Hi, I'm New

[Kelly]

Hi everyone! I'm new to quilting (and fourms) a friend who quilts told me about this site and suggested I should buy a charm pack that she thought I would really like! so I did and instead of just sewing the squares together, I watched a tutorial about pinwheels and decided to try that instead. So far so good! (I think) I'm defiantly learning things the HARD way! my frist block I ripped out 6 times I was just wondering could anyone please tell me if you're suppose to press the seams open or to the side? and are all the blocks going to be a little different in size? thanks so much!

Kelly

[shell.scraps]

Re: Hi, I'm New

you can either press open or to the side..personal preference...though I've heard that to the side creates a stronger seam. just be consistent throughout the entire project.

as far as the block sizes, your goal is for them to all be the same size. you can trim them down to all be the same size or do like I do and say "close enough" and wing it....

[georgette329]

Re: Hi, I'm New

Hi Kelly,

I am new to quilting and this forum also. Great question you asked. I have got a charm pack also to experiment with, although I'm not as adventurous as you. I bet it will turn out beautiful.

Georgette

[mrswindy4]

Re: Hi, I'm New

The only seams I have ever pressed open were on a blue jean quilt top. My friend who does machine quilting for me asked that I do it that way to cut down on the seam bulk, which, according to her, makes it easier to machine quilt.

Welcome to the forum, Kelly and Georgette!!

[Kelly]

Re: Hi, I'm New

you can either press open or to the side..personal preference...though I've heard that to the side creates a stronger seam. just be consistent throughout the entire project.

as far as the block sizes, your goal is for them to all be the same size. you can trim them down to all be the same size or do like I do and say "close enough" and wing it....

Thanks so much! I'm definitely going with close enough

[stitchywoman]

Re: Hi, I'm New

Good call Kelly! Just enjoy it and good luck! We're glad to have you here! What charm pack are you using?

[Kelly]

Re: Hi, I'm New

Hi Kelly,

I am new to quilting and this forum also. Great question you asked. I have got a charm pack also to experiment with, although I'm not as adventurous as you. I bet it will turn out beautiful.

Georgette

"Adventurous" LOL, I love to be difficult Good luck with your adventure as well, and I'm SURE it will be beautiful too

[Kelly]

Re: Hi, I'm New

The only seams I have ever pressed open were on a blue jean quilt top. My friend who does machine quilting for me asked that I do it that way to cut down on the seam bulk, which, according to her, makes it easier to machine quilt.

Welcome to the forum, Kelly and Georgette!!

thanks for the welcome warm welcome Mary, I'm very happy to be here So far the only thing that scares me is the inevitable "quilting" part! I will have to do ALOT more research before I will feel comfortable enough for that! have you ever hand quilted?

Kelly

[Kelly]

Re: Hi, I'm New

Good call Kelly! Just enjoy it and good luck! We're glad to have you here! What charm pack are you using?

Thanks! I'm very glad to be here I am using the Moda, Lakeside I think it was called

[sewhot]

Re: Hi, I'm New

Oh yeah! I can't wait to see what it looks like! Kelly....We LOVE pictures, so post one when you are done!!

[mrswindy4]

Re: Hi, I'm New

thanks for the welcome warm welcome Mary, I'm very happy to be here So far the only thing that scares me is the inevitable "quilting" part! I will have to do ALOT more research before I will feel comfortable enough for that! have you ever hand quilted?

Kelly

I havent done any hand quilting, besides a little bit of applique. My fingers just dont work well with needles...lol I take my quilt tops to my friend who machine quilts them with her long arm...one of these days I'll get brave and try some machine quilting on my sewing machine. I have a "cheaters quilt top" stored away and will use that to practice on when I feel confident enough to try it.

[quiltingtrish]

Re: Hi, I'm New

Hi Kelly. Sounds like you are jumping right in - good for you!
I do hand quilt and just jump in on that too. Don't expect perfect stitches at first - you will get better as you go along. Really, all it is is just going up and down with the needle and trying to keep your stitch length consistent - remember that - consistent. So what if you don't have 10 or 15 stitches to the inch. I certainly didn't have that and don't even have that now. It's the consistency that counts. Even if you just get 2 or 3 or whatever, it will come as you go along.
Can't wait to see your new quilt!
Welcome to the board.

Hugs,
quilting trish

[Kelly]

Re: Hi, I'm New

I will post pictures as soon as I can figure out how thanks for all your support everybody this site makes it EVEN more fun to quilt!

Kelly

[Kelly]

Re: Hi, I'm New

ok I'm going to try to add a photo's

[Kelly]

Re: Hi, I'm New

ok so I added pictures! sorry guys I didn't expect them to be so BIG