2009 Quilt block of the month - February

[Wildsky]

Quote:

Now I quoted you! You can be picky thats fine, I'm guessing we'll all have to spend a few bucks to buy a little fabric anyway. (I have NO stash)

I will add you guys to the first post, and you can change your minds, just please before anyone runs out to buy fabric..

 

[PortageGirl]

I edited again, took out the really fussy part, my mind was going a mile a minute!! LOL

 

[Wildsky]

Quote:

Once we get a few more folk together and closer to the end of the month I'll match everyone up with who they're sending to - and who is sending to them, and we can yap and discuss etc... so we'll have almost a month to change our minds as often as we feel like!

I will probably buy fabric by the yard, and then once my block is done offer the half yard or so up for a swap - so folks might get the same fabric in another block which would be pretty neat I think.

 

[agnes_day]

12 inch is good...and as for fabric..calico and gingham are nice! or cut up an old shirt for all i care haha!

 

[horsejody]

Quote:
OK, I don't know how experienced you are at quilting. If I tell you something you already know, sorry.

Most quilters prefer 100% cotton and sew blocks with a 1/4 inch seam allowance. Seams are rarely pressed open, they are normally pressed to one side. If at all possible seams are pressed towards the darker color. Be careful of fabrics bought at WalMart. They have some OK fabrics, but a lot is very thin and will not make a durable quilt. The same with WalMart brand thread (sometimes it dry rots easily and can ruin a quilt). With this sort of swap you can get away with buying very small amounts of each fabric. Personally, I would go to a quilt or fabric store and ask to see the fat quarters. They are pieces cut at about 18" x 20".

One of the most helpful websites in the world is:

http://www.quilterscache.com/

Particularly this section:

http://www.quilterscache.com/QuiltBlocksGalore.html

They have instructions for blocks listed by name and size, and they show a difficulty rating. Sorry, if this is too basic. I hope to be helpful.

 

[Wildsky]

Thank You Jody!!

I normaly have to buy my fabric on line, no nice stores in the middle of nowhere....

(www.fabric.com)
I did hear a commercial on the radio the other day about a store close to me, so I'll go check them out.

 

[skand]

Quote:
Okay, now you settled me. I was honestly going to ask if where the fabric comes from would be a problem.
So since pretty much everyone that has a clue of what to do is requesting average of 12", could we do that as a general rule. Such as, make it 12 inches, unless requested differently?

 

[skand]

Quote:
OK, I don't know how experienced you are at quilting. If I tell you something you already know, sorry.

Most quilters prefer 100% cotton and sew blocks with a 1/4 inch seam allowance. Seams are rarely pressed open, they are normally pressed to one side. If at all possible seams are pressed towards the darker color. Be careful of fabrics bought at WalMart. They have some OK fabrics, but a lot is very thin and will not make a durable quilt. The same with WalMart brand thread (sometimes it dry rots easily and can ruin a quilt). With this sort of swap you can get away with buying very small amounts of each fabric. Personally, I would go to a quilt or fabric store and ask to see the fat quarters. They are pieces cut at about 18" x 20".

One of the most helpful websites in the world is:

http://www.quilterscache.com/

Particularly this section:

http://www.quilterscache.com/QuiltBlocksGalore.html

They have instructions for blocks listed by name and size, and they show a difficulty rating. Sorry, if this is too basic. I hope to be helpful.

Thank you so much. The only experiance I have with quilts, is wrapping up in one. So everything you said, I havent heard before, and more then likely, still dont totally understand. lol

 

[agnes_day]

so, do i have to go to a fabric store and get fabric? i do have a lot of fabric from walmart, but it has worked well over the years, i use it to make my daughters dresses. i promise not to use anything that will unravel!
the nearest fabric store is 30 miles from here!

 

[horsejody]

Quote:
You might also want to try www.hancockfabrics.com. Sometimes they have nice clearance sales. Once I ordered 6 yards of a vanilla colored fabric from them. When it arrived it was peach colored instead. I called and asked if I could return it to the store. They said, "No, just keep it," and they sent me 6 yards of the right fabric. They are fast and easy to deal with.