Nora Introduces First Quilting Project
Hi all!
I am happy to be back a few months after my first post — thank you, thank you for the very warm welcome by the way!
My boys and I have been busy bees this summer, spending much of our waking hours outside. We’ve been enjoying the best of the season –swimming pools, parks, and barbecues, oh my!
On top of all that, we celebrated my sister’s wedding– all while our house is a bit of a construction site! We are finishing our basement (cheers to a designated playroom). It has been hard to find time to keep the house tidy, let alone start a quilting project, but I am happy to say I have progress to report!
FABRIC!!
First, I went fabric shopping!
My mom, Faye, and I snuck away to our local quilt shop and spent a couple hours admiring the rows and rows of fabrics and let me tell you: my eyes were bigger than my shopping basket–or budget for that matter–
(Any tips for not overdoing it in the fabric store???)
After some editing, I finally landed on a stack of fabrics I can’t wait to work with!
BEGINNER PROJECT
Many of YOU advised attempting something simple and easy like a table runner, simple tablecloth, or a basic pillow case. Simple is appealing.
I got my hands on a copy of Pat Sloan’s Teach Me to Make My First Quilt – A How-to Book for All You Need to Know that many of you raved about and flipped to the perfect, simple block: a star!
Next, I decided on my first sewing project: a classic quilt block-The Sawtooth Star block.
I hope to use it as a wall hanging or turn into a pillow.
SUPPLIES
Next I gathered all of the supplies Ms. Sloan recommends for the first steps, cutting.
And by gathering, I mean I looted my mother’s studio and helped myself to extra tools (but at what point do I need to just get my own?)
What is essential? What should I buy now?
(Let’s come back to that.)
CUTTING SEEMS SCARY!
So now my plan is to press a few pieces of fabric then follow Ms. Sloan’s guide to cutting.
But, if I am being honest, after my first read through- my head was spinning a bit already so I think I’ll look up a Craftsy video that shows how to start cutting (visual learner here!) (Any suggestions for basic Craftsy videos?)
Believe me- I know better than to start by hacking away at my pretty new fabric– so I dug out a scrap from my mom’s bin to do some practice cutting. Practice a bunch, measure twice, cut once…on the nice stash.
In sum:
Completed:
- I’ve identified my project,
- Purchased fabric (might this be the best part)
- Found a knowledgeable and simple step-by-step guide (thanks, Pat Sloan!), and
- Procured the necessary supplies.
Action items:
- Find video lesson (or get a demo from my Mom)
- Practice cutting
- Cut new fabrics according to pattern
- Report back to YOU
I’m feeling hesitant about actually getting my hands dirty, but I’m going to just go for it and if I don’t do it right, oh well. As many of YOU kindly reminded me– there are no quilting police.
Who cares if it isn’t perfect, right!?
Ok one final question: must/should I prewash my fabrics before cutting?
Until next week,
Nora
Overdoing it in the quilt store? What’s that?
prewashing is a choice. If you buy reds or dark blues you might want to test a tiny piece to see if they bleed. Most of the major companies (Moday, Kona, Marcus, etc.) have pretty much perfected their product and there is little bleeding. There might be some (again, very minor) shrinkage, but if you are making a quilt, that will lend itself to the crinkly effect once the quilt is quilted and then washed. Don’t wash precuts – more trouble than it’s worth. Finally, if you don’t prewash, but you are concerned about colors running, throw in a couple of Color Catcher sheets. Good luck and have fun!
Nora, Lovely fabrics – I think you will love making this project. I really like the way you have the In Summary and then Completed and Actions Items. Such a good way to keep on track. I’m thinking of using your organization style to help me get back into my sewing. ( I just recently got married and sewing is really taking a back seat. 🙂 )
Nora – welcome to the wonderful world of fabric collecting …. I mean, quilting 😉 I love your fabric choices. You asked about prewashing. I came to quilting from a dressmaking background where I prewashed or steam-pressed all my fabric before cutting it. I still do the same with my quilting cottons. I like taking off the sizing and dust that the fabrics have on them and then I starch them right before cutting. While most fabrics are color safe, I’ve had reds and blues run on me. And dark colored batiks are almost guaranteed to run. I use Synthropol along with a couple of color catchers. My motto, better the fabrics run before I’ve spent time sewing them into a quilt. I’m looking forward to reading about your quilting adventures. Cheers!
Yay for you! Summers are the best for family time 😀😀 Here’s some pointers:
1. When picking out fabric, take a photo of the bolts and then use a filter for black and white. This will help you gauge if you have all 3 light/med/dark fabrics.
2. When you see those flying geese to the center, sew with the geese side on top. Sew just above (toward the seam edge) where the three fabrics meet (in the center). This ensures that your points will not be cut off😀
3. Prewash or not? The true problem here is that a lot of fabric comes from China and is sprayed with rodenticide. When you iron it, some of the rodenticide is released. Eek! Prewash! But then the fabric and batting shrink at different rates, so many people don’t prewash. If you or someone in your home has allergies, definitely prewash.