Marking tops

[Vittumhill]

I am a newbie, just finished my first "real" quilt. I have a couple of questions.

1. How do most of you do your feathers? What about the intricate designs? Do you mark first with a blue pen? or a stencil w/powder? Or just freehand it?

2. What is your turn around time for quilts??

3. Do you all have a book with all your stencils you offer,pantographs, thread and batting??

Thank you

[JudyL]

1. How do most of you do your feathers? What about the intricate designs? Do you mark first with a blue pen? or a stencil w/powder? Or just freehand it?

2. What is your turn around time for quilts??

3. Do you all have a book with all your stencils you offer,pantographs, thread and batting??

As with most everything else, we use different methods so no one answer is right or wrong.

1. If I'm using a stencil, I'll mark with a blue pen or a chalk pencil. I don't use the powder or the spray. I sometimes will mark just a spine and then do the feathers freehand, sometimes I will use a stencil for the entire design. Freehand is a lot quicker for me than marking.

2. I try to have quilts back to customers within 2 weeks of receiving them.

3. No book. It's rare that any of my customers want to see what I'm going to do on their quilt. I'll usually given them a written proposal just to protect myself and if they have a problem with anything -- design, batting, thread, they will get with me and we'll make changes.

[Guest Linda S]

1. I generally just mark the spine, then freehand the feathers. I sometimes will use a stencil for fancier quilting. My favorite marking tools are blue pen or Miracle Chalk. Of course, you need your customer's permission to use marking tools.

2. I try to get quilts back within a few weeks. Right now, I'm working on one of my own projects (making a quilt for show), so my customers know it will be a bit longer before they get things back right now.

3. I estimate quilting on my laptop when I meet my customer. If they are interested in pantographs, I have an electronic file with small pics of the designs. Usually, they let me recommend what I think would look best. I like it when they just give me the quilt and say, do what you think will look best.

Linda