Machine Quilting

I've never really liked the look of tied quilts, even though it is fast, easy and popular, it just isn't something that I am drawn to. I went to duvets for a while to avoid tying the quilt. Bailey's and the baby's might end up being duvets, but I really want to quilt the girls blankets. I know that hand quilting isn't going to work for me, unless I can start and old fashioned quilting bee and have my friends over once a week to work on it. Any takers? So, I settled on machine quilting to make the quilts. I've done some machine quilting before. Here is an example:



It's a doll blanket and pillow that I made for my niece. This style is called stitch in the ditch. It is the "easiest" form of machine quilting. You just stitch along the lines that were created by straight line seams. Of course, in this case I cheated and used a preprinted quilt top.

I checked out some books at the library to see if this is something that I really want to do. "Machine Quilting" by Sue Nickels and "Easy Machine Quilting" by Jane Townswick. So far, they look like really good books (I read the reviews on Amazon before I checked them out, which always helps). I doubt now that I will get the girls' quilts done by Christmas, but I should be able to get the baby's and Bailey's done. I guess the girls will just get bedding and their pillows for Christmas. I think that is something I could get done. Besides, the pillows I want to make will give me some machine quilting practice.
The first thing I discovered was that I needed to replace all my presser feet. I lost all but my button hole foot and my standard foot a few years ago. I've been meaning to replace them, but I haven't really had a reason, until now. I also really want to get a walking foot, because they look cool and might make this whole adventure a lot easier. I'll just have to see how much one costs. Maybe I can sneak in a rolled hem foot too, we'll see.
Until I get those feet, I guess I just need to work on the quilt tops. I have about half of the squares for the baby's done. I guess that I will start on Bailey's after that, if I can round up what I need.
I haven't got my plans finalized for the quilts yet, and doubt that I will draw a plan for the baby's since it is so straight forward in my head right now. I will post the plans as soon as I can.