Beginning Quilting - Hot Tips ;)

A friend has told me she's taking a beginning quilting class in October and asked if I have any hot tips. The question is, where to start! If she wasn't at the other end of the city, I'd invite her to join our Thursday night sewing club (at which I do very little sewing and a lot of advising and instructing as the unofficial teacher). But the question made me think about where I started, and how differently I'd approach it now.

My first introduction to quilting was very traditional. I went to a LQS (local quilt store) which was run by some lovely ladies who were definitely on the Quilt Nazi side of the quilting political spectrum. And by that I mean traditional and perfectionist (which I actually don't think is a bad way to start). But I do think that it's easy to get put off if that's all you know about because traditional quilts using only a few fabrics, making the same block over and over and getting stressed about having your triangle points matching carefully can cause this sort of reaction -->

Or maybe that's just me. But starting a complex traditional quilt I would get bored and frustrated.

So my number one tip would be:

1) Check out contemporary quilts

and see some of the really cool and easy things people are doing. My no 1 site is www.ohfransson.com as she has a heap of tutorials and free patterns. Her book, A Practical Guide to Patchwork: New Basics for the Modern Quilter is one of the best beginners books I've seen too. 

Another fave is http://www.stitchedincolor.com/ - Rachel's Do Good Stitches project is worth checking out too.

Flickr Groups

Gen X Quilters

Fresh Modern Quilts

2) Work out what you like
Follow some other quilt pics online - for example, pinterest Then you'll find it to work out what sort of design and what sort of fabric (colour, style) you want to use. 

3) Be aware of what you are getting into

Warning. Quilting is addictive. Fabric buying is addictive. If you have the slightest tendency to be a hoarder or a fabric slut like me - STOP READING AND BACK AWAY NOW. QUILTING IS DANGEROUS.

4) Look at Online Fabric Porn

Have a look at some of the really lovely lovely fabrics on line and be aware of what you can get both here in Australia and overseas. The price differences are really incredible. I don't have a LQS nearby and our mass retailer sells wadding for $28/meter so I can pay around $90 for queensize batting, or get it from the US for around $25... that's quite a difference. Favourite sites:

http://www.fabricworm.com/

http://www.marmaladefabrics.com/

http://www.fabricdepot.com/

http://www.fatquartershop.com/

and Ebay of course...

I won't break the 'fabric must be 100% cotton' rule at all. (Yes, I have my own quilt Nazi tendencies!)

Favourite designers

Joel Dewberry

Kate Spain

Heather Ross

5) Find a support group

Hi, My name is Laura and I'm a quilter... It's been one day since I last sewed.

My state quilting group is full of dedicated people, but the average age is about 60... I found a lovely couple of friends nearer my own age, and through the magic of the internet, Quilt Club Australia on Facebook has been brilliant for advice, inspiration and news of fabric sales to feed the habit support. And I've just found two more local quilters really close to me :)

6) (Final tip) Equip yourself

If you're going to start without the benefit of a class (and I certainly wouldn't have the patience to wait till October!), there are heaps of tutorials on line that will help. BUT you will need:

• a rotary cutter (45mm best)
• some spare blades (you will run up the side of the ruler or off the mat and blunt your blade - go ebay and find a pack of 5)
• a good size quilting ruler (in inches) and 
• a cutting board (marked in inches)

Happy Sewing!