So You Want To Be a Quilter

Tips for New (or Older) Quilters
(Things I Wish I Had Done From the Beginning)

1. Document every quilt you make.
2. Record date started, date finished, who quilt is for and occasion, name and source of pattern, any special information such as why you chose pattern and/or fabric, if fabric was given to you and by whom, etc.
3. Keep a journal while making the quilt, documenting quilt’s progress and talking about other events in your life during that time. If giving the quilt to someone special, consider giving them the journal also.
4. Take a picture of the quilt, and also of the quilt with the maker and recipient. If possible, also take a picture of the quilt in use by the recipient or on display in their home.
5. Keep a scrapbook of all above information. Include pattern or at least pattern source, pattern history, swatches of fabric used, timeline, photos, etc..
6. Save a 5-inch block of every piece of fabric you acquire, either by purchase, swap, or gift. Make a charm quilt with these when you have enough.
7. Make a label to sew on the back of every quilt with beginning/ending dates, quilter’s name, who quilt is for, name of pattern and/or any other info you choose.
8. Embroidering your name and the year on the front of a quilt is like an artist’s signature on an original painting.
9. Keep a running list of your quilting projects, to include any/all of following:
a. WIPs, Works In Progress – things you are currently working on.
b UFOs, Unfinished Objects – things you have started but set aside to finish at another time.
c. Finished tops, ready to quilt.
d. Quilts finished and given away.
e. Quilts finished and kept.
f. Quilts or quilting commissioned for pay.
g. Future quilts you already have all or part of the fabric and pattern for.
h. Future quilts you want to do one day.
10. Find someone to quilt with, and get together for quilting on a regular basis. It is much more fun, and you learn from each other.
11. If you don’t know any quilters in your area, don’t worry. Quilters are kindred spirits and they have a way of finding each other. In the meantime, there are lots of online quilting groups that you can join and participate in discussions, fabric and block swaps, and share ideas and info. This can be a lot of fun, but be careful not to join too many or you’ll spend all of your quilting time at the computer.
12. Be proud of your quilting hobby and show it off. Host a quilt show or show and tell party with your quilting friends every now and then, just so you can see each other’s progress, and ooh and ahh. If desired, invite other quilters, quilt collectors, and quilt lovers by leaving flyers at quilt shops, fabric shops, antique shops, flea markets and any other places quilt lovers like to shop. This can be just a show, or quilts can be available for sale if desired. You may also want to invite your local media.
13. Keep your quilting projects separated in large (2 gallon) ziploc bags. Keep everything related to the project in the bag (pattern or book, fabric, work in progress, etc.) It will be ready to grab and go anywhere at any time and nothing will get lost. Keep all of your project bags together (I keep mine in a large basket in plan view so I can see at a glance what I am working on and what I want to do next). When a project is finished, save the bag for another project.
14. When you cut out all of the pieces for a quilt top, go ahead and cut and make the binding, and put it in your project bag. You’ll be glad you did when you are ready for it later, and you won’t have to go back and find the original fabric and make it weeks or months later.
15. There are literally thousands of free quilt patterns and instructions available on the internet if you know where to look. One of the best sites is www.quilterscache.com.
16. If you collect a lot of books and quilt magazines, they will become overwhelming after a while if you don’t have some sort of system for not losing things you want to go back to. Some ideas:
a. Keep two stacks going: one with patterns you want to try in the foreseeable future, and one stack of all other books and magazines.
b. These can be kept in two baskets, two different bookshelves, two square plastic crates, etc.
c. In the stack containing quilts you know you want to make, put a sticky note on the front of each book with page number of quilt and brief notes regarding fabric you want to use, or who you want to make quilt for.
d. Be careful who you loan books to; they can get unintentionally lost very easily. Always put your name on them.
e. Catalog quilt patterns by writing name of pattern on an index card and then listing each book or magazine you have containin the pattern with issue and page number. This is not only great for finding patterns you know you have but you don’t know where, but it also allows you to compare different sources of the same pattern for variations and design your own variation. This can be a bit time consuming at first as you have to go through all books, but it is fun and will pay off later. Then you can update easily each time you add a book or magazine to your collection. Just find the card listing each pattern you already have, or create a new one if needed, and add the new source to the listing on the card.
f. Some people like to go through their magazines and tear out patterns they want to keep and put them in a binder and give or throw away the rest. This is a good way to purge your patterns, but I personally do not like this idea because a pattern you think you will never want to make now may become one you do want to make in the future. Quilting preferences definitely do change over time.
17. One last note: Quilt for “fun” - not perfection. The perfection will come gradually over time, and all quilts will be treasured, regardless of skill level.