Quilting

Author: Jane Underwood
Type: Article
Language: International
Length: 546 words
Keyword: Quilt
Keyword Density: 18/3.29%

Quilting would be one of the passions of my life.

I had never even thought of making a quilt until about 5 years ago. I was a member of an embroidery group that met weekly at a needlework shop. Embroidery was all we did. Then the owner of the shop decided to expand her stock and go into quilting and patchwork. She encouraged us to have a go.

Now about 30 quilts later, quilting has almost become an obsession.

The journey to the finished quilt is perhaps one of the most exciting things in life. You start with looking for a pattern. Once found you have to look for the material – and isn’t that a joy! I always find that it is not only for a specific quilt that you buy the fabric – you also have to get some more for your stash – for future quilts – or just because you loved the material. You may never use it BUT YOU HAVE IT!!

Then comes the cutting of the quilt. This is probably the most time consuming part of quilt making. It is at this stage that you really need to be careful to cut accurately. If you don’t your quilt may not come together exactly. One of the designers I use always says “Measure twice, cut once”! There is nothing worse than having to recut a piece of fabric because of inaccurate cutting. This usually happens when you have used up all that fabric and can’t get anymore! This is where your stash comes in – hopefully you have something similar that you can substitute.

Next is the sewing. Whether you sew by machine or by hand, there is nothing more exciting than seeing your quilt come together. There is a great feeling of satisfaction that if you are making a pieced quilt all the points come together and the seams match. Also it is good to see that the fabrics you have chosen all coordinate and LOOK GOOD!

The sewing time is the time when you seem to forget everything else. All you want to do is get the quilt finished so you can see what it looks like. Does it really matter that the washing up is not done? Or that you don’t get a lot of sleep? You are enjoying yourself!

Once the quilt top is finished it is time for the actual quilting. – whether you do it yourself by hand or machine or send it to a professional quilter. If you do it yourself there is the fun of laying the quilt top on the floor on top of the backing fabric and the batting. Then putting in the safety pins to hold it altogether – oh the knees!!!

When this part is finished it is time for the binding. The end is nearly in sight! Once that is done and any final embellishments added – the quilt is finished. Oh – I nearly forgot – don’t forget to put a label on the back.

Now the quilt is ready to be put on a bed or hung on the wall – what a satisfying journey this has been and what a sense of accomplishment!

If you want to take up quilting I can highly recommend it – it can become a fabulous part of your life.