Do You Ever . . . . .

[judie01]

I just enjoy this board so much and it certainly is helping me to think about the various aspects of long arm quilting . . . .

But I have a couple of "thought questions": do people mostly design their "own" tops or make up quilt kits? Do experienced quilters ever buy a "kit" that is designated as a wall quilt and turn it into a bed quilt? How could that be done -- by adding squares? What if you like the pattern in

that same quilt--- does anybody ever change the colors?

Do many people buy quilt kits to make up "when they get time"? (or is that just me having that urge).

And the fabric. . . oh the beautiful fabric. . . . do a lot of other people want to collect fabric?

Can anybody direct me to a good resource to learn all I can about the "Baltimore Quilt" & why all the variations?

Thank you. Judie

[Mary Beth]

Judie,

I am a Google junkie...just go to google.com and type in Baltimore Quilts, there is a ton of info on the internet.

I have bought one kit and it was at a store several hundred miles from my home. It was not like anything I had seen around here and my thought is, if I get it done I can enter it into a show and there won't be 6 more in the show just like it.

I hate kits, and I don't like it when I see severl quilts just a like. I call those "cookie cutter quilts" - I'm sure there is a technical term for it, but I don't know what it is. I only know that I have an imagination and I like to use it. I find a pattern that I like, then I start finding fabric that I cannot live without...sometimes I even use it for the pattern

Collecting fabric is almost a requirement when you quilt. There have been times when I found a fabric that I thought was beautiful, and then went back the next week to buy it only to find it is all gone, or there is not enough left to worry about. Now I try to go ahead and buy some when I find it.

Good luck with your search...I'm sure others will have answers to your questions.

Mary Beth

[victoriasews]

I have never bought a kit because they never contain all fabric I like. I think about buying a kit but there will be 2 or 3 fabrics I'd change and by the time I get the pieces to substitute, I could spend less money just buying the whole bunch the way I would do it. I haven't even made a quilt like the picture in a book. By the time I change colors to my liking, the quilt seldom looks like the pattern. Even scrappy quilts look different because I'm more of an "organized" scrappy - just a bit anal I'd say.

Collect fabric? lol I moved my quilting area to a newly completed attic for the long-arm and after the move, I apologized to my husband, telling him I had no I idea I was such an addict. I had 12 under-the-bed storage containers full of fat quarters and scraps and yardage that was just too beautiful to pass up cause it might not be around when I wanted it. Those have no less than 3 yards each fabric. I was able to put at least 10 of those lengths in each "under-the-bed" box. Then I had around 30 "planned" drawers. Those have fabric for organized for quilts I know I'm making. I could quilt the whole town of Lafayette and still have scraps left over. (Sorta like him and tools)

[Sheri Butler]

Mary Beth...I am SO with you! I do NOT want a top that is exactly like someone elses. Also, I dont know why...but I love to "change" something in a pattern to make it my own. I've done it from the start, and I continue to do it today.

As far as fabric stash collecting......uuh...duh...'GUILTY' as charged. I also think quilters just LOVE fabric, and believe me, there will be a time when your in the middle of designing your quilt..it will hit you like a ton of bricks..."i have the perfect fabric for that"...

You can never...and I repeat...NEVER have enough fabric in your stash!

[judie01]

Ladies, Ladies: Perhaps I am not making myself very clear but I was a floral designer/shop owner for over 25 years.

And I am certain that everybody copies "something" , "sometime" that somebody else did. That is how people learn.

And it is the highest form of a compliment a person can receive. Most of us, who design, put our own interpretation

on that work that we are "copying" and so it becomes different.

Thanks.

[MODEN]

I buy "Kits" all the time, especially one I absolutely must do. Quilting makes it unique regardless of wether there are another dozen out there. I bought two complete "Harvest Spice" block of the month sets.....absulotely to die for! one for each of my daughters. Now the colors are the same and the blocks will be the same, but the composition will be different as will the quilting. Just finished a Thimbleberries Quilt Kit, cost me $150.00 and sold finished Quilt for $650.00...that's nothing to sneeze at and it was done in record time.

Fabric collection? Oh boy, I have a small fabric store in my Studio, most 3-4 yrds, all folded around cardboard sleeves, sorted by color....tooooo yummy to even consider using for a quilt...unless it really hits me and then what I have is never the right stuff and I have to go shopping for more.

Do you think I am a case for "Intervention"? I admit I am addicted....to fabric.....

[renaequilts]

I love this thread because everyone is so different.

So far there are a lot of designers answering the question. Personally, I don't buy kits because choosing the fabric for my quilts is my favorite part (so why have I made so many wholecloth quilts lately )

I have a friend that is totally overwhelmed by choosing fabrics.....and she LOVES kits. Of course these are quilts for her home and her use...not show quilts. Most shows don't allow kits.

I think that most quilters start somewhere. When we are new to piecing and quilting the thought of just buying some fabric and making some beautiful creation is overwhelming. Lots of quilters learn as they go that it is OK to change ideas. It is good to take a pattern or two and mesh them. It is great to learn a process and then take it your own direction and do something totally new and different.

Judy..you are so correct in saying that all ideas come from somewhere. I often like something and then take that idea and make it mine. When I saw Linda Taylor's birds of paradise quilt and how it was gorgeous on the back (by accident) so she added crystals. I thought .....I can do the same 2 sided thing but do it on purpose and REALLY make it a 2 sided quilt. I would say that what I did was original....but certainly Linda's quilt was a catalyst.

Sometimes kits can work that way. A beautiful quilt can spark lots of original ideas...and some people start with kits to learn technique and move on. Other people enjoy the kits and stick with them. As long as we are enjoying the quilting process....it is a beautiful thing!!

Now this is the part where I deviate from the quilting crowd. I only buy fabric for specific projects. I hate storing things....including fabric. I don't want the burden of keeping it organized and neat...and if I don't use fabric right away it loses its luster in my eyes. I probably only have 10 small rubbermaid containers of fabric...and they are leftovers from finished projects. I don't have UFO's either. If I decided not to finish something (which I RARELY do) I give it to someone who will finish it. Or maybe they just store it as a UFO for years. Regardless....it is their burden at that point....LOL!!

[MaryLou5740]

I order 'kits' occasionally if it's something that REALLY! strikes me...but

usually..when a magazine/book comes that has something that makes my mouth water...I'll take the magazine with me when I go where there is fabric....minimum of 80 mi.....and try to come as close as I can to the color

scheme that is shown...sometimes I change parts of it..sometimes not.

Then, I take it home, pack it in large plastic protectors..WITH the magazine

for the pattern with it,right on top, so I don't have to wonder where it is 6 months from now, if I don't get to do the project real soon. I probably have 10-12 quilts done up like this at any given time. Then when I get the "URGE" to be artistic and make something, I look thru the "keepers" and decide what I'm in the 'mood' to make. . I like saving the plastics that come on drapes/bedspreads, etc...have a zipper, etc. Nice for projects.

Fons and Porter Magazine seem to have really nice kits. I've purchased some that are pre-cut from other sources that were pretty limp, gauzy fabrics. They didn't look too bad made up, but a pain to stitch. I'll also do

a block a month-er once in a while if it's a topic that is extra-ordinary.

To each his own...And one other little item....I have things to work on even

if I've become "temporarily financially embarrassed"...ML in MO.

[Mary Beth]

Of course all ideas come from somewhere...like a log cabin quilt is always a log cabin...not saying anything about a pattern...however, when I recieve a magazine in the mail, and make a quilt from a pattern in that magazine...you can bet I will make it out of different fabric and usually put a different border or something. I have never made something the exact way the pattern calls for.

[Patch]

I used to buy kits for cross stitch or embroidery, but was ALWAYS disappointed with the colors because they were NEVER as nice as the picture. So I quit doing that. When I took up quilting, I began with a class by a hand-stitch, hand-quilter, and so everything was from scratch, but we used traditional blocks which she gave us copies of the templates for. So.... I hardly ever buy kits, except when the fabric is obvious and can be seen through the bag it's in (I rarely do it anyway), but I often take blocks from the web or a magazine and put them in the quilt the way I want them. Most often I have thoroughly designed my own quilts, because I get an idea for a special gift for someone that's very specific, and nobody else's design will do. I think we're all pretty much like that here, though some may do more kits and pre-made designs than others. We're all pretty artsy-fartsy. DD says I don't need to write a novel, so I'd better stop spitting now....

[Stagecl]

I like to design my own...my ideas come from every where. But lately I have been so swamped quilting others quilts that I don't piece. I am still trying finish my daughters wedding quilt...her year anniversary has passed...oh well. I don't even buy much fabric either. I will take control of my quilting...LOL...and hopefully finish my daughters quilt this month. I'll post pics when it is done.

[SonjaHammond]

Judie:

I do all of the items you mentioned. I usually pick my own fabric but have used a few kits. I am not afraid to add my own colors to a kit. I often add to the patterns and kits to make the quilt bigger. I have just turned a queen size into a Calif. King by using additional design elements not just a plain border. My fabric collecting is out of hand. But I have a wonderful DH who loves fabric almost as much as I do.

[compulsivelyquilts]

Hi all! I enjoyed Monika's response! So many of us have a small fabric shop in our homes...even though we "NEED" all that fabric for some project! I find myself buying LOTS of fabric, and then bringing it home...looking at it...folding it...and putting it one of my MANY fabric cases...I have found that if I buy fabric without a particular quilt in mind, I don't do anything with it...at least not anytime soon...I now "try" to have a quilt in mind before I buy. Of course I have only done that once so far...haha

As far as quilt kits. I design some of my own quilts, but I am not adverse to making a kit from time to time. It is nice to have everything there, and not have to worry about anything.

Sonja, my husband is pretty good about all my fabric, because I think he figures he can buy what he wants now also...

Take care!

Karen Burns

[judie01]

I just have to ask those of you have quantity fabric stashed:

Does anybody ever "forget" what they have got in the way of fabric after they have had it "put away for a while" ---

kind like "out of sight - out of mind"?

(I already have a tendancy to do that with other things I collect;) )

How do you handle that?

[quiltmonkey]

Originally posted by judie01

Does anybody ever "forget" what they have got in the way of fabric after they have had it "put away for a while" ---

kind like "out of sight - out of mind"?

Absolutely... I have several bins of fabric and and a collection of quilt kits and I force myself to rummage through them every once in a while so I remember what I have in there. Most of the quilt kits I have in my stash are for wallhangings or table toppers, not the big bed size quilts. I am pretty picky about the kits I buy. A lot of the kits I've collected are designed around a specific fabric collection (some created by the fabric designer),and these are not mass-produced kits. I recently discovered that some of these kits I've acquired over the years (still haven't had time to make them...lol) well apparently, many of these have become rare or collectors items - ironically I have discovered that there is a big interest in rare quilt kits (must have original fabrics, no substitutes) and I found them on ebay and I usually buy (or shall I say, steal) them for a fraction of the retail price. You have to be like a cat and wait patiently to pounce and you can find real good deals that way sometimes.

To answer your question about adding on to a wallhanging to make it larger (for a bed, etc.) Sure, you can do that. I really enjoy the creative part of quilting and I have started designing my own patterns (patchwork and even longarm topstitch designs). This is something I just started doing and it's fun!

[mrsbishwit]

I think new quilters may buy the quilt kits intially to help them with fabric choices but after they have done a few I think they start to be more creative and start adding their own personalities to their quilts.

If I see a quilt that I like I see if I can re-create it in my EQ program but end up adding or taking away a border or something from the original design to fit my needs or preference.

As far as stash goes I think it's a requirement if you ever want to be a true quilter, LOL And yes I have gone through my stash looking for something and finding something I totally forgot I had and falling in love with it all over again.

Joann

[landgtino]

Welllllll, I'm just another "sick" fabric collector! lol..Yikes...At least its all organized! I have most of my stash in plastic drawers I buy at Target. The ones I use the most are stored in my sewing room. The ones I get into the least are stored in under the bed containers. For my home I make mostly "Blended" type quilts, for gifts I make whatever the person likes.

As for kits? I've only bought one when I 1st began quilting 9 yrs. ago. It had the booklet I liked in it, and the exact colors too. I really admire the clever way kits are put together, the colors just are not ever what I like.

I usually go through most of my stash once a year, and weed out things I no longer like. I donate the fabric to a thrift store.

[renaequilts]

Hey Joann, I'm pretty sure I am a real quilter...albeit a frugal one

I know you are kidding....but it tickles my funny bone. I know that I am certainly an odd man out when it comes to owning (or not owning) a stash... lol.

[mrsbishwit]

Renae...you stated that you do own a few left over pieces of fabric from prior projects. So technically you do have a stash, small as it may be but still a stash in many eyes

I bet you keep a spotless house as well (not wanting a lot of clutter around etc..) also not typical of the average quilter but a quality much envied by all quilters :cool:

Just like the APQS comercials where there is a sink full of dishes with the sticky note saying "gone quilting" That's ME!!! LOL would much rather quilt or sew than to clean. Luckily I have enough kids to pick up the slack and to help clean for a few more years.

Joann

[matildanme]

I admire kits but have only ever bought one second hand.

I love all fabric, although some more than others. It all has a place even if it doesn't make you swoon with delight. I really love fabric thats on sale

I pretty much get an idea for a top and take it from there, but find I do much better if I don't plan too much in advance, quilts just kinda evolve here. Some great, others not so fab. The harder I try the less I like the finished product.

Now that I have matilda I just want to quilt! I'm even considering buying unwanted tops of e-bay. At the moment I'm working on a quick batik top , just 61/2" swap squares sewn together. It will either look great or most unfortunate....hard to tell yet. Just using what I have, will not buy any more fabric (untill next time):cool:

cheers Satu

[FrammaJoy]

This is interesting. I'm an odd duck, evidently. In the past, I always picked a pattern and then the fabric. I spent hours and hours and hours, and days and days and days, and went to store after store after store . . . To my great delight, I just discovered a few months ago that there is such a thing as a KIT. I started on the Oklahoma Centennial quilt kit, and then went to the internet to find some more. I was so delighted that someone had gone to all that trouble for me. I have bought Judy Martin's Flower Child in a kit and just last week bought Harvest Spice.

I think other people are a whole lot better at picking colors anyway, so I have no problem with them doing all the designing. It takes me forever to decide on my own and I get really stressed out over it. I made Sunny Lanes from the Nickle Quilt Book several years ago. I bought about 10 times as many FQ's as I needed for that quilt. I could easily make 3 or 4 more Sunny Lane quilts and never buy more fabric. Did the same thing with a very simple Fall Checkerboard. I could make 5 or 6 more of those and never shop for fabric. Honestly, the quilt KIT is way cheaper for me and since the nearest fabric store is 80 miles away, I don't have a problem NOT going there. (I moved several years ago to the woods. Used to have several fabric stores near me.)

I'm not as disciplined as Renae about fabric stashes, but my dishes are always done, my house is clean and my stash is organized. Probably why I love KITS. They are organized!

Hugs, Joy

[Mary Beth]

I have to say, my stash is organized too, by color. All books and magazines are organized and everything is in it's place. DH was totally amazed when he took a look at my stash and I went right to whatever I was looking for. Dishes were done and house was clean, until I had to work 40 hours this week and try to keep up with my customer schedule and fix dinner every night...now I have to spend some time on the house again. I hate working 40 hours a week :mad: who invented that plan anyway??

[CucumberQuilting]

I'm down to just a couple of fabric stash bins under the bed, but my THREAD stash is getting to be enormous! I justify that by advertising to my customers that they have a great selection of thread for their quilts when they choose me to quilt their quilt!

[annlittle1]

I buy kits, but I also find a pattern and then pull fabric to make the quilt. My stash is rather small; I have a small drawer of fat quarters and a drawer in chest of drawers that has bigger pieces of fabric. I tend to collect kits. Its usually the fabric in the quilt that attracts me to it. I have to like the majority of the fabric in a kit or I won't consider buying it. I have a couple of drawers in my chest of drawers that are full of quilts. One day I hope to get to them all. But I never seem to have time to piece anything for myself anymore. I'm not complaining because that means I'm quilting for customers.

About being organized; well, that seems to be an impossibility for me. I try, I really do, but I can't seem to stay organized for more than about 10 minutes. I describe my work habits as "organized chaos". I used the "pile system" when I was an underwriter. My boss used to just shake her head when she walked into my office. It seems that I have to have everything out where I can see it. If I can't see it, then I feel like I'm out of control.

One thing that I learned at MQS in Kim Brunner's class is that disorganization is costing me money. I am forever hunting for my scissors or my favorite snippers because I don't put them back where they belong. Right now I'm missing my pin cushion. I don't know where I had it last so I can't find it and it has about half of my pins in it

I need to write a book and title it "Confessions of a Slob".

Phyllis