My 10 quilty little secrets, OR, Whoa, am I opinionated!

This is starting to make the rounds in the quilting world, so I thought I'd add my 2 cents.  

BTW, just because I don't like something, doesn't mean that I don't admire it in other quilts.  It's just that some of these things are just not for me.  So, don't take any of this nonsense personally.

 

1. I don't prewash unless I'm working on flannel.  I do use 2 color catchers in the first wash, however.

2.  I'm not fond of the quilting aspect.  I love the piecing, but not the quilting.

3.  I admire professional quilting but will not use it.  These are my quilts and I don't want someone else's work on them.  I also don't want fancy quilting to take away from the color work and the piecing.  And I kind of like tying quilts.

4.  I don't like templates except for EPP.  I don't measure the logs on a log cabin quilt, and I don't measure the strings on a string quilt. 

5.  I do not like reproduction fabric or Civil War quilts.  I also don't like basket quilts.  No good reason; they just seem boring.

6.  I love batiks, Kaffe and Co fabrics, and florals. 

7.  It's all about the color for me.  Forget the teensy-weensy little pieces.  I admire, but will never do a quilt with a gazillion pieces in each block.  That's way too much work for me, and I'm not accurate enough.  And anyhow, it's the color, not the amount of pieces that moves me.

8.  I hate the grey background used on lots of modern quilts.  Greys come in lots of variations, and in most of these quilts, the grey just doesn't go with the rest of the fabric.  Plus, I think that a white background really makes the colors pop, as opposed to that dull grey.  And it is a bit precious to use grey just because everyone else is using it. 

9.  I can't do a scant 1/4" seam.  I figure that if I'm consistent with my 1/4" seams, then that's all that counts.  And sometimes, my seams are off.  That's why I like string quilts; my wonky seams are just fine.

10.  I don't measure for the borders.  I just sew together my fabric strips, lay them on top of the quilt, pin a lot, and then sew.  I figure that if there is a bit of stretch, it will all work out when I've quilted it (with much grumbling) and washed and dried it.