About Sew Square Quilts

About me, your quilter

I have been quilting since 1997.  I have given every family member a quilt.  Some more than one.   I set a personal limit of  keeping 5.  I actually have kept 6.  I have 4 bed quilts and two lap quilts.  I change the ones on the bed and sofa twice a year.  Now have a stack of quilts.  I'd like to sell them to a good home. 

I use the galloping horse theory of quilting which is if you were to ride by on a galloping horse would you see a problem?  If the answer is no, then there's not a problem.  I am not a good quilter choice for people who are OCD.  I don't feel the need to be precisely precise.

Why would you buy a quilt from someone who is not precise?  I'm good with color. 

How long will a quilt last? 

Normal wear and tear, they'll last the rest of my life which is a good 20 years.  Someone will still be using them another 20 years after I die.  I wash mine after the season before I put it away. There are millions of stiches in the quilting.  It's not going to come apart.  I machine bind which is also unlikely to come apart.  Corners can be funky. Pets are not normal wear and tear.  It doesn't hurt my feelings that your pets are on the quilts.  It's just more use than humans normally have since we don't have claws or very hard nails. 

I have added the cost of shipping in the price.  Quilts have weight and require small to large boxes depending on size. I did estimates based on small, medium and large.

My local quilt shop owner tells me that natural fabrics are good for all seasons including wool. My local quilt shop owner always has a heavy sweater on regardless of season.  I prefer wool in winter.  

I use 100% first quality quilting cotton fabric.  There may be one or two that's not but I do my shopping in quilting fabric stores.  I was surprised the first time I heard there was a difference in the quality of cotton fabrics.  I never thought about it but have paid more attention since. 

My quilt tops and backs are 100% cotton.  The batting the layer inbetween the top and bottom may be wool or cotton.  It should be labeled in the description. 

How are quilts made?

On the home page, there's a photo of a quilt I'm working on, on the wall. That's the front of the quilt.  It's made of 100% first quality quilting fabric.  

For the back I sometimes use a wide fabric that doesn't require sewing and it presents a solid color on the back.  I have a whole bunch of fabric so sometimes I piece the back from fabric that goes with the front.  It's made of 100% first quality quilting fabric. 

The center part is the batting.  It is wool or cotton.  It should be labeled.

I take them to people who have a long arm quilting machine.  I pick a pattern for the quilting, which are the stiches that go through all 3 layers of the quilt and make it one object, I pick something that will work with the quilts theme.  Like the flamingo quilts have flamingo quilting. They do the work.  There are millions of stiches. This is where most of the cost comes from.  I pick them up and bring them home.

My husband cuts the quilt down to size.  Huh? There's a point where the quilting stops that's the final size.  

I sew on a binding that covers all the raw edges of the quilt. I machine bind.  I used to hand bind but I've had to bind quilts again.  I don't have that kind of time or enthusiasm.  Doing it once is hard enough.  I sew the binding down on one side then sew it again  on the other side.  It's firmly on. The binding is at the bottom of the quilt hanging down the sides of your bed.  Only strange people, other quilters, or color enthusiasts will be looking closely at your quilt's binding.