I've been a quilter for more than 15 years, and I still feel that I really can't sew, I'm just awfully good at faking it!  I've taught quilting classes, designed patterns for newbies, finished countless projects for friends, family, charity and myself; and began a (to remain uncounted for reasons of sheer embarassment!) multitude of UFOs (that's UnFinished Objects to anyone not familiar with the technical language of quilting), but still have that insecurity.  Why?  Because noone taught me, I had to teach myself. 

I lived outside of the U.S. for more than 14 years, and was living in places where sometimes I had to actually introduce the words "quilt" and "quilting" to the local language, but I perservered.  As most of you know, quilting is an excellent way to pass time productively, and if I had one thing it was time.  The methods I came up with for getting things done more quickly and efficiently I called "productive laziness."  I'm a terribly impatient person, but quilting has taught me patience more than any other undertaking I've attempted.  I prefer to find the most efficient way to accomplish something, because I really need to see progress to remain inspired. 

Hand-sewing...Pah! I laughed at it until I had to spend countless hours traveling in planes, and then I grabbed it up in desperation as a way to, once again, pass my time productively. Hand quilting?  Again, double-Pah!, until I saw how quickly it could go and how lovely it was, and then I was ridiculously proud of the callus I built up on my middle finger of my left hand. 

All of this knowledge was bought with blood, sweat, tears and no small amount of bad words in lots of different languages.  But was it ever worth it! I love working with color and have been able to transfer my skills at costume making (again...something I fake very well, ;-D) into quilting and back again into making my own bellydance costumes.  So when the opportunity to make a guide came up, I figured I'd give that a go and hopefully pass on a few things that I've managed to pick up along the way.

Now:

1) I know all of you have dreams of beginning and effortlessly finishing an absolutely gorgeous Queen-size bed quilt that your family will pass down for generations to come with awe and genuflections to your sacred memory.  While this is perhaps possible in your future, give it a rest for a while, why don'tcha?

2) Begin SMALL!  Pick a project that you absolutely know you can finish.  Otherwise you will end up with a large and frustrating box of partially cut fabric and bits that will just clutter up your closet or the underside of your bed.

3) Forget applique for a while (yes, I know it's beautiful and compelling), unless you are already an accomplished hand sewer, otherwise, again, you will end up with a box of confusing bits and pieces that are covered in lots of little dots of dried blood.

4) Table runners, baby quilts, place mats, small wall hangings, pillows...all of these are within a beginners reach and capabilities and won't frustrate you to the point of giving up (mainly because the end is always in sight with something of this size!) 

5) Go for simple until you master combining colors (buy yourself a simple color wheel, trust me, it will come in handy!) and the dreaded 1/4" seam.  The 1/4" seam is so important that it is worth using whatever kind of guide works for you.  I bought a 1/4" foot for my plain old Singer sewing machine (no need for fancy $2,000 models, even if they do make your mouth water with anticipation of all the wonderful things you would SURELY be able to make using them.  If you don't know how to use a jigsaw, you're just going to end up with a lot of squiggly lines cutting up an expensive piece of wood.  Same thing with sewing tools, start simple, start small and work up to using the Big Boys.  That way your pocketbook won't take such a pounding if you decide that quilting really isn't your bag!)

An inexpensive, and effective, alternative to guide yourself in accomplishing a consistent 1/4' seam is to layer 2" strips of masking tape into a brick-like shape and stick that to your sewing machine surface exactly a 1/4" inch from where the needle enters the fabric (NOT from the edge of the foot).  You can then run your fabric through, making sure that you keep the edge even with the Pile-O-Tape. 

6)  Pick your pattern, and quilting magazines are chock-a-block with simple, small patterns with the yardages all handily figured out for you.  (I always bought a bit more, say an 1/8 of a yard or a 1/4 of a yard, than I needed to make sure I had enough to replace any mis-cuts or mistakes I made.  Worst-case scenario, you begin to build a stash of fabric that you can use for last minute projects!

7) Buy your fabric, and frankly, buy the best you can afford.  Cheap fabric you can see through will just bleed batting (the stuffing in the middle of the quilt "sandwich") everytime you use or wash your prize project.  And if you buy something that isn't of good quality, you are going to be put off of it after so much handling since the fabric will probably be rough and not as pleasant to handle as a good quality fabric, and will tend to distort more while you are sewing and once you have washed it.  Quilts are for snuggling up with, so make sure your's will be "snuggable!"

So hold up the fabric to the light and if you can see not only the light, but the outlines of the light fixture, toss that puppy and find yourself a better quality of cotton.  Oh, as for mixing cotton with cotton/polyester blends, I just don't.  I have nothing against either, I just make sure I use cotton with cotton and cotton/poly with cotton/poly.  I also only use cotton/poly if I know I'm going to machine quilt since pure cotton has a better "hand" and is easier to move a needle through by hand. So, in a nutshell:

Hand quilting? COTTON only!

Maching quilting? Cotton, cotton/poly, wool, whatever...just keep it consistent, unless you are making a Crazy Quilt, and then anything goes!

8) Batting come in rolls, and all sorts of blends, but I like high-loft for baby quilts, cotton for hand quilts, and low-loft for bed quilts.  Other than that, again, I try and get the best quality I can afford or find. (I have, in the past, stripped comforter battings in half horizontally (a lengthy, dusty and frustrating process, I assure you) in desperation to get a quilt batting that I could use to finish a project.  Just make sure and pay attention to the guides the manufacturers provide telling you how closely you need to quilt.  Don't quilt in lines six inches apart when you are using a quilt batting that needs the stability of, say, three inch quilting or you will end up with lovely little piles of batting wadded into the corners of your blocks when you wash your finished piece.

9) To wash, or not to wash? THAT is the question.  Again, frankly, I've never washed fabric before cutting it and using it..why?  Cuz' I'm LAZY!  I thought we cleared that up earlier, sheesh!  I saw no point in washing out all of that handy sizing just to add my own starch to the fabric.  If I use fabric types that are consistent (cotton of similar quality, for example) the shrinkage is consistent, at least that's what I've found.  I've never ended up with a distorted quilt because I wash it carefully and dry it carefully. (Filling your washing machine with water and a gentle soap (NOT Woolite, but one meant for quilts) dunk in your quilt and let it soak up water, lift it up and down a few times...let it set...lift it up and down a few more times and then drain and centrifuge gently to get out as much excess water as possible.) 

I know some experts will scream "Blasphemy!" but I have used a dryer on a quilt, I don't like to, but I have.  The main reason I don't like it is your quilt loses color rapidly in a dryer, but needs must sometimes.  Just do it gently if you have to, but, preferably, you can hang it to dry and switch the direction several times while it is hanging so all the seams won't get pulled all in one direction while it is drying; that is if you have the space.  Some people peg out their quilt on a sheet on the floor and keep flipping it, and shaping it, until it is dry.  Those of you, like me, who have a house full of "kid and cat" will laugh heartily at the thought of trying to keep all of your hard work clean and unstepped- (or whatever)-on until it is dry.  Again, just use whatever works for you and stop worrying so much about what is "right and wrong", if it works...it's right, if it doesn't...it's wrong. Simple.

10)  DO buy a good book with simple charts for calculating lengths of binding, backing yardages, etc. and with good, simple instruction how to apply your binding (Fabulous Finishes is great and I use it all the time.)  DO get a color wheel, and never forget that the colors opposite each other complement each other extraordinarily well.  DO buy the best needles and thread you can afford.  DO use something to help with 1/4" seams. DO buy the best scissors you can afford and keep them away from any idiot who thinks they are great for paper (this will dull a good pair of fabric scissors faster that ANYTHING!)  DO buy a rotary cutter, cutting mat, and a simple rectangular cutting ruler (it makes cutting your fabric infinitely faster and can be used for several different crafts if you don't like quilting after all).  DO have a comfortable chair and a table at a comfortable height for long hours of sewing (your back will thank you later.) DO get the best tool you can find for tearing out stitches, surgical steel if you can find it, because you WILL have to tear out stitches at some time and you don't want to destroy your fabric doing it.

DON'T go out and buy yards and yards of fabric; buy what you need for your first project and make sure you finish that one before you allow yourself to buy more.  Just buy colors that you like and generally you will find that you have a fabric stash that can be interchanged in a variety of ways, since most people have specific tastes when it comes to colors.

DON'T go out and buy all the tools that are available.  While there are some great ones out there, a lot are just not practical and they will sit in your sewing box and you will be terribly chagrined everytime you run across them.  Just get what you need, and I will try and list in future guides what I have found to be useful and what I have found to be useless.

DON'T buy a really expensive sewing machine that is going to give your husband the justification he needed to buy that expensive motorcycle he's been drooling over.  Just get a good basic machine, and I admit it...I'm a Singer-baby (even if I have been known to yearn for a Bernina with all the bells and whistles!) mainly because they get the job done and they last FOREVER!

So, start simple, be prepared to curse, cry and bleed (if hand quilting!), but also be prepared to wonder at the beauty that you, and you alone, can create.  And yes, the generations that follow you will love them all (BTW, make sure and include a label on the back so they know who to worship, won't you?)

Good luck, don't give up, and remember...even the most accomplished quilter has a closet full of "What was I thinkings!" And if you keep saying "I can't" you will always be right, so how about saying "I'll try" instead?  I've included some links to my favorite shops here on EBay, and keep looking for future info, or if you have any specific questions just post them and I'll do my best to answer. 

Fat Cat Quilts & Rubber Stamps

Hearts & Pines Country Quilts

Sew-Sisters