Machine Quilting Dilemma

I always do any Stitch in the Ditch quilting first when I'm quilting a quilt. The reason for this is that as you work your way through that part of the quilting you are removing the pins. This reduces the weight of the quilt making it easier to maneuver it for free motion quilting. I learned that tip from Diane Gaudynski's "Guide to Machine Quilting" book. It has been my Go To machine quilting resource for years.

I had a table runner that I wanted to finish and all that was left was the the free motion design. I knew exactly what I wanted to put in the three main sections but I was struggling with perfecting the design on my own.

Quilt Top before Quilting

I found the design I wanted in my "doodle Quilting" book by Cheryl Malkowski. I love this book too; it has 120 continuous line machine quilting designs. Cheryl teaches you how to start practicing by tracing the design with a pencil. Next you draw it without tracing. Then you start using your machine. This technique has really improved my free motion quilting when I have a specific design I want to use.

I chose "All Those Ls and Es" as the motif.

I don't like to mark my quilting designs on my quilt. I'm not perfect when it comes to staying on the lines. I like free motion quilting. I'm not an award winning quilter, but I do enjoy doing it. The stress of having to stay on the line takes away from the pleasure I get when I quilt. So I needed to come up with a way to get the design in the correct size onto my table runner.

I chose to use Sticky Fabri-Solvy. It is a wash away stabilizer backed with freezer paper that goes in your printer. I have been using it to transfer the designs for my stitching projects for a couple years now. I love it in that capacity and decided to give it a try here. A table runner is something that will get washed so it seemed like the perfect solution.

Another challenge I faced was that I needed different sizes than the illustration in the book. I enlarged the design to 135% of the original size for the center of the star and reduced it to 75% of the original size for the two spaces on either side of the star. To make the best use of the Sticky Fabri-Solvy I made 2 copies of the smaller image on paper. Cut them out and used a glue stick to glue them onto an 8 1/2" x 11" piece of paper.

I copied both sizes onto the Sticky Fabri-Solvy using the Draft setting on my printer. Then I just peeled away the paper backing and finger pressed them onto my table runner. Here's what it looks like with the Fabri-Solvy in place. 

As is the case often times when I'm quilting a quilt it tells me that I need more. So I traced the exact size from the book onto paper and pinned it in place in the smaller squares and quilted on the paper. Then I peeled it off. I should have just traced it onto the Fabri-Solvy because I hated peeling off the paper; I didn't think of that when I did it. Next I decided that I needed the smaller size in the dead space where the flying geese are at the outside star points and on either end of the table runner. That time I did use the Fabri-Solvy - way better.

Here's the project with all of the quilting done. I also have the binding sewn on, but not tacked down yet. 

I sewed down the binding and the next step was to wash out the stabilizer. You can do it in the sink but I prefer to put it in the washer on Delicate. I always seem to have laundry to do. I have found that this method works best for me. I don't like trying to figure out if all of it dissolved in water in the sink. By the time it agitates in the washer it is probably dissolved. It doesn't affect anything else I put in with it and I know it completely washes out.

Here's a picture of the quilting detail in one of the squares. You can see that there is no trace of the Sticky Fabri-Solvy.

I put the table runner on my kitchen table which is too big but I had to see how it looks on a table when it was all finished. 

All of the fabrics in this project are from Sew Batik.

Happy Quilting,

 Carol

Possible Free Motion Quilting Design

I never know when I'll see something that inspires me. We stayed at a hotel in Puyallup, WA last week for a show. We arrived on Tuesday and checked out this morning. Apparently I was so caught up in the work aspect that I didn't really notice my surroundings until this morning.

As I was packing my cosmetic bag I happened to notice the wallpaper in the bathroom. For some reason it caught my eye this morning. I had to take a picture because I think it would make a great free motion quilting design. I might have to make some revisions to it, but I think it would be a great filler stitch. What do you think?

It just goes to show that you never know where you'll be inspired. 

Happy Quilting,

Carol

It's All about the Thread

I LOVE thread! I can spend more money on thread at a show than on fabric. Thread can add color, texture and detail to a quilt or wearable garment. Some people are purists and believe that only cotton thread should be used in quilts. I use whatever I feel enhances my quilts. When I saw this quilt down the aisle from our booth at HMQS (Home Machine Quilting Show) in Salt Lake City earlier this month, I knew I wanted to do a Blog post about thread.

Linda, Cheri Quite Contrary

The center of this quilt has hexagons and 1000 circles. The quiltmakers Linda V Taylor and Cheri Meineke-Johnson call it their version of Grandmother's Flower Garden. When I first saw it I thought that the background was painted or a soft hand dyed fabric. Upon closer inspection all of those pastel colors in the background were created with thread. Up close you can see that some of these threads are neon colors.

This is just one example of several quilts I saw at the show where thread played an important part in the look and feel of the quilt. Here is a whole cloth challenge quilt made by Teri Lucas of New York City that is just a plain white background with the color in thread. I have started dabbling with Zentangle and this quilt reminds me of that. It adds design and texture to the fabric.

Whole Cloth Challenge Quilt

Here is a close up of some of the quilting. I love the scroll looking design in the border. The row after row of straight lines really adds texture. I also like the tiny circles. This quilt inspires me to practice my free motion quilting.

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Bedazzled won a ribbon for Best Combination. Susan Ford only used three fabrics in the quilt. Thread adds additional colors making it look like there are more fabrics in the quilt. It is machine embroidered with designs by Sarah Vedeler. It was quilted by Sue McCarty.

Bedazzled

From a distance this looks like applique, but it is all machine embroidery. Here is a close up of one section of the quilt. In addition to the beautiful threads, 4000 Swarovski crystals were applied by hand.

Mandarin Duck is a quilt that was made from a photograph taken by Barbara McKie. She manipulated the picture she took in Photoshop and then printed it onto fabric. The quilt really does look like a photo.

Mandarin Duck

Here is a close up of the head. That is my favorite part of the quilt. She did an excellent job capturing the jewel tone colors and the thread adds the texture necessary to make it really look like feathers.

Feathers and Fills is a great example of a whole cloth quilt that primarily uses one color. Marie Eldredge started with the feathers in the border and then filled in the rest. Most of the thread is the same color as the fabric. So color is secondary, texture is the main effect created by the thread. It is another  Zentangle looking quilt. Unfortunately I didn't get a close-up of the quilting but I think you can still get the idea from this photo.

These are only a few examples of quilts from the show. They always have gorgeous quilts on display. If you are ever in the Salt Lake City area on Mother's Day weekend, think about attending HMQS. It is one of the few shows that offers numerous classes that really focus on machine quilting, including longarm classes.

Happy Quilting,

Carol