Encouragement for New Hand Quilters! My VERY First Quilted Item (humiliating myself here, LOL)

[speckledhen]

I've only backed one in flannel. Seems it's more expensive. I'm hoping thousandsofbolts.com will have theirs on sale soon. The flannel quilt backs are currently $12.95, which isn't bad for 108" wide fabric, but still, a dollar saved here and there adds up. I hate piecing quilt backs!

Karen, some of the wrinkled look is because it was slouched on that couch outside (golly, I wish someone would haul it away-maybe Lowes will when they take my old range tomorrow, LOL). Unless you object, I'm going to attach the sleeve so that the darker large brown triangle and the dark green star points are on the bottom to "anchor" the piece.

 

[NanaKat]

I've only backed one in flannel. Seems it's more expensive. I'm hoping thousandsofbolts.com will have theirs on sale soon. The flannel quilt backs are currently $12.95, which isn't bad for 108" wide fabric, but still, a dollar saved here and there adds up. I hate piecing quilt backs!

Have you tried flannel sheets? Sometimes the flannel is a nice weight..depending on the brand. And can be found at a nice price.
I love to order flannel from Thousands of Bolts. I make burp cloths for baby gifts and have made several flannel quilts.

 

[speckledhen]

Didn't think of flannel sheets. Maybe some will be on sale since spring is coming up. Thanks, Kathryn!

The hanging sleeve is attached and I'm about to attach the label at bottom, center of the back of the wallhanging.


Hey, Kathryn, have you ever used basting spray? I saw youtubes by Patsy Thompson and she uses it all the time so I got some, though I couldn't find her 505 brand at Walmart. Do you wash the item after it's quilted or just leave it in there until it wears off in time?

 

[NanaKat]

We have a Ross and a Kohl's. They always have nice quality sheets at a great price....and that is before sales.

 

[speckledhen]

We don't have anything like that here. I live in the mountains in the boonies. I do have a Burke's Outlet so maybe they'll have some flannel sheets. I bet that would be cheaper than paying almost $50 for flannel to back a queen size quilt at a fabric retailer.

 

[speckledhen]

I began quilting the Courthouse Steps bed runner using a free form hearts design I saw online in a machine quilting youtube. I just draw the heart shapes with chalk one by one and quilt as I go along. Here is a picture that I think shows some of it for you:




Trying to pin down the design on the log cabin block with the person I'm making it for or I'd show some of that, too. When we figure out what we're doing with that (she didn't like the gold center square so we're changing it up), and I have a few done, I'll show you guys.

 

[Hillbilly Hen]

Wow! Looks great!

 

[speckledhen]

Thank you, Laura. I think this is going to turn out really nice. I'm doing one block at a time until I feel each is sufficiently filled with design, then I'll do the border and I'll have it up for sale. Hopefully, someone will love it.

 

[seminolewind]

Cynthia, I love those paisleys in that quilt!
Maybe I should try some hand quilting when I'm at work. What kind of batting is best?

 

[speckledhen]

I like low loft battings that are mostly cotton, 80/20 is usually the ratio I get. Warm & Natural is easy to work with and I've used Hobbs, too. Both are nice battings.