practice projects

The Guild I belong to makes & donates a lot of charity quilts. We make baby size, up to adult size lap quilts. We encourage members to practice their free motion on these quilts. If you don't belong to a guild, I'm sure it wouldn't be hard to find an organization that would be appreciative of your efforts. For me, if I was practicing on a table mat & it wasn't "perfect" enough for me, I wouldn't use it. If my charity quilts aren't perfect, it doesn't stress me out as much, because I know whoever receives it isn't as likely to be as picky as I am about those extra long stitches that sneak in there:)

When I was learning to machine quilt, I wasn't brave enough to make place mats that people would see. :) I first made a couple of mats for my dog, then I learned that our local homeless shelter would be thrilled to take twin sized muslin pieces with serged edges. (They actually preferred ugly, as they are less likely to be taken to be sold.) I got lots of practice and they got lots of bedding -- worked great for everyone.

None of my quilts for the battered children's shelter is ever perfect but I try my best to make them just as nice as I can. I wouldn't at gun point send them something I wasn't happy with. That said - sometimes the weight of a quilt will shift and cause a too-long stitch. I just meander off a bit and come back and cross over it. That firmly attaches the stitch and fits right in with my style (?) of Flight of the Full Bumble Bee free-motion. Polly

Well, Kathy, there you go with another "Aha" moment. Sometimes I see a fabric at a give-away price that is fine quality except it is just plain homely. It never crossed my mind that some shelters welcome something serviceable that wasn't attractive enough to take away and sell. I'll probably never tire of making crib quilts but I'll mention this to a neighbor of mine who thinks that quilting is a speed race. A very interesting avenue for combining quilting with giving. Thank you, Kathy. Polly

"Kathy Applebaum" When I was learning to machine quilt, I wasn't brave enough to make place

The animal shelters in our area are always asking for old blankets or towels to use in the animal cages. I'm sure practice quilts would be just as welcome.

I have some scraps of white silk, the crispy stuff. Whenever I want to try out a quilting technique or thread or new design, I make either a 6.5" or

12.5" square. Eventually, there will be a lot of quilted silk bits to join into a lap quilt. Maybe. I know that doing it on silk is a bit odd, but the scraps were there one day when I needed them, and that's how the idea started. Roberta in D, Queen of the scrap heap

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I'm with you on this - I don't like to make 'practice projects' that have no use. I always plunge in and make something on my 'to do' list and it always turns out fine, and nice enough to give as a gift. As we say in our local group, if you glance at a project on a galloping horse and it looks good - then it is good. The few times I've had a finished project that I don't like, I raffle it of (free of charge) to anyone in my group that wants it - there's always someone who loves it and wants it. Musicmaker

I still use a "warm up" small quilt sandwich, perfect to check tension, especially when changing threads. I have done my real practice on donation quilts - Project Linus etc. I buy panels when I can, and also make scrap quilts with my leftovers. I try to make the quilts as attractive as possible, but if there is a small glitch with the quilting, the recipient won't notice! I also use the donation projects to try new quilting designs, before putting them into a larger project. I often take photos of interesting borders or quilting designs at quilt shows.

All my projects are practice projects. Some just turn out better than others that's all. ;-) I just dive in and deal with stuff as it happens. Perhaps I enjoy the challenge of the fight? hmm dunno. ~KK in BC~

I do the same thing. I figure if I wait until I am sure about what I'm doing, I'll never get started. I must be doing something right because I am always happy with the results. Debra in VA See my quilts at

If I was sure of what I was doing then there wouldn't be half the creations around here that there is. I am a very visual person and directions and patterns are almost lost on me most of the time.

I am told it is a very dominant trait of an Aquarian woman.

~KK in BC~

Alex Anderson is coming out with a book filled with Practice Pieces for machine quilting. I need structure in my practice pieces too.

Cindy

I just took a Harriet Hargrave workshop and she advocates practice blocks + test blocks. She worked us hard and it was well worth it. I took an English paper pieced block, tried something out on it that I thought I would like, but hated the result! I'd have hated to have done that on a whole quilt top ... to even think of picking out the quilting creeps me out...I'd applique a whole block over it instead.

I make a practice block for almost every pattern because it helps me decide wheyher I want to continue with the design or change colors. ceegee in Boca