Quilters today have so many more fabrics, books, teachers, tools, etc. than I had 23 years ago when I began the long, wonderful journey. Here are some tips I think might be useful for new quilters.
1. Try hand piecing, hand appliqueing and hand quilting first. You will get a good grip on the "basics" if you do. Jinny Beyer has a book out currently.
2. Join a quilt guild, take classes offered by the guild, and get into a quilting bee group to make friends. I have learned a lot just from friends who have been quilting longer than I have.
3. Try many different techniques - paper piecing, machine quilting, shadow applique, etc. You will find some you like and others you do not. But you will not know if you do not try. Quilt guild classes are really good for this because they usually are fairly inexpensive and you have not invested a lot if you do not like the particular technique.
4. Keep a small notebook for recording quilting tips, sewing machine serial numbers, notes from lectures, etc.
5. I like the Techniclick Pentel 0.5 PD 105T mechanical pencil for lightly marking quilting designs on light colored fabric. The pencil lines seem to disappear by the time the quilting is finished.
6. Many times there is too much emphasis on "original designs" - do not feel that your work is worth less just because you have used a commercial pattern. Of course, you need to give the designer credit, but the main purpose in quilting is to ENJOY it. Color and original design will become easier with a lot of practice.
7. I have subscribed to Quilter's Newsletter Magazine for many years and it is probably the best magazine for learning everything about quilting.
8. Put a name label on each quilt and take a picture of each quilt BEFORE giving it away.
9. Invest in good tools. If you use different brands of rulers in a single project, be sure to check to see if the measurements are the same on each ruler. Christal Carter once told me this tip, and I have found it to be true. My favorite rulers are made by Omnigrid.
10. My favorite quilting "gadget" at the moment is the Clover Needle Threader. It only threads certain brands of needles, but it really saves me a lot of grief.
11. Try to finish projects before starting too many other ones. But if you find you ca not follow this tip (like me!), don't feel guilty about donating or throwing out UFO's (unfinished objects).
Happy Quilting!
Judy Mc Neel
Torrance, CA