate Taster or RCTQ AND Queen of Everything
Y'know, knitting is an art that I've never been able to learn (among others - but knitting, I REALLY tried!!). Which came to you easier do you think?
I like the mathematics component to quilting, too. It's structured enough that it's practical and sensible, but allows more than enough room for creativity as well ... in fact, I've never seen math be so creative! :)
For me, making the commitment to a sewing machine was pretty hard ... I made my first 3 quilts completely by hand because even though I LOVED it, I wasn't sure if I loved it to the tune of $$$ to buy a nice machine. 3 quilts, 5 little-girl dresses and 6 drapes later, I came to the conclusion that yes, I did love it enough! :) And by then, my hands were damn tired!! ;)
I figured as much ... everyone here seems to be very kind and VERY fun. :)
But then ... I've never met a quilter who wasn't a good person! :)
My best friend (who I met about three guilds ago - we moved a bit back then) came up with the idea for our guild's community project ... even though the guild as a whole didn't bite off on it (they chose making "ugly quilts" for the homeless instead - definitely a worthy cause, too) ... that didn't deter her and she started the "program" on her own with a few members from the guild.
That's a great idea ... I wish I'd have thought of that years ago ... if so, I'd still have pics to share! :)
InspirePoint website is not affiliated with any of the manufacturers or service providers discussed here.
All logos and trade names are the property of their respective owners.