Small Zip Purse

 

Starts and Stops

 How to start and stop your machine quilting?

Many advocate tiny stitches. I have been doing this including going backwards but I don't like the thread build-up.

Others pull all threads to the front, tie and bury. This is much more time-consuming. 

Videos I have watched give tips. If doing it with a machine do 4/5 micro stitches but no backwards stitching, bring bobbin threads to the front and just clip off. If tying, do no micro stitches just pull to the front, tie stitches together about half an inch from the top and bury. One tip is to use a self-threading needle.

Maybe it's time to experiment with both and decide what I like best, both the look and how much work is involved. I know I am over messy starts and stops. Maybe I can add some photos. 

Instructions from one quilter:

Do not use micro stitches.

Do leave a long enough tail to tie a knot with.

Quilt the line. At the end, leave enough thread tail to tie a knot by hand. Six inches is usually enough. At the ending stitch, tug on the needle thread to work the bobbin thread to the top.

Knot the starting thread tails together by tying a square knot. This knot should be about a quarter of an inch away from the quilt top. Thread a hand-sewing needle with these knotted thread tails. Insert the needle into the hole of the first stitch and push it into and through the centre of the batting for about a half inch. Pull the threaded needle through and out of the top. Trim your thread tails close to the top of the quilt. Repeat as needed.

By burying the thread tails in the batting there is little chance of them shadowing or showing through the top of the quilt. If possible, run the needle along an existing line of quilting to further camouflage the thread tail if the top fabric is light and your thread is dark.

Spray Basting

There are many videos on Youtube of spray basting - it's worth watching a few. Some people do it outside even in the wind. Some just spray the batting outside and then take it inside. It all seems much easier and more manageable than I ever thought possible, so it's time to try it. The below video is a short simple version that covers the main points. 

From all the videos I've watched these are the main points: 

• work in a well-ventilated space 
• press your three layers in preparation particularly the quilt top tape the backing down on the floor - obviously not carpet 
• have drop sheets around it to protect the floor although spray will wash off 
• if doing this on a table use a flannel sheet taped to the table to hold the backing 
• smooth out backing but do not stretch 
• lay the batting on top turn back a section of batting, spray the backing, lay down the batting and smooth it out keep working in sections 
• don't spray the edges of the backing/batting you not covering it all 
• do the same with the quilt top 
• smooth out but do not distort, 
• make sure corners are square 
• leave on the floor for 30mins or so until all glue is dry 
• wash any residual glue off the floor or wash the flannel sheet

 

FMQ Tutorials

 There are literally 'heaps' on Youtube and you can invest a lot of time watching them. Here have put those I find particularly helpful and informative and most of all watchable! People's personalities, manner and for me specifically accent make a huge difference as to wether or not I can be bothered. And then, of course, content is paramount. 

Sone beginner tutorials from Tiny Orchard Quilts:

Double needle free motion go to the link below. 

https://weallsew.com/double-needle-free-motion-quilting/

Straight Line Qulting

A good system to keep your straight line quilting straight and even. 

97D Foot

 This has taken some getting used to after years of using the 37. 

when hexagons don't fit together! (oxymoron)

Hexagons are a tesselating shape right? So they should always fit together right? Wrong!

I found this out the hard way......but it could have been worse so I am thankful and willingly to share my trauma. 

Hexagons do tesselate but I wrongly assumed that meant they would always fit together.

Yes but in reality, it depends on how you sew them together. There are pitfalls, BEWARE!

I prepared over 1000 hexagons and joined them into 150 small rosettes being one hexagon in the middle surrounded by 6 more. (Traditional Grandmother's Garden blocks often have two rows of hexagons around a centre and there are a variety of options for patterns to create when joining them together. I just wanted to use the basic 7 hexagon rosette.)  

This is my small rosette.

This is the arrangement I planned to use. 

So I laid out my 150 blocks in a pleasing colour way to then work out how to sew them together. I was looking for a system to manage this process. I could see a construction pattern -  one small rosette in the centre with 6 rosettes sewn around to create the large rosette, then join two large rosettes together with two filler small rosettes between them.  As long as I carefully labelled and numbered each small rosette, I could stack them all up and work on it as time allowed. Keeping the layout in order to maintain the colourwash effect was my focus.

Right is the large rosette with two filler rosettes that you then add the next large rosette to. 

Fortunately, I only labelled two large rosettes before beginning sewing and left the rest of the quilt laid out. 

So I began sewing. The first one was a bit of a struggle as I figured out how to handle it but the second one went together much more easily. My system was to label the rosettes: Centre 1, 1/1, 1/2, 1/3, 1/4, 1/5, 1/6 and would join them with 1/1 being where 1 is on a clock then add clockwise from there around the centre small rosette. You can see the labelling system in the photo above right. 

All good? No! It wasn't!

Fortunately, I checked after making the second large rosette. When I laid them back down with the rest of the quilt there was a problem. The first one fitted back into its space but the second did not. How could that be? They are exactly the same shape right? Wrong!

I laid one large rosette on top of the other and they were not the same. That really did my head in! 

Look carefully at the photo on the left. You can see half a pink rosette poking out on the left side.

I am not a mathematical person however I have always been able to work things out. I learned to quilt back in the day when you drafted your own blocks, did your own math and still I don't use patterns. I was gobsmacked! However, my lizard brain knew there was a reason and that if I stopped stressing, it would come to me. 

Later, after wine and chocolate, I went back and looked at the two large rosettes and thought "it must be something to do with the way I sewed the small rosettes around the centre rosette".  So I looked closely. 

Loud crash of the penny dropping!

When you place the centre small rosette with a flat horizonal edge at the top and begin sewing the 1/1 small rosette onto it, you have two choices - the first seam can be along the horizontal top of the hexagon or on the diagonaol side of the hexagon. In my first large rosette the seam is along the horizontal and in my second large rosette the seam is on the diagonal. Different! 

But surely it doesn't matter? Yes, it does! At this stage, the lizard brain stepped in and I instinctively turned one of my large rosettes over and voila! they fitted on top of each other. Mirror image. 

Photo left is upside down rosette sitting on the other rosette. Mirror image of each other.

I had  inadvertently created two mirror image blocks. They can be sewn together by adding filler hexagons but that would mess up my design and colour layout. 

Half a day of reverse sewing of my second large rosette followed - longer than it takes to hand sew them together initially - then back together again with the first seam between the Centre and 1/1 being along the top horizontal edge of the hexagon. Double check! Triple check!!

My large rosettes now fit together as I had envisaged with two small rosettes between each one.

However, I may have aged 10 years. 

I think the simple version of this explanation is that the small rosette can be orientated in two ways and you have to be consistent as you piece the quilt. 

And when you join them you need to be consistent in where you begin and the order of seams.

Printing on Fabric

Exploring the options regarding printing on fabric to include in quilts. It would mean the purchase of an ink jet printer - objects I despise! - but hey these new ones with tanks rather than cartridges seem a better option. Informative article below re all the issues:

https://www.linda-matthews.com/printing-photos-on-fabric-using-an-inkjet-printer/

Aurifil Threads

Below is a great post on Aurifil threads. There are many on the internet but this sums it up simply. 

https://www.stringandstory.com/blog/aurifil40vs50

I have been piecing my latest quilt with Aurifil 50 and must acknowledge just how much less lint there is in and around the needle area. I will use the 40 weight for quilting it. I'm still unpacking the concept of using a different bobbin thread for quilting - they make bobbin thread in 60 weight - but am not convinced yet as I like the same colour top and bottom. 

Batting

 

Liberty Lawn info for quilting

 A compilation of information about working with Liberty Lawn in quilts. This has been done to inform my decisions regarding my first Liberty Tana Lawn quilt as I am almost at the batting and backing stage. But first there are the borders - what to do?

What kind of thread/batting/backing to use? 

https://skalabara.com/2019/06/06/quilt-finish-with-liberty-fabrics/

https://thestrawberrythief.com.au/tips-and-tricks-sewing-with-liberty-lawn/#:~:text=Tana%20Lawn%20has%20a%20very,threads%20or%20leave%20any%20holes.

https://www.redpepperquilts.com/2014/08/liberty-tana-lawn-and-collage-quilt.html

Understanding KFC

 This is a post copied of the Kaffe Fassett Collective Facebook site by Philip Jacobs to help understand how the KFC works:

Ive just updated my explanation about how the KFC works and who it comprises and who does what:

People often express a bit of confusion about how we work in the Collective and who designs what? So here is a definitive answer: The way it works in the Collective is that Kaffe, Brandon and myself all do the designs independently, then Kaffe does the colourways which unifies it all as a single collection. I do my "natural" colourway and then Kaffe does the others. Brandon does all of his own colourways. One of my tutors at art college many years ago said that you should only do textiles if you are happy with "team work". Since many people are involved at the different levels of production. Right through from the original design to the final production: colourists, printers etc. I`m also not a part of The Kaffe Fassett Studio. I`ve had a long 46 year career as a textile designer following a degree in printed textiles, where I`ve designed collections for the majority of the World`s great furnishing fabric houses. While Kaffe and I used to meet up all the time in the 70s and 80s, these days we just meet up once a year for the event known as Kaffe`s Christmas, when I hand over the new collection. But I do love being able to work with Kaffe, Brandon and Liza and consider it an honour to be part of such a great team.

Another aspect that I ought to mention is that: Kaffe, Brandon and Liza are involved in the design of the actual quilt patterns (along with others) that appear in the books, which I have no involvement with (not being a quilter). I also have a separate fabric line for FreeSpirit called: "Snow Leopard Designs". Looking at the actual designs in the Collective I would say that Kaffe tends towards the more ethnic inspired designs, sourced from antique rugs and textiles and Chinese pottery etc. Brandon goes for the more "whacky", which as well as his trademark fish and geometric forms, includes interestingly observed patterns in the repetition of houses and tents and even dancing girls. My own speciality is botanical and natural forms. Mainly floral but also including shells, feathers, fungi and any form that I observe which emanates great beauty.

The way the Kaffe Fassett Collective brand came about is also interesting, as it`s origins were quite organic, rather than just springing to life suddenly by design. Liza Lucy got Kaffe into the patchwork world in the early 90s after quite a bit of persuasion. At first they tended to use furnishing fabrics for the quilts as they could not really find what they wanted amongst quilting fabrics, which back then tended to be minute little patterns. So to get round the problem Kaffe started designing his own larger scale quilting fabric for the Rowan brand (Westminster Fibres in the USA). In 2004 Kaffe was visiting my studio in Dorset and saw the furnishing designs I was currently designing for Sanderson and thought that they would be great for quilting fabric. So I prepared him a selection of photos that he took over to Westminster Fibres in The USA and they said that they would be pleased for me to join the team. As I have always been a designer rather than a colourists, I asked Kaffe if he would mind doing my colourways, which he was delighted about. A few years later Brandon (who had been Kaffe`s studio manager for many years), also started designing fabric for the patchwork industry. So our group of three individual designers collaborating on fabric collections was born. I`m not sure exactly who came up with the brand name: "Kaffe Fassett Collective" or KFC. I first spotted its use while browsing ebay one day several years in. At a certain point in the story Westminster Fibres had been acquired by the Coats group, and Westminster had also acquired the FreeSpirit Brand. Early in 2018 the Westminster Fibres and FreeSpirit brands were acquired by Jaftex: a family company owned by Scott and Greg Fortunoff and their father Robert.

Under the new ownership our KFC brand has really thrived. It is such a wonderful artistic group to be a part of and such an interesting coming together of diverse talents. I feel that it will continue to thrive well into the future and am so happy that so many people around the world love the designs that we each create.

Trick for inserting the bobbin case

 

Foundation Piecing

 I've done this before in a previous life but methods, tips and tricks have developed since then so it's time for a refresher course. So many 'how to' videos of course on Youtube (unlike when I first used this technique) but how to select a good one? Here's a website with some good video links with tolerable accents! (so many videos the accents distract me) and clear instructions. There are lots of little tricks that do make the process a bit easier.

Stitched in Colour has good written instructions

Thread Spool - Horizontal or Vertical

I had no idea it mattered but it does. Follow the link for detailed info. Spools with a parallel wind should be horizontal, and spools with a criss-crossed wind should be vertical. Apparently it can effect the tension. 

Why is there a vertical and horizontal thread holder?

Crisp Mitred Corners on Binding

 The best video I have found on this. 

I think the diagonal lines of the mitre should also be sewn down. 

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=w6fnAvuUBHA

Cleaning my Bernina

  https://blog.bernina.com/en/2020/06/cleaning-your-sewing-machine-properly-to-make-sewing-even-more-fun/ 

This video start at 9.30 minutes in - for the same bobbin case same as mine 770QE

Yikes I cleaned my machine following all the instructions and literally dug out a whole lump of fluff stuck well inside the bobbin track when you take the whole bobbin case out. I've never cleaned that part of a machine before other than wiping it out, but dug around with my tweezers and pulled out quite a little pile!

Binding - hand stitch

 How to sew quilt binding by hand. This is what I call big stitch binding.

https://southerncharmquilts.com/blog/2019/11/12/gratitude-something-gold-video-tutorial-for-chunky-stitch-binding/

Half Square Triangles

  This video shows the making of 8 half square triangles that have straight grain sides. Doesn't explain sizing very well but if making two half square triangles from one square then allow one inch to the finished size i.e. use 5" square to make to 4" half square triangles and trim down to finished size. 

BSR and all it's Issues!

 

Bernina Jeff Videos

Great helpful videos from a Bernina technician called Jeff somewhere in the USA.

I put a comment on one of his videos about adjusting bobbin tension and he said not to do that on 770 machines. For that reason I bought a new bobbin case which I have never adjusted but I have the old one marked with a black dot tucked away in case I ever change my mine. 

This one has lots of tips and tricks for threading, oiling, cleaning and fixing frozen machines. Specific 770 issues are later in the video. 

All about the bobbin case, cleaning sensors, turning off sensors and oiling. 

Do not sew with your bobbin door open!

770QE How-to Videos

Helpful 770QE videos, excuse some of the accents! 

Cleaning the Thread Cutter
Hand Quilted look stitch
Patchwork Foot 97D
Edgestitch Foot 10
The Basics Parts 1&2
BSR
Buttonholes
Ditch stitching

Cleaning the Thread Cutter

Hand Quilted Look Stitch


The Patchwork Foot - 97


Edgestitch Foot 10 - also for ditch quilting


And for a slightly more familiar accent! - a series of videos by Robyn Curd from the Tauranga Sewing Centre:

The Basics Part 1


The Basics Part 2


Stitch Regulator


Buttonholes

Ditch Stitching

Facing a Quilt

 How to add a facing to a small quilt.

I just found another video and way of doing this. It is a simplified version of what Shirley does - just the same effect but so much less complicated! You could make the facing wider and you could use a single layer. And I like that you could stitch fully to the facing on two sides either short or long then you can fold it over then add your other sides. Obviously, two whole sides won't be stitched - you could partially stitch them as Shirley does, but having complete stitching on two sides might help make the corners sit better. 

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This link below is a facebook link to one way of doing it by making a frame facing.

https://www.facebook.com/photo/?fbid=1403694076732703&set=pcb.2801622363475589

(Own notes in Evernote)

Another version from Janome:

And a third way that has double layers of fabric at the corners but both sides have been fully edgestitched to give a crisp turn. No video just instructions: 

https://www.cottonandbourbon.com/tutorials/quilt-facing-tutorial

Which one is best? When I've tried them all I'll come back and comment.

Another one: Kinda same as above...

Continuous Binding

 This seems to be the way everyone applies binding these days.

I think I remember having been shown this but had never used it. 

Below is the best link I have found so far. She sews out on an angle from the 1/4" mark at the end of each side - I don't do this. I do a back stitch - machine goes back two stitches, then I use the scissors button to finish sewing so quilt is not attached to machine and I can turn and align easily for next side. 

Two little tricks are to pull the binding firm when measuring where to cut so there are no puckers when you sew it and remember right sides of the fabric together and the triangle you create when sewing the mitre points toward the machine - helps me not sew it the wrong way! And you need a generous space between the two end strips to manoeuvre - don't be mean about that. 

However, if you make a binding out of pieces, should they all be joined with a mitre or straight?

I think straight looks better in this situation in which case join the last join of the binding straight also. 

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=0vCWpxBRs20&ab_channel=MissouriStarQuiltCompany

So and so

 My mum, back in the 50s and 60s, used to describe the occasional person - usually women - as "a right little so and so". It's a term I even roll out occasionally when I'm sounding like my mother.  The meaning was never clearly defined, you just worked it out from observation. People who were active, opinionated, ambitious, and assertive were what I think she was referring to. Tall Poppy syndrome maybe, a bit of 1950s ingrained societal misogyny? I think I may have grown up to be one of those people, at least in comparison to my family. A little more likely to disagree, to have strong tastes about what I did and didn't like or would do, to maybe question some norms, and be a little more vocal. Hence the play on words for my blog to remind me how to do stuff!