Postby Harriet » Fri Jan 22, 2010 9:07 pm
1) Is it appropriate to name someone's ebay seller/store name here? I guess it is since they are possibly looking for business? Anyway, it is a way I can see to point someone out without giving real name or address. The simple machine quilter I used once is called cramdeb on ebay. She is very honest and fast, but I notice she has not had an auction in a year, though she is still an active ebay-er. I don't know whether that means she is well-established now and doesn't need auctions, or whether she's stopped quilting for others. Anyway, she still has contact info there.
2) The custom machine quilter I used for dstepgd's quilt has a website at thequiltersstation.com, and her "prepare your quilt" page is helpful for understanding what machine quilters need you to send and about how she can help the quilt to lie flat or square up. She is more expensive, but also honest and fast, and she left the open places just exactly as I requested.
3) If anyone ever needed a perfect hand quilting service, I'd say Quilting Plus, which has kept a classified ad in the back of the larger quilt mags for decades - one Amish lady takes each quilt home and it may take a while. They are in Minn. and the houses can be isolated from town for weeks, so don't expect a deadline to be met.
Size is very personal and there's no wrong answer. "Baby quilts" that are only 36 inches square are definitely out there in use. Some turn into favorites that are dragged around for years. Also, at that size the parents can easily choose to make one a wall hanging for decoration. If it is one to be machine quilted, a regular sized width of 45-inch fabric will do any 36/37" measurement without piecing, btw.
But if much real bedtime use is expected of the quilt for a toddler, it probably should have no measurement less than 40 inches or it's just not going to help keep the child warm. I see a lot of approx. 40x60 and 48x48 measurements in patterns for children.
I believe my dbabyniece's quilt was 44x56. DangerBoy's was narrower and longer, and I remember that bothered me, but I didn't hear any complaints.