A friend of mine gave me two booklets titled "Quilt in a Day" One is a nice Log Cabin style. Has anyone actually made one of these? I'd like to do some quick and cheap quilts-I liked Melissa's idea of the On sale sheets for backing. Any ideas? tips?

This is kind of new for me, I learned to quilt the traditional way and my MIL is a purist (bordering, I think on fanatic) she wont alow a single machine stitch period. but I'd like to go a bit faster!!!!

I bet if I had Sissy's quilt machine, I could do a fast quilt! Unfortantly, I don't have money or room for it.

-- Kelly (homearts2002@yahoo.com), January 18, 2002

Answers

Kelly, I love to put the tops together, but I don't think I could do it in a day. I gave up on hand-stitching long ago, not enought patience for that. I also machine stitch the binding, I can usually make it look pretty decent and most people aren't looking that closely anyways.

-- Melissa (me@home.net), January 18, 2002.

Kelly: I am an avid quilter and I only machine quilt. I also do the binding by machine as well. Most of your quilt in a day types are feasible, assuming you have no kids, dogs, goats, chickens, in other words, if you really have a lot of uninterrupted hours. I haven't made a log cabin as I don't really like that particular pattern. Eleanor Burns is famous for her quilt in a day series, and her machine pieced quilts do truly go fast. I do a lot of children's quilts, being a member of a blanket group - our blankets (crocheted, knitted or quilted) go to children facing crisis in their lives. But of course I also make quilts for our home and family and friends. Be careful - I will warn you! quilting is so addictive, but so fun! Also, be sure you have a rotary cutter, and self healing mat (is used with rotary cutters) or it just isn't worth it.

-- Katie (homesteader@accessnevada.com), January 18, 2002.

Kelly-thought I'd clarify my above response - when I say machine quilt I mean with a regular sewing machine - I believe the one that Sissy is selling is more like a commercial (but for home use) type.

-- Katie (homesteader@accessnevada.com), January 18, 2002.

Kelly, I have made several quilts using the "Quilt-in-day" books. The first one I went to a class and spent the day making the top. I cut out the material at home the night before the class. It took me about 16 hours to completely finish the quilt as described in the book, which was also the log cabin pattern. After making several of them, it does get a lot faster. I have made several of her other patterns, I like the way the quilts come together so fast. One year I made everyone in my family one for Christmas, and I always make one crib sized for baby gifts. If you are tying the quilts instead of quilting them, sheets for backing do just fine. I have used sheets from garage sales (after washing and bleaching them), even dying white ones to the colors I wanted. It is a fast easy sometimes cheap way to make good warm decorative quilts. I am definitely not a purist! LOL. Good luck!

-- Gina NM (inhock@pvtnetworks.net), January 18, 2002.

In a box of patterns I got at a farm sale, there is a brand new pattern for a "Homesteader Quilt" and one for a "Farmhouse Wallhanging" There was also a clipping from a 1983 issue of Better Homes and Gardens, showing the quilt made up. It's really colorful, but definitely not one that you could do in a day! I'm going to attempt it, anyway! Jan

-- Jan in Co (Janice12@aol.com), January 18, 2002.

Kelly, the only advice would be to keep the pattern simple, and then tie the quilt if you want to make a quilt quickly. I've seen the Quilt in a Day books, but I don't know if a beginning quilter would accomplish that much in a day. It also would depend on how particular you are about your sewing. I'm a fussbudget about things like that. I'm sort of like your MIL. Right now I'm English paper piecing a Grandmother's Flower Garden. It's the hand sewing process that I love. It's relaxing for me.

-- vicki in NW OH (thga76@aol.com), January 19, 2002.

Vicki- So neat-I'm also making a paper pieced Grandmothers Flower Garden! I have an old flat tea tin that I keep all my stuff in and I pick it up and take it with me when I go out-its about the only thing that helps me survive a trip to the dentist! I have about ten flowers completed-but its my relaxing project, -it will take years to finish probably, but thats ok.

I've quilted since I was about twelve, but its been mostly handwork. The last few years I've done a couple of baby quilt/walhanging type things on the machine. Last spring I machine pieced a lap quilt top, then hand quilted it, for my MIL-yes, There was machine stitching in the pieceing, but she was (Still is) quite ill, I wanted something she could take to Doctors visits/hospitals and I was in a hurry-that took about a month. I'm just intrigued by the supposed speed and wondered if it could be true......

-- Kelly (homearts2002@yahoo.com), January 19, 2002.

Kelly, I guess then it would depend on how long kids, dogs, hubbies, telephones and the like would let you sew. Most days the time is precious little. At least for me it is. I love paper piecing and those depression era quilts! Sometimes at estate auctions I can still find some of those feedsacks and they won't cost a lot on some days. Other days forget it, they go dearly. The next time I go to my favorite quilt shop (or rather barn, it's in a big barn with material and patterns in the hayloft even) I'll ask if any of the ladies there have really completed one of those quilts in a day.

Wouldn't it be great to get every one together for a quilting bee? That would be fun.

-- vicki in NW OH (thga76@aol.com), January 19, 2002.

Vicki-it would be a blast. I've done a few and they are fun. In the town I used to live in the public Library would open the "community room" on thursdays from about 10-2 and it was drop in, you took whatever you were working on. It was so cool to see all the different projects and everyone helped each other. On "Third thursdays" everyone would work on a community project-usually a quilt that was being raffeled for some fund raising, or a quilt for people in the community, and it was pot luck-you brought a covered dish and wow! the food was good. My kids were real small-not in school yet, but I would take them and they would play with other kids, or get story books from the library-they liked it too. I was disapointed when, moving out here in the boonies, I wasn't able to find a quilt group-people don't do much needlework here for some reason. (Gardens and canning are another story!)

-- Kelly in Ky (homearts2002@yahoo.com), January 19, 2002.