Basting and Machine Quilting Tutorials

We are almost finished with our Virtual Quilting Bee. (I hope no one panics when they read that, worrying that they are "behind" on their project.) There is no deadline on this project! This is just for fun and to learn new skills.

New to the Virtual Quilting Bee? Missing a some of the tutorials? Looking for new quilt block ideas, or how to choose colors and fabrics? Check out the Virtual Quilting Bee page for links to all past tutorials.

This week we are going to discuss two important parts of finishing a quilt with very helpful and informative tutorials by Kati Spencer of From the Blue Chair. First, basting the layers (quilt top, batting, and back) together in preparation for quilting. Kati has some great tips - I learned something new! If you are looking for information about what kind of Batting to use for your quilt, I've shared some information on quilt batting here.

BASTING A QUILT TUTORIAL HERE

We are also going to talk about Quilting. If you are new to quilting, you can read an introduction to Quilting a Quilt basics here, including supplies, hand-quilting vs. machine quilting, straight line vs. free motion, etc.

I have asked Kati to share her Free Motion Quilting wisdom because she does amazing quilting using her home machine. I'm so grateful for Kati's willingness to go in depth in sharing on these two topics. (While you're there, you should check out Kati's other tutorials. She has great stuff.)

FREE MOTION QUILTING TUTORIAL HERE

I have to admit, I am not good at the quilting part of making a quilt. Part of it is my machine is an older model, has very limited throat space, etc. etc. Plus I worry too much - I trust other people quilting my quilts, more than I trust myself, so that is what happens for now. But I am thoroughly excited to read Kati's tutorials. I am upgrading to a new machine (more details on that soon!) which will work much better for the machine quilting thing. So I'm hoping to start getting past just straight lines.

Also, I finally made up my mind and finished putting together my Kona solids version of the VQB. I stayed up late last night and to finish it and of course it was too dark for any good pictures. But I will share it this week!