Oakley, it depends on what you mean by machine quilting! I have a quilt frame with a domestic sewing machine on it. I do freehand quilting (pretty simple, usually just loops or meandering) and I can complete quilting a lap size quilt in a day or two, depending on my attention span. LOL

Some machine quilting is done with long-arm machines and computerization. You can just start it quilting and come back when it's done. I don't know how long that takes (no experience with it), but my machine that does embroidery can take quite a while depending on the complexity of the design and the number of color changes.

You can also machine quilt sitting down at the machine and moving the fabric. I haven't done much of that, but the time required would again depend on the size of the quilt and the amount of quilting you do.

Donna

Tina, she and I are the same age, she's retired and is busy as a bee from sunup to sundown. The projects she works on, both indoors and out makes me exhausted just by looking at them. Some people are born with more energy than others. I have good energy but not great stamina these days. She has a craft/quilting room and it makes quilting a bit easier. Me? I'd take up the whole dining room.

DH's grandmother used to have a stack of her quilts from top of cedar chest to the ceiling! I used to do lap quilts and wall hangings using a basic Singer to piece together and I hand stitched the quilting designs. It's so easy because you can watch tv and sit in a chair with a piece (top, batting, backing) in a wooden quilt frame, or a embroidery hoop.

Actually there's a lot of standing when making a quilt, more if you cut your own cloth. '

Donna, they were full size quilts as far as I could tell. The stitch designs looked to be pretty basic, swerves and curls. And I've seen all those quilting machines, my goodness!!

I've got to get back to it, I have a habit of buying material just because it's pretty and I rarely use it. :)

Donna, this is similar to my first wall hanging except I had 12 hearts. I gave it to my DGD. This is what got me hooked on quilting.

Oakley, it’s very cute! I have a sewing room, about 10 x 11, which holds my fabric stash and supplies and my main machine. The quilting set up is 10 ft long and is in the dining room.

We’re getting ready to build a new house and my sewing room will be 11 x 16 and have room for everything together!

Donna

11 x 16 is a good size! My quilting friends have similar rooms with the kids grown. I can't have a sewing room because DH has his file cabinets in there since he began working from home. Grrr.

My sewing room is a T-shaped room with dog ears and the length of the center of the T being a dormer. It isn't large and it doesn't have a lot of full wall space. Maybe you can find a way to reorganize that room, or another one, to give yourself one wall or one corner that can be dedicated to a sewing machine and a work table. I've seen some people use an adjustable desk that allows them to cut at or near counter height for less bending and back stress and then stitch at table height. If you could have only one piece of furniture, that might be something to look into. Of course, there are some nice cabinets for sewing machines that provide storage of utensils, thread and fabric. If you have space in another room, those also allow you to close up everything and have it in a more public room or a guest room. I use my mother's former desk -- which I suspect may have been sold as a dining table as easily as an executive size writing style desk. I put some drawer storage units from Overstock under it for my thread, needles, additional presser feet, etc. I had to leave the feet off to make the fit, but they make for great organization in a limited space.

As far as time it takes to quilt, it has been pointed out that the type of machine you have makes a difference as well as the style of quilting you do. I have only done smaller projects and I tend to experiment with things, so I can't tell you how long it would take me to do a full size quilt. Maybe later this year, but I'm playing with my embroidery machine first. I have seen people do crib and throw style contemporary quilts in a weekend, cutting, stitching and quilting. Those tend to have fewer pieces and construction methods that allow fast piecing and then work well with stitch in (or next to) the ditch and echo quilting that go quickly. Densely quilted designs with bubbles or pearls and feathers will take a lot longer, both because you may not work as fast and because there is a lot more stitching.

If you want to get back into it, I'd start one the smaller and simpler end of what you like using what you have to the extent possible -- even make a couple of quilted tote bags or other smaller projects, and see if it sparks the desire to do more or whether you remember why you haven't done it. If not having a proper work space is what is getting in the way, look at alternatives. The files that are not in active use could go into off-site document storage and/or be digitized rather than taking up prime real estate in your home.

Lazcatz, I've been leaning towards making a few projects. Right now I'm thinking of using some old and torn quilts for something. Not sure.

I love quilted hearts and I might make a few of these with old quilts for girlie gifts next Christmas. All hand sewn. I've already cut out the quilt shape with plastic, but larger than shown below.

I just remembered, I did make a Bear's Paw wall hanging using navy and white. No clue where it is now.

Oakley, can you post a picture of her quilts? The size of the quilt and the density of the pattern are the two biggest determinants in trying to figure out how much time it took her. A baby quilt, even fairly densely quilted will go much faster than a king because a king quilt is just so difficult to handle on a home machine and so you need to go more slowly.

The hearts are sweet. I'll post a couple of links of things I had in mind and you can look and see if anythings looks interesting to you.

https://sewsweetness.com/product-category/patterns-2/free-patterns -- Sara has one of the best groups of free patterrns for bag makers as well as many paid patterns. I have seen a number of the done in quilted designs, including a couple of solid color polaris bags with decorative quilting. Piece a panel and then use it as your fabric. Depending on your pattern and design, you may quilt the entire panel and then cut out your pattern pieces from the quilted panel or cut out and then quilt (I've seen some people add 1/4 or so extra to the piece to make up for the quilting).

https://suzyquilts.com/category/blog/free-patterns/ Suzy Williams does contemporary quilt designs, but she also has a number of freebies -- freestanding projects as well as a few smaller project adaptations of her full quilt patterns (pillow and tote bag come to mind).

https://www.craftsy.com/class/free-motion-quilted-gifts/ I got this class free a while back. I wouldn't pay $40 for it, but with their current 70% off (code confetti70), I might consider it. They used to offer great deals on the first year of membership, which allows you to view any of the classes. Either way, If you have done some quilting and sewing and have met google, you can probably make or find a free pattern for something like the projects you see in the pictures and stitch whatever designs you like on them. I know you can find free basket and zip pouch patterns.

Hope you find some things that will inspire you and you will enjoy -- in one of those or elsewhere.

In the pictures they're all folded. Maybe twin size? Hard to tell. What do you think? Someone asked if she used a long arm machine, no reply.

lascatx, my machine's broke so it would have to be by hand. I'm thinking miniature stockings using the old quilts that aren't in the best condition. No quilting needed. :)

I'm also eying Jinx's snowflakes and thinking about being a copycat for next Christmas. They have kits on Amazon. Her's are so beautiful next to a window.

https://suzyquilts.com/free-quilted-christmas-stocking-pattern/

That is a pantograph she used, you can see the design repeat. It may be computerized or she may trace the pattern. It would be fun to have a long arm but they are pricey.

Repurposed, upcycled, 2nd life -- whatever you want to call giving new life to old quilts has been very trendy lately. I've seen people make new quilts, place mats, wall hangings, bags, pillows and garments our of them. Jackets have been so popular people have made new quilts to create their jackets. Hand stitching is the traditional method for making crazy quilts -- that could be fun too.

Are you thinking of repairing or replacing your machine? Mine died without hope of repair (30 year old motherboard) in the middle of making a screen for DS2's student teaching apartment and he needed it ASAP, so hand stitching long seams wasn't as option. I was thinking I would just get a basic machine to finish that and have for repairs, but I was made an offer I couldn't refuse. It was an open box from a show and I don't think I had ever been used -- maybe displayed. I hope you can find your way to doing what you will enjoy.

That looks like longarm quilting to me, and she may be doing it herself, if she has a longarm machine, or sending it out, as I have done a few times. There are lots of quilters who make a nice living for themselves with longarm services. So the quilter plans the quilt, cuts everything, pieces it all, and then the longarm quilter does the last step. The best longarm machines are completely computer programmed so it doesn't even take a lot of the LA quilters direct time. She just sets it up, programmes it, and voila!

they are really pretty but not that complicated of a pattern (the strips and blocks etc.), so probably didnt take that long to make before sending them out. i would send mine out for longarm quilting back in the day. a queen was $100 or so, i dont know about today’s costs. oh the days before kids when i had time to do my own activities…

I went back to look at more pictures and saw this one, posted in March, when someone came over and gave her lessons.

Remembering I cut all my pieces, she probably bought pre-cut. Yep. Fast. Because of the neatness of the quilting on the others, I'm pretty sure she sent them out.

But would they be "hand made" which is said on a little tag sewn on the back of each one?

This is her first piece in the making.

Lascatx, I think I told this most heart breaking story before but it's worth telling again. :) One Christmas about 20-25 years ago we went to my late MIL's house. Sitting in a corner was a santa & I begged her to let me have it. She said no. haha The other Christmases when we were there, I'd see Mr. Santa and again I'd beg her to let me have him. Nope.

When she passed away about ten years ago, I went with DH, his brother & his wife, to the house to pick up things that shouldn't be left there until we decided what to do.

Do you know what I did when I got there? I found him within 5 minutes. The others thought I was nuts.

The following Christmas we walked next door to DS's for dinner, leaving the two dogs inside because it was cold.

I found him splattered all over the floor.

Maybe you want to make a new Santa? Make sure not to put any squeakers inside! LOL .

I'm not sure why, but my lab, who was a stuffed toy and ball nut, checked out two stuffed toys that were not hers. One was a dog I gave my mother for her birthday one year and the other was the teddy bear my dad gave her when they were engaged. I just remembered it as the big bear we had when we were growing up. I told her no, said they were mine, hugged them and put them back down, and she never touched any toy that wasn't hers. We have a rescue dog with us since the 20th. She is a toy nut too. She shows that she has had some training, but we need to work on some things too. And buy more toys.

I still count it as handmade even if it goes to a longarmer. I wouldn't ever insinuate that I'd done the quilting of course if I hadn't, but it hasn't come up that much because my most common gift is a baby quilt, which I can easily quilt on my home machine. The quilts I've sent to a long-armer have more commonly been charity/fundraiser quilts or ones I've kept myself, or ones I've given to family members who understand my process.

I first started quilting about 30 years ago, and pieced my first quilt entirely by hand. I learned a lot doing it that way, but I never pieced another quilt by hand -I've always used my machine. In those early years, if I was looking at a quilt with a non-quilter friend, (maybe one of mine, maybe one at a shop or a show or something), so often they would comment -but is it done by hand or by machine? with what felt like an implied, "if it's done on the sewing machine, it isn't really handmade, is it?" which I silently dismissed as ignorant. We use tools for all kinds of things -furniture making, for example, and we still count them as handmade.

On the back of each quilt is a tag, perfectly sewn under the binding, which says:

HANDMADE

-with love by-

Grams

And then a heart thingy under it.

If someone gave me a gift and she said it was handmade, I'm assuming her hands did 100% of the work, even if she used a sewing machine on all of it. Putting that type of tag on the quilt tells me she takes ownership on ALL of it. That's what I object to.

The quilting part is, or used to be, the most intricate work sewn by hand. Admitting she only started learning in March and by Christmas she'd completed 14 quilts, she hired out. lol OTOH, many don't know about machines that do the work for you, so how would you explain? I'd add a smaller tag saying Quilt Stitching by Oakley.

I'd have to give the machine quilter credit. She never did reply to the question asking if she did the quilting.