Necessity (read: HEAPS of FABRIC) has led me to design a lot of quilts.  You know the drill–I see fabric, I want fabric, so I have to design something to use fabric.  Originally I designed my own quilts because I didn’t know where to buy patterns (DUH, but then it was a looooong time ago).  Now I just don’t like following a pattern.

“Study for New Mexico” is a practice piece turned into a wall hanging

Recently I’ve been working on a series of quilts made from strip sets.  I make up several strip sets in the colors I want for the mood of the quilt, then cut freehand curves in them and sew up a quilt top.  Here are a few little practice pieces (Weeks Ringle calls them “maquettes”, but I’m not sure I’m that fancy).  The larger one at the top of the post is the one I have in this year’s Asheville Quilt Show, which is the first big show I’ve entered.

This is the tiny practice piece I made first. I wanted the strips to be more varied in width, though

I’m fortunate to live (sort of) near Asheville (NC), where the local quilt guild is full of accomplished quilters.  They put on a terrific show every year.  I’ve attended the show many times and it’s always impressive.  In fact, I like it better than a lot of the big national shows because there is more variety in the quilts. Often the national shows are heavily loaded with the big-deal-of-the-moment, like glued-on crystals, or extra-dense quilting—whatever.  The Asheville show typically has a little of everything.

This was an earlier attempt at “New Mexico” colors, but the shape of the cuts didn’t vary enough to suit me

Since the Asheville Quilt Guild has a great show, I always assumed it was juried.  I decided to submit something anyway.  Only to find out it isn’t juried, so my quilt just automatically gets to hang with all those spectacular things made by other people!  I’m going to the show today, and it will be fun.  Several years’ worth of inspiration in one afternoon—wish you were here!

Here are 7 of my favorite ways to make quilting easier/more fun/more efficient.  Please add yours in the comments so we can all share!

From the Lucky Stars pattern by Atkinson Designs; scrap border designed by me

1.  If you agree to make a quilt for someone else, stipulate that you must choose the pattern, or give them 3 patterns to choose from.  Non-quilters often have no idea what is involved in making a quilt, and of course have no way to know what type of quilt you enjoy making. I made the quilt at left for somebody else, and it was FUN!

2.  As soon as you’ve finished a quilt top, make the binding.  You have the fabric right there, and if you go ahead and make the binding now the fabric won’t get used for another purpose (oops).  It’s very encouraging to see the binding ready to go when the quilting is finished!

Black makes other colors pop

3.  Buy extra basics when you find them on sale, since you’re almost certain to need them.  Presently my basics are solid black, solid white or cream, and any purple; but likely yours are different.

4.  Buy limited amounts of trendy fabrics, even on sale.  Chevrons are hot now, but will you want to use the extras 2 years from now, even if you got them on sale?

Pillow for my daughter

5.  Change your rotary blades when they get dull.  Blades certainly are expensive, but your time, energy, and patience are priceless, and they surely are wasted by dull rotary blades!

6.  Buy the biggest rotary cutting mat you can afford, and ask for a bigger one (or a second big one) as a birthday present.   Cutting is so much easier when you have plenty of room.

7.  Put a table on bed risers to make it the right height for cutting without straining your back.  You can find the risers at big box stores right now because kids in dorms use them to make the bed a little higher, increasing storage underneath.  (And if you run out of places to store fabric…oops, sorry!)

Now, go quilt and have fun!

Back of the pillow