Good Morning, Quilters!
It’s a busy week here at The Inbox Jaunt! Tomorrow my new Craftsy video, Creating a Quilting Plan: Approaches for Any Quilt is released! Be sure to check in tomorrow for all the details!!!!
And today we have a giveaway!
I LOVE HOME BLOCK OF THE MONTH
Block 4 is available HERE from Jacquelynne Steves
Block Four is the final block. Next month we add borders and finishing touches!
While you are stitching the blocks, it is helpful to start planning how you will quilt different areas of the quilt. Each area of the quilt will need it’s own “quilting plan” including batting, thread and motifs.
WHICH MOTIFS TO CHOOSE?!
There are so many possible motifs to quilt, we need to narrow the focus.
One way to choose motifs is to stick to a theme.
For this quilt, I looked for motifs that fit our I Love Home theme like hearts and houses.
The Sweetheart Border and Row Houses are perfect for the borders. Find the Sweetheart Border HERE and the Row of Houses HERE
Both motifs can also be found in my book, Free Motion Machine Quilting 1-2-3 HERE on Etsy (Personalized, signed copies make great gifts!)
To test your motifs, use a vinyl sheet and a wet erase marker.
Read HERE for more tips on this method.
OLFA GIVEAWAY!
This month’s prize is from Olfa– a cutting mat, rotary cutter, and package of Endurance blades. Olfa mats come in a variety of sizes and I have used them for more than twenty years! Thank you, Olfa for transforming quilting with rotary blades and mats and for this fabulous giveaway!
To enter, please tell us YOUR biggest quilting challenge. Is it planning the quilting, choosing the motifs, picking the right thread…or is it something else? Leave a note in the comment section by the end of the day on November 9th.
***Please note that this giveaway is open to US winners only this time, due to shipping costs.
MORE CHANCES TO WIN
There are seven other quilters participating in the I LOVE HOME project. Be sure to see their blocks and enter their giveaways for more chances to win!
- The Crafty Quilter
- The Inbox Jaunt
- Designs by Sarah J
- Farmhouse Quilts
- Penguin and Fish
- Podunk Pretties
- The Quilting Nook
- The Sewing Loft
Good Luck!
Tomorrow: Turn YOUR UFOs into completed heirloom quilts with —Creating A Quilting Plan: Approaches for Any Quilt!
Happy Stitching,
Lori
PS…All tutorials, images and information are the property of Lori Kennedy at The Inbox Jaunt and are intended for personal use only. Feel free to re-blog, pin or share with attribution to The Inbox Jaunt. For all other purposes, please contact me at lckennedy@hotmail.com. Thanks!
590 comments
Teri
I tell myself that I am working on it even when I am not sewing. I appreciate that part of the work is mental. I am looking at quilt books and quilt magazines I am consumed mentally till I can put something in my mind that I am capable of doing and that is also appropriate for my project.
Debbie Horton
Picking the right thread weights and types for top and bobbin! Oh, and the planning of quilting motifs and, etc…
Margie
Deciding on a quilting motif is the biggest challenge for me. We
Pat
Choosing a quilting design is hard for me, I’ve found, when the pattern seems to call for straight lines. Curved lines seem to hide imperfections.
Alice
Choosing the design is the hardest for me.
Melanie
Definitely my biggest challenge is machine quilting. Love your blog, Lori….I’m a newbie in the machine quilting world, so appreciate all your tips and motifs.
Donna McDaniel
I have a hard time getting the backing, batting and top together so that once it is quilted there are no ripples in the quilt. Once I get it together it usually takes me a few days before I come it with how I will quilt it.
mjkasz
I have a difficult time managing a large quilt on mu domestic size machine.
Pat
I can never get my backing on sreaight and even on both sides.
Barbara Markland
Color for the quilts are a challenge for me, I think the hardest challenge is long arm tension I just can’t seem to get it correct.
Karen Tu-Na Quilts
My biggest challenge is deciding the motif(s). After I’m finished, I always think a different kind of stitching would have looked better.
Ann D
I’m seeing that I’m not alone in having quilting issues. I’m finding I can practice on a small piece but then when trying to sew on the actual quilt, it’s harder to maneuver under the needle.
Cheryl Fabiano
How do I quilt it?
Sandy K
I have a hard time deciding on a motif.
Vicki H
The hardest for me is selecting a design to flatter the quilt.
Marty
My biggest challenge is courage to START after thinking about many options for quilting. Once I’ve begun the quilting, I keep going and have fun with it. I often seem to take a long time to feel confident that my plan will work ~ so I delay and do other things before I decide I MUST complete a quilt due to a gifting deadline.
Carol Hathaway
I’m new at this so everything is a challenge
Merrie
Deciding what design to quilt, is my first challenge. I think about that too much. I need to relax more, and just go with the flow.
Mrs. Plum
My biggest challenge is figuring out which motifs to use, then where to use them. Sometimes things are very clear to me, and sometimes, I just struggle.
Becky Shaffer
My biggest challenge is deciding how I want to quilt my quilts. Your blog, book, classes and Craftsy classes have helped me a lot, although it is still a lot like giving birth until I’ve made a final decision! I’ll be signing up for your newest Craftsy class first thing tomorrow. Thanks, Lori.
Melissa Polk
Oh dear! So many things can compete in keeping me from completing my quilts but first and foremost is choosing the motif or motifs. I am always anxious when completing the piecing and to end that anxiety, I end up stacking the quilt away until I can come to a conclusion on the quilting plan. Well, could it be that is why I have so many stacked? Ha!
Victoria MIner
My biggest challenge, as others have written, is choosing a quilting deign. I have a pile of UFOs waiting to be quilted because I just can[t decide what quilting design will best highlight the pattern and fabrics in the quilt.
Adele
My challenge is deciding what to quilt and where!
Susan
My biggest challenge is starting as I am afraid of ruining the quilt.
Debbie Howell
My most difficult part is getting started. I prefer to ad-lib instead of using a pattern so choosing the layout and the colors is the most difficult for me. When I finally get that decided it’s a breeze. My favorite part is the quilting.
Stephanie
Managing my time to make the most of it with all of the quilting processes.
Nancy Goeben
Deciding how to do the quilting and starting. I worry to much that it won’t look good.
Marti Morgan
All of the above, ha ha. I use to be “fabric/color” challenged, but now I start with a fabric “line” and add to it. So much easier on my OCD.
Rachel Garibay
All of the above!!! It’s hard to decide on design and thread and everything, but the hardest part is the first stitch. I’m so afraid I’m going to ruin the quilt with my quilting that I have to talk my self into it for a couple of days before I start. Once I get started it’s not so bad, but that first stitch!! Oh Man !!!
Sharon Kalmes
I don’t start because I think I will ruin what I already have done. My piecing looks very nice and I think when I sandwich it all together I will have a mess.
Pam Kosirog
I have trouble picking fabric! Solids or prints, light or dark, what works together? This always stresses me out!
Stacy
My biggest challenge is not rushing to finish. It’s taken a long time to get to this point, it’s hard not to want to “just get it done.” But I truly enjoy quilting, so I have to stop, take a breath, and then move onto the next step in the process – the quilting!!
Suzanne D
My biggest challenge is finding the right pattern and materials for the right person as I love to make quilts as gifts. I also have a bit of a challenge making sure I have no pleats on my backing!
Kathy E.
The actual quilting is the biggest issue for me. I have 2 larger quilt tops waiting for me to quilt, but I’ve put them off because of the struggle with their size. Poor things!
CJ Green
I have a hard time deciding on a quilting design that will enhance my piecing but not make the quilt so stiff that it’s more like a piece of armour than s cuddly bed covering.
debbie
I agree that I am my biggest problem. I feel like the whole fm process should be a logical progression of my leaning. I have been sewing since grade school and I’m as old as dirt. All logic slips out the window the minute I put on the free motion foot and grab a quilt! I doodle awesomely and my practice sandwiches are acceptable but that quilt top is impending first time motherhood. Thank you for all your hard work!
Joellyn Quinn
Biggest issue is finding time to do my favorite…..free motion quilting.
Donna
i find deciding what to quilt where is my most challenging part of the quilt process.
Marcia
My biggest problem is just to even start. I procrastinate about everything. If I just begin by putting the quilt on the machine, everything else follows.
Sue H
The biggest issue I have when it comes to quilting my projects is the layering & basting step. I will say that while I baste, I decide how I’ll do the quilting. I totally love all your free motifs on your blog … truly inspirational for the actual quilting! Just to browse what you offer is usually enough to get me started with the designing!
Lynne
Getting to the long arm quilting rental place!
Gypsybaker
Sadly, it’s binding…I’m new to quilting and I always stop short at the binding
process. Making matters worse, I have seen many quilts that have terrible
binding corners. If I could get over this hurdle, I would be thrilled beyond belief.
Sherry Southgate
My biggest challenge depends on the size of the project. If it is fairly large and because I don’t feel confident (yet) about my machine quilting I hesitate for ages on whether to have it LA quilted, whether to try to machine quilt and possibly make a terrible mess or whether to hand quilt and take a half year to do so.
Betty Hicks
Finding the time to sit down and sew. I have so many ideas before I can get to my sewing machines and just keep thinking of those other quilts that I should be working on. Sewing really relaxes me when I find the time and I love the challenges.
Linda
Planning the quilting. There’s not even a close second!
Shari K.
My biggest challenge is jumping into the FMQ pool! I have not “made” myself do the practicing that I need in order to get better, so I am afraid of ruining the quilt. This will be a great goal for 2018.
Mary
My biggest challenge is giving up the designs I decide not to use.
Sometimes I realize a different quilting design would make a big difference, and then I wish I had 2 identical tops so I could see it done both ways. On those occasions, I just have to choose and get going.
Debi Vanden Heuvel
Each decision seems to be its own challenge…which motif, color of thread, weight of thread…sometimes just diving in is the best choice!
Karan Michael
“y” seams!! I keep working on them and slowly getting better at it . Perseverance..
Linda
Biggest challenge is choosing the quilting design!
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