new quilter and I need some help please

Hi, Donna, and welcome to RCTQ! We do need more information about you, though. ;) Do you have QIs? Like chocolate?

Now to your question. The thing to remember is that it's best to try to keep the density of your quilting even across the entire quilt. Therefore, if you are stippling the inner border and outer border, you can't just do one or two lines of ditch quilting in the center -- though I know you didn't say you wanted to do that. Just some background advice.

As for your quilt, if you don't want to stitch in all of the ditches, could you perhaps do a gentle curve along all of the seams? That way you don't have to stay strictly on a line, which can be tricky. You could also use a walking foot, rather than doing it free-motion style, which might be easier for a beginner. If you have lots of confidence, maybe you could do something more than just a gentle curve -- like a curvy line of leaves or hearts, for example (you'd need to do that free-motion style, though).

Do let us see another photo when it's finished! :)

Sandy, thank you for replying and the ideas. I like the idea of curvy lines and leaves. I'm not sure I'm good enough for that but I'll practice before hand. I do have a walking foot, which is heaven sent in sewing a straighter line on layers.

And, OF COURSE, I like chocolate!! What red blooded American girl does't? (tee hee) I live in WI and am 62, kind of old to start a new sewing adventure, but what the heck? Donna

It's a nice bright, cheerful quilt with a lot of straight lines. I'd try to do some rather curvy quilting. You could do allover meandering (large stipple) on the center and stitch in the ditch on the inner border. For the outer border either 2 or 3 straight or wavy lines all around OR meandering (large stipple). I don't think I'd do small stipple on the inner border and large stipple on the outer border; the uneven density of the quilting could give you a ripply quilt.

Julia > Hello, I have been lurking for awhile and have picked up some great

It is a very pretty quilt Donna.

One of the simplest style of quilting to do, which looks good and is easy to do with a walking foot, is a diagonal grid with curvy lines instead of straight ones. If you do a rough plan on a piece of paper (so that you have a 'route map'), you will be able to go from one end of a curvy line to the beginning of the next (in the opposite direction - at right angles if they were straight lines!) without having to get stuck or go over done lines etc. It is much easier and less demanding than a straight-line diagonal grid; and far easier than stitching in the ditch (which is actually rather difficult, as when you slip onto the wrong line - as you will >ggHello, I have been lurking for awhile and have picked up some great

You're quite right about that walking foot! :)

Well, if you like chocolate, what kind do you prefer? We have dark-, milk-, etc., lovers here. And what about your QIs?

As for your age, I don't think starting a new sewing adventure (and especially quilting) is ever wrong at any age. :)

Hi Donna,

Being somewhat of a novice machine quilter myself, I won't offer any advice on that. However, I do want to welcome you to RTCQ and tell you what a pretty quilt your Moda Maypole is. Great choice of colors and very cheerful!

Best regards, Michelle in Nevada, USA

Thank you so much for the warm welcome and good suggestions. Now I have to do some serious thinking and apply some of them to this quilt. I got on Youtube a few nights and watched all the 'how to' videos that I could find. Actually, they were very good and I picked up some tips there also. I have one other question for this thread, what does Ql stand for? lol Besides being new to quilting, this is the first post I've made to a discussion group, so I haven't a clue! I got on google to look it up and got some interesting choices from Quatar interest bank to Quality inventory, etc. etc. I'm assuming it's "what's my interests" or something like that?

I'm sure I'll have some more questions shortly as I think of them. Thanks again for the warm welcome, Donna

Hi Donna,

I had to ask what QI meant when I first came here too. It stands for Quilt Inspector. They are usually 4 legged and furry. Mine happens to be a cat. :-)

Michelle in Nevada, USA

Michelle C. wrote:

ment. My only inspector is my husband of 43 years, who by now, knows to sa= y, "it looks very nice," even if it doesn't. : )

Thank you for the welcome, Roberta. Yes, it's basted in the photo. I know I should leave a few inches around all the edges but I didn't this time. It was hot, I was crabby, and the back had no wrinkles, (yet). I suppose it was a folly to cut it so soon but it's after the fact now. lol I will keep all of you posted as to the final result. Donna

Roberta, would it have any effect on the outcome, if the quilt was sewn all around the edge by machine before starting the actual quilting...maybe with as big a stitch as possible 'without' using actual big basting stitches/darning stitches (thats what my machine has and those ones are huge, so not those, just biggest regular stitch on the machine). would that help at all, considering there is no leeway of extra batting around the edges. would it keep the batting from scrunching up as it usually does when quilted. just an initial thot on my second cuppa so i could be and probly am talk'n a load of old rubbish here. then again, maybe i should go back to bed for the duration of something. j. and can do that fairly good. I plan to do the inner border in small

Welcome, Roberta! We are a fun group and i know i've learned alot here.

(The official Chocolate tester will probably join in this conversation eventually to let you know she will gladly test any chocolate you have.)

We also have many experienced quilters here. Ask anything. We love to give out advice and tips.

amy in CNY (central new york state)

"Roberta in D" has been here for ages. Donna, "dealer83", is the newbie here. j.

"amy in CNY" wrote... Welcome, Roberta! We are a fun group and i know i've learned alot here.

(The official Chocolate tester will probably join in this conversation eventually to let you know she will gladly test any chocolate you have.)

We also have many experienced quilters here. Ask anything. We love to give out advice and tips.

amy in CNY (central new york state)

Don't know, but probably not IME. The problem isn't really that the batting scrunches up, but that the top shifts out of line. Even with lots of basting sometimes, although I seldom have much trouble when using a cotton batt.

My usual mach>

How interesting, Roberta. I have often looked at a quilt (at the quilting stage) and wished I could stabilise it by quilting the border and putting the binding on - but (you know me!) I thought it was 'against the rules' so I didn't. If you haven't been sent to perdition, I might do it for the next one(s). Thanks for setting out your method. . In message , Roberta writes

Hi Donna. No you are never too old to take up a new adventure. New adventures are what keeps life from becoming dull and boring. Where in WI do you live? I lived in Appleton for 3 years. Loved boating on Lake Winnebago and Lake Winneconne.

As far as the quilting goes, well I personally still feel like a beginner myself even though I've been quilting off and on for 35 years, if that makes any sense. But the ladies here will most definitely steer you in the right direction. They are a wonderful group. So I hope you'll stick around.

Hugs, Kim

Kim, thank you for the welcome. I live in Sun Prairie, six miles east of Madison. We've been in our house 38 years! But that is a whole 'nother issue of "too much stuff." Donna