Posts Tagged ‘quilt block patterns for beginners’
quilt block patterns
June 30th, 2010 | 
Author: quilt block patterns
 |
 Hand made Spring Posies 72L x 59W quilt  US $175.00
|
 Quilt top twin size card trick US $77.00
|
 APPLIQUED COWBOY PONY QUILT BLOCKS US $9.99
|
 Four Cross Stitch Pattern books US $6.95
|
 Two Valentine Hearts Bow 4 x 6 quilt block squares 5 US $3.30
|
 WOW Hand Stitched 2 X 2 Blocks to Form a DOG Quilt Block 20 X 23 MUST SEE US $7.99
|
5 Challenges When Making a Quilt
As a quilter there are many challenges you face when designing, sewing and ultimately quilting the finished product. Here are the 5 most important steps that you need to complete before the finished product can be proudly displayed and viewed by others.
Step 1
Choosing the fabric for the quilt can be one of the most challenging and exciting tasks facing the quilter or one of the most frustrating. Color choices can indeed determine the overall success of your quilt because it can either be alive and sparkle with its color or be dull, drab and boring due to the lack of it.
Since you might be like most quilters and wish you were wealthy enough to have the complete "stash" that contains every fabric that you ever could want to use, choosing your fabrics carefully is important. Colors chosen for the background should be quiet, more neutral so as not to call attention to this part of the quilt and allow for the printed colors to jump out and shine.
There are two recommended quilter color tests that will help in your selection. First, place the colors next to each other to be sure they compliment and do not detract from each other. The second and equally important is to stand back at least six feet and look carefully to see how the fabrics melt or mix together.
Select fabrics that will enhance your pattern. Use the color wheel to help in the selection of colors that compliment or intensify. The hot colors of yellow and orange will dominate the quilt and conversely, the cool shades of blues will add a depth dimension to your quilt. Remember that the neutral shades are pleasant to the eye and allow for the others hues to show their true color.
Be sure to prewash all fabric, tumble dry and iron prior to cutting for your projects.
It is always wise to buy a little extra fabric in case of wrong cuts than to be short. This way you can add the extra to that fabric stash for your next project!
Step 2
Whether you plan to use a precut pattern, draft your own blocks, use a template or cut out pieces with a rotary blade, the design of the quilt becomes your true masterpiece. Whether your blocks are pieced or appliquéd, simple or complex, each can be connected block to block or with sashings and cornerstones. Another alternative that frames the blocks and gives a three dimensional look to your block is a framed or window block. Blocks can be set on a horizontal pattern running crosswise or lengthwise. Another alternative would be the zigzag effect which is produced by placing the blocks diagonally.
Enhancing or enlarging a block or the size of the quilt can be easily done by the adding of borders. Well-designed borders add to the colors in the quilt blocks, as well as bring out designs and shapes featured in the blocks. Interesting borders can be pieced, appliquéd, and mitered corners add stunning results that frame the blocks in the center.
Step 3
No matter the colors or the design that is chosen, the construction or the sewing of the quilt has rules that need to be followed carefully.
Be sure to sew exactly ¼ " seams from edge to edge. If possible, keep the straight of the grain on the outside edges of the quilt section. Press the seams in what is called "opposing seams." This pressing of the seams in opposite directions allows the matching of the points or corners and always pin the points of matching prior to sewing.
Step 4
Once the quilt top is completed, a layer of batting is then sandwiched between this top and a lower layer of fabric. Once the fabrics are arranged, stretched smooth, and basted together with long running stitches to hold the layers together until the quilting can be completed. Choosing to quilt by hand or to machine quilt is an individual preference.
When quilting by hand, since the stitches create the design, it is important that each one be made carefully. A simple running stitch is used, though the size differs from one quilter to another in the number of stitches to an inch, it is more important that each stitch be uniform in length. Usually a 5 – 8 stitch per inch is considered to be pleasing and attractive hand quilting.
As a machine quilter, you can have the option for a quicker and often time's stronger stitch since the machine is being utilized. Work is done in small areas at a time, since maneuvering the material under the arm of the machine is often cumbersome and tricky. An alternative to this process would be the quilter's long arm, which is designed to not only work on a larger quilted area, but more intricate design patterns.
Step 5
The final and often times over-looked step is giving your quilt a name. Many quilts many be placed in a quilt show, or sold on line, but some may be just love and meant to spend hours being loved and cuddled with by that special person who was lucky enough to be the recipient of a handmade quilt. After the many hours the labors of love on the quilt, take time to personalize it by giving it the unique, special touch, it very own name.
About the Author
Come and choose one our handmade children's quilts, a lasting keepsake, a unique birthday gift, or Christening gift, for that special "little one."
Visit my website: http://www.uniquebabyquiltboutique.com and chose of one unique handmade children's quilt from my collection for your child's birthday or other special event.
Sharon Camp has been quilting for over 30 years.
Posted in Uncategorized | 
Tags: patterns, quilt, quilt block patterns, quilt block patterns by rob, quilt block patterns for beginners, quilt block patterns for kids, quilt block patterns free, quilt block patterns free beginners, quilt block patterns to color, quilting, sewing, tutorial | 
No Comments »
quilt block
quilt block
|
 Handmade Doll Quilt Trains Trucks Airplanes US $3.95
|
 Handmade Doll Quilt Southwest Western Design US $3.95
|
 Chicken Quilt Top US $10.49
|
 Old Fashioned 6 Inch Block Camoflauge Quilt Top 79 x 96 US $25.00
|
African American Quilting on the Rise
African American quilting is on the rise in the US. The 2010 Quilting in AmericaTM survey, points to a 65% increase in the number of black quilters in the last decade.
Quilters are also spending more to pursue their hobby. Kyra Hicks is a quilter who wrote a book about the topic. The book, titled "1.6 Million African American Quilters: Survey, Sites, and a Half-Dozen Art quilt blocks," is about this rich heritage.
Some Facts about African American Quilters:
- Numbers are growing -- in 2000 there were a million black quilters in the U.S. Today there are 1.6 million black quilters among a total of 21 million quilters in America.
- Black quilters are spending more on their hobby. Black quilters spend $279 million annually on quilting activities, products and services such as fabrics, sewing machines, quilting lessons, magazines and books, up from $93.6 million ten years ago.
- The quilters are willing to spend on fabric to make their quilts. One-third of African American quilters recently surveyed spent between $7 and $8 per yard on fabric for quilting projects.
- There are famous quilters you may not know about. For example, S. Epatha Merkerson, who played Lieutenant Anita Van Buren on the TV show Law & Order, is a quilter.
- Quilting is not just popular with women but men also enjoy the craft. According to Hicks book "1.6 Million African American Quilters: Survey, Sites, and a Half-Dozen Art Quilt Blocks" men like to quilt too. There are links to over 10 web sites and blogs featuring African American male quilters in the book.
- Other well-known quilters include Michael Cummings of New York and Carole Harris of Detroit.
- Emerging art quilters are Aisha Lumumba of Atlanta, Georgia, and Cecelia "Cely" Pedescleaux of New Orleans.
- Kyra E. Hicks began her interest in the craft after being mesmerized by Eva Ungar Grudin's 1990 traveling exhibition, "Stitching Memories: African-American Story Quilts." She later taught herself to quilt.
- The most popular types of fabrics purchased for quiltmaking by Black quilters are African prints, abstracts, solids, and geometrics. These fabrics are chosen specifically to represent African American culture.
There are not just quilters but crafters who are in on the trend. There are textile artists, dollmakers, fabric designers, that join quilters from the African diaspora.
There is a growing interest in African American quilting right now. As a quilter, Hicks knows this intimately and hopes to turn more people on to this trend.
About the Author
"
1.6 Million African American Quilters: Survey, Sites, and a Half-Dozen Art Quilt Blocks
" has a directory of more than 270 web sites, blogs and YouTube videos featuring African American quilters and guilds. There are six unique art quilt blocks included in the book.
See www.black-threads.com to learn more about
African American quilting
.