BellaOnline Forums Hobbies and Crafts Quilting 2012 - What are your quilting goals?

I'm going to make a quilt that has 196 4" blocks and are made using the "recessed applique" method. It has a beautiful border and is made in blue and white. My goal is to have it completed by the end of 2012.

What's your quilting goal for 2012?
Let us know here.
Cheerio for now

My goal is to actually start doing some of the stuff that keeps floating round my head. I wake up some mornings with ideas for gifts for freinds and family , not even at their birthdays.(some quilting some not) This christmas i looked at the cheap shop bought gifts i was giving (cheap because of cash flow but still chosen with care) and just wished i could have got on with it and made the thing in my head... so thats it! this year i'm making them whenever they pop up (after children and hubby are sorted obviously) and i'll just pop them in cupboard for their birthdays or christmas. So this years goal "Get on with it!" Sonya

I had shoulder surgery and have no use of the upper part of my arm. My goal is to relearn to quilt. To find new ways to do things I had done before. Quilting. Forever

I am already working on my 2012 quilting goal which is to use up most of the focal fabrics that have been in my stash for the past 3-4 years. My choices of colors and designs have changed since I started quilting 5 years ago and every time I see those 'first choices' laying on the shelves I get a twinge of guilt. I just finished a log cabin lap robe in colors of blues and creams (Americana designs)and though pretty just aren't what I work with now. And then there are all those end pieces just dying to be made into ....something.

I'm a baby in quilting (began in 2010) I have done a lap quilt for my father, a scrap quilt with a friend to learn, a graduation quilt for both my daughter and niece and working on my sons (graduates in May), have a graduate each of the next 4 years. I am hoping to squeeze in a king size quilt for my bed between now and December 2012 when I'll start on my nephews graduation quilt. I LOVE QUILTING!!! My second goal is to learn some better border techniques, so far just straight lines with regular binding.

now is a great time to get those christmas fabrics on sale for gifts for next year! good luck!

Hi Judie and All.

My goal is to finish my brother's Victorian Crazy Quilt...then finish my daughter's quilt which is 9 rows of 7 blocks, 6" inch blocks. It is all hand sewn so far in an applique pattern.

I also have to get to JoAnn's to take advantage of the fabric sales to make some quilted wall hanging small quilts for Christmas gifts next year.

I'm wishing you all the best with your endeavours to get your quilting back on track. I too cannot imagine life without quilting. Be in touch tuggercat, if you want some help from your fellow quilting friends.

Lotsalove

Jude

Hi Sonya, sometimes it helps to have a little notebook that fits in your handbag, and one that you can keep on your bedside table. I use this alot, because lots of ideas float around in my empty space from time to time!

Keep us posted with your progress!

Cheerio for now

Hi !glee59, I wrote an article some time back about your stash and how best to use it, and one of the things I like to encourage is a constant churning of your stash. Everytime you make something, try to use fabric from your stash, together with new fabric. The quilt will have a "new" look about it, but you'll also be using up some of your stash.

Cheerio for now

Spot On hpiner, it's a great time to buy fabric, especially christmas fabric for next years gifts.

Cheerio for now

Oh Phyllis, this quilt sounds WONDERFUL. Please keep us posted with it's progress and we'd love to see a photo when it's completed.

Lovely to hear from you
Cheerio for now

In the past I have had to do all my sewing in my dining room, which of course meant I needed to put a project away whenever that room was needed. However, we recently moved into a house that has a space for me to set up as a sewing room.

For 2012, I plan to set up that room (for now that space is an unfinished basement without electricity) and then to finish all the projects I have started. My resolution may be to not start a new project.

Hi, I'm new to the forum so not sure how it all works but it looks like fun. My goal for 2012 is to get a crazy quilt made from my mom's clothes. I have fooled around with ideas and think I know what I am doing. Her clothes were mainly thin dressy type of poly tops and then the poly slacks. I want to use my machines fancy stitches but am wondering if I should use just one color. Her colors in clothing was kind of all over the map. Should I try to use one main color in each block? I think that I will likely have to do sashing as well. Any help would be very welcomed.

Sewshort: I have a couple friends that have been making crazy quilts using a variety of colours and their fancy machine stitches...First off, they look wonderful! So, I am sure yours will too! They have chosen to select thread colour close to the fabric colour of each fabric piece, resulting in multi-coloured "embroidery". However they have used bali's so their fabrics are not patterned. If much the clothing is patterned, the multi-coloured embroidery might not work as well. Another option would be to choose one unifying colour. Sometimes a colour like a deep blue, red or lime green can work.

I agree Judie. That is what I have been trying to do. I find it allows me to feed my fabric addition without guilt!

I also have recently given myself permission to turn a WIP or UFO into something other than what originally intended. I finished a large twin quilt from a planned Queen quilt. Even changed the design a bit so it would go together faster! Sampler block-of-the-month blocks in Christmas fabrics were made into a few table runners for gifts. And yes, I even have permission to give away partially finished items (or fabric I can't envision myself ever using) to my guild or to friends!

Good on you Granny H, you'll be so much happier once you have a sewing space of your own. I have been spoilt over the years, having my own space, but it really does make a difference with your productivity. Not having to put away each time makes a big difference. The sewing room I have at present is pretty big, which means I get into a HUGE mess very frequently. But the good news is, that it is downstairs, no one gets to see it but me (and my special friends).
Cheerio for now

Ho Sewshort, welcome to our forum. We have lots of fun here. Piecemaker has offered you very good advice re your crazy quilt. I would be tempted not to add too many more colours, so her idea of a dark blue is a good one. With the polyester fabrics, don't forget to stabilize them on an iron on vilene or something similar. It will stop the fabric from puckering as you sew on the seams.

Keep us posted with your progress, and always feel you can pop on the forum and ask for advice. I can tell you this forum has an abundance of generous knowledgable quilters, that are available 24/7 to help other quilters.

Cheerio for now

Hey Piecemaker, I loooooove your attitude to fabric. I think sometimes quilters can get a little anal about keeping fabric, ufo's etc. I had a bone marrow transplant in 2005, and decided that I wasn't going to have any "chains" around my soul, so went through all my UFOS, and believe me there were dozens of them. I looked at each one, and figured how I had learnt from each experience, kept the ones I wanted to complete and chucked the rest, after salvaging everything that was usable. It was the best thing I ever did. I now realise that I'm not going to finish everything I start, but I learn something from everything I set out to finish! It's a complete mind set change, but boy, am I ever feeling lighter for having made that mind shift.

First thanks to all for the advice on my crazy quilt goal for this year. I do like the idea of a dark blue as Mom did like blue. Second I agree with Judie...why should we keep things hanging on our minds if we really don't want to do them. I recently had one of those unwanted ufo's so I put each partially finished appliqued and pieced block into a journal with notes about each technique that I had tried. I had enjoyed doing them but didn't really want to finish the whole quilt top. Have a Happy and Pieceful New Year!!!

Just a quick "tip" sewshort. When using polyester fabrics, don't forget to keep your iron temp lower or you may melt some of your fabrics when you press. (Never mind how I know this!) We cotton-lovers tend to forget that the iron has any other setting than "high"!

My main goal for 2012 is to learn to free motion quilt. I am absolutely hopeless but I have a guardian angel I know who has offered to help me out and if I dont progress I may have to get her to fly to me. Another of my goals is to finish the 4 UFOs in the sewing room or is it 5 before I start anything else. Once I get all this done I will make the quilt "Wild and Woolly" from Reversible Quilts by Sharon Pederson and then for me "Maple Leaf Rag" from Material Obsession Two.

You impress me YvonneA! Only 4 or 5 UFOs...I aspire to be like you!!! (I also need to learn to free motion quilt.)I also LOVE the "Maple Leaf Rag" quilt in Material Obsession Two and the Reversible Quilts by Sharon Pederson. I am also trying to do "quilt as you go" methods with many of my projects. (Avoiding free-motion quilting that way!)

You know Piecemaker, doing quilt as you go is a very good way to "ease into" free motion quilting. Each block can be quilted before being put together and you can include one free motion element on each block. That way you will be practicing regularly (which BTW is the secret to good free motion quilting) and you will increase your library of free motion stitches.


Cheerio for now

Good point Judie. That way I'd at least be finishing something while I was practicing!

Absolutely. I encourage quilters to take on making Linus Quilts. These quilts need to be pretty simple and completely machine pieced and quilted. These are ideal sized quilts for practicing your quilting on.

cheerio for now

Judie B

Hi all. I'm currently working on blocks for a string scrap quilt for a friend who has been ill for awhile. My quilting/crafting group decided this lady deserved a quilt after a long (2 year) illness. We are semi coordinating the colours using blues for the sea and sky and green for our forested mountains here on the coast of British Columbia, Canada. I have also determined a "word" for the year after reading one of the many blogs I follow. My word for this year is "simplify" and that will include using up some of the ancient fabrics in my stash to create quilts to donate to the needy in my community. Happy quilting in 2012!

Love it rainy3. Simplfy, it's a great word, just need to put it into action. I think if you've got fabric that you really don't want to use, remember the groups that make quilts for kids who are ill or need some loving. They'll never say no to quilting fabric.

Cheerio for now

Thanks will keep my eyes open x

Great idea, thanks judie at least i wont forget them then and it'll kind of give me a list. Thanks

I spend the last 3 years working on a very!! challenging quilt for my son. I finished in December. This year I am only going to work on fast, fun, and fabulous quilts and use fabric from my stash.

One of my favorite ways to use up my stash it to make jelly roll quilts using some of my 'why did I ever buy this ugly piece' but cutting my own 2 1/2" strips. When put together these strips look great. If you want to see what I am talking about go to www.quiltersqtrs.com/free_patterns_2011.asp and scroll down to the jelly roll quilt.

Talk to you soon.

i have never made one but followed your link and i do have a lot of strips that could work.Thanks for tip.

started one block embroidery daisy pattern. cut 2o blocks. try to finsh by july for awedding. don;t know yet what i will do.

I have had a good sewing day today. No other chores to do and it is a beautiful sunny day on the Sunshine Coast, Queensland, Australia. I should have gone to the beach but the holiday makers have taken over Noosa Main Beach so I will wait a couple of weeks until they go home and leave it for us to enjoy for the rest of the summer. I have just about finished one of my UFOs - a Japanese wall hanging and I am very pleased with it. I would have had it finished today if my neighbour. Rochelle, hadnt dropped down one of our charity quilts for me to finish the binding. Our Doonan neighbourhood group that meets once a month on a Tuesday night has almost finished another quilt for the Oncology ward at Nambour Hospital. Three of the girls are nurses at the hospital and two in the oncology ward. They are going to display the 2 quilts and ask patients to put their name in a box for a draw to win the quilts at no cost to them. This Tuesday night Rochelle will teach us how to make a Blazing Star block using a strip method. We will make it in masculine colours for one of the patients.

Fantastic YvonneA, I'm sure the patients at the hosptial really appreciate your efforts. Making quilts and comforts for others (especially strangers) really gives a buzz to the quilter. You don't expect any thanks, but you know it's making a difference in the lives of others.

Cheerio for now

Yesterday I finished one of the UFOs from my collection. It was my Japanese Stone Path wallhanging which I was very pleased with. I initially started it in 2010 when a friend and I went on a quilting tour of South East Queensland starting with the 2010 Queensland Quilters Picnic at Gatton and finishing at Cooroy Drapery. She is a very good needle turner and was very patient with me but after two blocks it got thrown in the box until I pulled it out recently. I went over the two blocks with machine stitched buttonhole and then continued on and finished the little mongrel. My husband, Gary (known at the Prince of Darkness) put up the picture hook up and it now adorns our Japanese style bedroom.

I bought my Pfaff machine back in April at the Melbourne Quilting Symnposium. I have been very pleased with it. My purchase prompted two friends to purchase their machines too. Today we had six hours tuition with a Pfaff dealer from Maryborough and only now do I realise how little I know about sewing after 40 years. She talked about things that I have never heard about. I guess that is the worst of being self taught. It certainly was worth it although I am suffering brain overload now and would just love to sew all the time. No time for housework or cooking.

Housework? Cooking? I'm sorry Yvonne, don't know what you mean!!

Cheerio for now