I have had the honour of helping others finish their quilts for a long time now and I see each quilt that way!
An Honour!!
Some quilts present themselves with some challenges when it comes to loading and quilting on the longarm thankfully there are great techniques that help me to work with them and produce beautifully finished quilts for my customers.
I have been told that I am a patient person and I know that this personality trait is helpful in my quilting life. Yes there are many you tube videos and books that claim you can make a quilt in a day or that finished is better than perfect and I do understand the need for that in this busy world.
I often read or hear people online complain about the quilting police and when I read that, I think back to if you don’t have something nice to say…so in that breath I do believe that it is rude to criticize someone’s work!
As a long time piecer and longarm quilter I do at times like to offer gentle recommendations to other quilters when I can.
There are two steps in piecing that I personally consider valuable in making a quilt that will withstand years of use…
First is a consistent 1/4 inch seam allowance. For most quilts a consistent one will do the trick. It’s when you start working with more advanced patterns, needing a perfect one becomes much more important.
This morning while I was starting my day on the treadmill I watched a YouTube video with helpful information that you might find helpful too…
https://youtu.be/AxdTw33O0oM?si=Rf4wQ7YlTlq72_Ci
He covers a few ways to obtain the 1/4” and also covers pressing which is also so important.
I often use steam to set my seams…when I do that I let the pieces cool before handling them which prevents stretching. Of course pressing and not ironing helps prevent the dreaded stretching as well.
Overtime, I have stopped using steam in some of my piecing…it can be a hard habit to break!
Having had wonderful quilting mentors over the years I do like to also share what I know with others and continue to learn along the way myself.
So on that note,
