Quilt, Read, Eat, Sleep.... What Else Is There? discussion

My favorites are the cutting of the fabric and the hand sewing portion of the binding.

My least is connecting all the blocks into rows and then sewing the rows together. I just don't have the room to lay out all the blocks, so I end up putting blocks in the wrong place or getting the rows mixed up. Most of the time, only I notice the misplacement, but other times it's bad enough that I have to frog it. (rip it, rip it)

My favorites are picking out the pattern and fabrics and the cutting. I also enjoy the piecing.

My least favorite is putting on the borders. By that point I am anxious to have the project all finishined. I also am not thrilled with quilting it myself. I don't really dislike it as much as I am not very good at it and I lack the eye to know what it needs in quilting.

Hmmmm. Interesting question! I really like all parts of it. I like selecting the fabric and cutting and sewing. I even like the quilting if it's twin bed size or smaller. Anything bigger than that and I send it to be quilted on a long arm. The thing I struggle with the most, however, is selecting the fabrics. I eventually end up with something that's pleasing, but it takes me awhile. I did discover that I hate making scrap quilts!

Hmmmm. Interesting question! I really like all parts of it. I like selecting the fabric and cutting and sewing. I even like the quilting if it's twin bed size or smaller. Anything bigger than that and I send it to be quilted on a long arm. The thing I struggle with the most, however, is selecting the fabrics. I eventually end up with something that's pleasing, but it takes me awhile. I did discover that I hate making scrap quilts!

Scrappy is difficult for me too Judy.
I've pushed myself and now I can do one color scrappy.
I may pull out all my purples, light and dark, and cut a piece or 2 from each. I generally use just one background color.

I did manage a two color one several years ago. I used blue and tans/browns. I pulled out what I felt were med and dk blues. Then selected med and light from the tan/brown family. The quilt was made from strips so I didn't have to fuss deciding which shapes to cut from each. Then I sewed the strips alternating blue and t/b. Triangles were cut from those, then sewed together with blue lining up with the t/b to form squares again. The those were cut in half and sen together. At least it was structured enough that I had to follow some rules. A friend was wanting a quilt in those colors and there was a quilt in a book that I thought would fit. I'll post a photo.

Good, I'd like to see the picture of it!

We all really like seeing photos!

Love putting the binding on. I guess it is because it means I am almost finished.

I don't think I've made a scrappy quilt yet. I better keep collecting more fabric : D

I agree with Elizabeth. I love the final handstitching to finish the binding for the same reason. I hate making a label and won't make one for smaller quilts (I write directly on the backs, then). But I do love selecting fabrics and stitching the top. Quilting the sandwich is a chore but much more fun than the pinning/basting!

That's one of the reasons I like it too.
But mostly I enjoy the relaxing hand stitching.
I have severe arthritis, so I'm not able to to hand sew a complete quilt. That binding sewing satisfies my itch.

I forget how relaxing hand stitching can be with this crazy paced world we live in, and binding is just about the only hand sewing I do, but you're right, Cathy, binding sewing really is satisfying. More than just finishing the quilt, hand sewing the binding is one of the last "intimate" connections we have as "makers" - a last hurrah before the quilt becomes its own entity.

My favorite part is choosing a pattern (I love making old-fashioned repeating block quilts like "Jack-in-the-Pulpit" or "Monkey Wrench") and the fabrics. I like to make each block with different fabrics but a similar color theme, such as browns and pinks or reds and golds. I seem to make a lot of baby quilts for friends and with those I stick to 30s reproduction fabrics in all different colors, with the unifier being sashing and border in a solid color like Bubblegum Pink or Apple Green.

Hands down my least favorite part is the quilting. I hate manipulating all that bulky fabric through my sewing machine! I will hand-sew the binding if I'm using any.

The hardest part for me is rotary cutting many little pieces for queen and bigger quilts. I did a Roxzanne Carter one for my grnadson . It turned out great but took me almost a month to cut because I cannot be accurate when I am tired.

Elizabeth wrote: "Love putting the binding on. I guess it is because it means I am almost finished."

Wish you lived near me, I just hate doing the binding. I have to watch movies that I know and at that point I can't wait till it's finished and a label is on the back so I can say it done.

My least favorite part of quilting is the sandwiching. Especially on queen or king size.

My most favorite is piecing the blocks, least favorite is selecting the fabrics. I do almost all scrappy because 1) I like the scrappy look and 2) it's easier for me to pick scrappy "anything goes" fabrics than to coordinate color, value, print, etc.

Marge wrote: "My least favorite part of quilting is basting the three layers together. Yuck!"

Marge: I will come do it for you! :-)

My favorite is hand piecing the blocks after laying them out and seeing what they look like as I work.

Least favorite at the moment is transferring the templates onto the fabric. I can't iron fabric right now (iron is broken) so my fabric isn't quite perfectly flat. And my pencils and colored pencils need sharpening every few pieces. Very slow process.

My favorite part is like Kathryn's. I love picking out the pattern and the fabric. I have so much fun imagining how it will look when it's finished. That gives me the push to get working on in right away.

My least favorite part of quilting is cutting out the fabric. Really don't care for that. My favorite part is...well, pretty much EVERYTHING else. That's why I'll put up with the chore of cutting.