Staying on the rails: straight line quilting Big Momma

Straight-line quilting is a bit of a novelty for me; usually I free motion quilt with swirling, loopy designs. But the though of doing such dense, time-consuming work on a king-sized quilt like a Big Momma filled me with dread. Plus I was concerned that the end product would be too stiff. This is meant to be a bed quilt after all, it shouldn't lay stiff and flat on the bed! Big Momma is suppose to drape gracefully not sit pert like the cherry on top of a cake! So out came the walking foot.

I decided to quilt the diagonal lines rather than the horizontal ones in order to give the quilt so movement and dynamism. Also, it ended up creating little pinwheel blocks where the lines intersect, which is extra cool!

 The downside of quilting on a diagonal is that the length of each quilting line is often longer than the length of the quilt itself. If I'd remembered my basic trigonometry I would have remembered that the hypothenuse is always the longest sized of the triangle. I can't believe I just used the work "hypothenuse" in relation to a quilt. Or anything for that matter.

I'm using the end of the diagonals as a guide, running the edge of my walking foot along it. Happily the walking foot is 5/8" on both sides so I can be fairly flexible about which direction I sew. Which is particularly helpful when I'm trying to squeeze the entire quilt through the throat of my machine!

I've also unexpectedly had to mark the diagonal lines in the border where these isn't a seam to follow. At 6" its just too long a seam to guess. I thought I'd be able to wing it but think that the end result of my "guesstimating" a straight line would be less than impressive. Happily it's fairly easy to grab a ruler and a Frixon pen and zip those lines out.

I'm also going out of my comfort zone by using Aurifil cotton thread to quilt with. Usually I use Isacord but, as these are straight lines and I'm not building up thread anywhere by going over lines, I think the Aurifil can take it. Fingers crossed but no tension issues yet.

I'm hoping that by the end of the weekend I might be ready for binding. Squee!

So close I can touch it: double pinwheel block

After a lot of grumbling, moaning and prevarication, the end is almost in sight for the king-sized double pinwheel commission.

All of the blocks are pieced and sewn into quarters. Rather than sewing 12 rows of 10 together I decided to split the quilt into four blocks and sew 6 rows of 5. Then all I have to do is sew the quarters together and put the border on. Simples!

Here's one of the quarters. Excuse the feet please. 

It was only when I was laying the quarters out that I realised quite how big this quilt was going to be; even without it's border on I'm struggling to find floor space big enough to lay it all out on.

Rather than do my usual all-over quilting which would be incredibly time consuming and leave the quilt rather stiff and with little drape, I've decided instead to straight line quilt it using a walking foot. I think I'm going to echo quilt the diagonals rather than the horizontal or vertical lines.

I've found the perfect Aurifil variegated thread in 4650 which is called "Leaves" apparently. All I know is that it's the right combination of red and green with a little yellow/cream mixed in. Sadly there's no blue in it but, as the key colour here was meant to be green, I can live with that.

Perhaps one day I can show you a picture of a finished quilt?!

Just a quick reminder that I'm on my migraine detox now and so all blog postings have been prepared in advance. I won't be able to check my blog for at least two weeks so I'll respond to any comments after 17th August.

Thread love and loyalty

Thread is the centre of the universe. It makes up the core of the earth and holds the planets together. The sun wouldn't shine without thread.

Ok, so I may be over-stating the issue slightly but isn't thread what holds all our projects together? What would a log cabin block or a Dresden plate be without thread? Just a pile of scraps!

I'm fairly picky when it comes to thread because I want my projects to last. I choose the highest quality fabrics and batting so it only makes sense that I choose quality for my thread too.

I piece exclusively with Aurifil 50wt, usually in either 2024 or 2021. I understand that the technical names for these colors are natural white and white but to be honest they seem pretty interchangeable to me!

After a recent rummage through my spools i also discovered a couple of rogue colours - a navy/indigo which I used to piece a white and blue Jacob's ladder, a mini spool of blonde caramel 2000 and a 2600 dove grey which I think I picked up last year at the Festival of Quilts. I think i was planning to branch out away from 2024/2021 with the 2600 dove grey but after a year it's still sitting there! They're still Aurifil 50wt of course. I haven't gone completely crazy.

For quilting I've tried cotton but it always seems to break. I tend to quilt all over quilting patterns in very curvy designs (spirals, paisley, feathers etc) which means that there's a lot of thread build up. Cotton tends to break easily when you quilt over the same line. 

Instead I use Isacord which is a polyester mono fibre. It comes in a variety of colours, of which I've so far used navy, purple, grey and my ubiquitous white. You can quilt over and over and it doesn't break. Perfect! 

Finally I seem to have a random spool of verdant green from Gutermann and some natural white Superior quilting thread. Heaven knows where this came from but I suspect it was a freebie. And it'll probably live at the bottom of my thread box forever more. Or until I run out of thread. But probably the former. 

Just a quick reminder that I'm on my migraine detox now and so all blog postings have been prepared in advance. I won't be able to check my blog for at least two weeks so I'll respond to any comments after 17th Auagust.

Sunday Stash #12

I'm a bit light on stash purchases this week - probably because I bought so much last week - but I did take delivery of a FQ each of Kona silver and mid grey from Sew Hot.

I can now add the remains of these pieces (minus a few 5" drunkards path pieces) to my ever-growing stash of Kona solids, including Caribbean, Leprechaun, Clover, Sprout, Pansy, Midnight, Mid Grey and...erm... Brown. I think they ran out of fancy names towards the end.

I had a few other quilt associated deliveries this week, all from Massdrop.

Firstly two cones of Aurifil, one in 2024 and one in 2021.

I have to confess that I normally can't tell the difference between these colours (I think they're called "white" and "natural white" respectively) but when they're in cone form I can. Probably because there's so much more thread to see!

I think the natural white (on the right) is a little more creamy then the white (more grey).

I have a cone holder for Naomi from when I FMQ using Isacord cones so I'll start getting in to the habit of threading the cone guides rather than the spool guides.

Finally my Curve Master foot turned up ironically just after I've finished piecing 70 drunkards path blocks. Such is life.

I tried using the pin-less method on a couple of blocks but they always came out misaligned- the "pie" piece always finished a 1/4" short of the "crust" piece. I think this was because (a) my feed dogs are very grabby and (b) my 1/4" foot is quite large so there's a big chunk of plastic between the needle and the front edge. This makes it very difficult to maneuver the two pieces so they alight just before the needle. I suspect a lack of practice also plays a part.

As a result I pinned all but two of my blocks. By the end I didn't need many pins (and didn't get any puckers at all!) but did still need three or four for comfort sake. It actually went a lot quicker then I thought it would.

So, once this project is out of the way I'll try using up my left over pieces by practicing, practicing, practicing!

Linking up with Molli Sparkles' Sunday stash linkup.

Happy Sunday (and Memorial Day and Bank Holiday!) sewing!

Sunday Stash #7

I seem to have feast or famine weeks when it comes to purchasing fabric and this week was definitely a feast week. As my storage waistline shows - it's bursting at the seams!

First up a FQ bundle of Safari Moon by Frances Newcombe for Art Gallery Fabrics.

I love the quizzical zebras on the indigo fabric but must confess my favourite print is the swallow/peacock flying. Gotta love Art Gallery Fabrics.

Along with the Safari Moon bundle, I also bought some Aurifloss in black and brown and some batting (not pictured as it's far too boring!) all from Sew Hot

I also bought some FQs of Kona solids from Quiltessential. They're not too far away from me so I just visit some time soon!

The solids and Aurifloss are for a secret future project! Can't say more as the intended recipient reads this blog!

Then I had a delivery from Missouri Star Quilt Co which included a design roll and yardage of Denyse Schmidt's Chicopee line for FreeSpirit Fabrics. No prizes for guessing this quilt!

Also in the bundle was a pack of 5" squares and design roll of Alison Glass's Sunprint for Andover Fabric.

I also then ended up getting a FQ bundle from Massdrop as well but you can never have too much fabric right?! If you haven't checked out Massdrop yet, it's definitely worth a look. Although the Sunprint drop has now finished, they currently have a FQ bundle Handcrafted on there, with an option for 1/2 yard bundle.

Finally I also got my sticky mitts on the Moccasin BOM project put together by GenX Quilters. I love the western colour palate and modern design. I'm not sure whether I'm Generation X or not - I think I might just sneak in there - but I'm hoping GenX quilters will forgive me if I'm accidentally misrepresenting myself!

Linking up with Molli Sparkles's link up.

Happy Sunday sewing!

Quilting gadgets and Recollection by Katarina Roccella

I'm a complete magpie when it comes to quilting tools and gadgets - if it's shiny, I want it. If it lights up, I want it. If I think it will save me 5 seconds of time, I want it.

Some purchases have been invaluable and some have been utter disasters.

In the "I couldn't live without" column:-

Sewslip quilting mat - so much cheaper than the Supreme Slider, this Teflon mat means I'm not fighting with my quilt quite as much as I would have been otherwise. I got mine from Quilt Direct.

Aurifil and Isacord for piecing and quilting respectively. Thousands of colours are available but I usually piece with 2024 from Aurifil (from Quilt Direct or Sew and Quilt)and quilt with white or block Isacord (from Barnyarns).

My small ironing pad and travel iron - they fit perfectly next to my sewing machine and mean that I don't have to keep going up and down stairs to press fabric. I can't for the life of my remember who I bought it from but I got it at the Festival of Quilts last year.

In the "Er, it seemed a good idea at the time" column:

Hand quilting hoop - I tried, I failed. I'm far too impatient and clumsy to hand quilt and am awe and inspired by those who do.

1/4" foot with fixed metal guide - I found it more difficult to sew with the guide as I couldn't see exactly where the edge of my fabric was. I now use a clear plastic 1/4" foot without a guide.

Cheap scissors - you definitely get what you pay for with scissor and I didn't pay much for these so...

Have you ever anything you regret? Or now wonder how you lived without?

Finally have you seen Katarina Roccella's new "Recollection" line for Art Gallery Fabrics? How gorgeous is this range?

Hey Mister DJ quilt and thread choices

The Mister DJ quilt for my brother's birthday is pieced and ready to be basted (yuck), quilted (yay!) and bound (meh). The pattern is Melissa Corry's from www.happyquiltingmelissa.com so all kudos to her. The fabric is Sphere by Zen Chic for Moda with some Kona solid in grass.

I wasn't sure what thread to use to quilt with until I spotted this fab variegated Isacord thread at Barnyarns. I didn't even know Isacord did variegated thread until I spotted this little beauty!

 I admit to being bi-threadual when it comes to patchwork - I used Aurifil 50 weight for piecing and binding but Isacord for quilting. I've tried quilting with cotton but gave up after the 50th or so thread break. Plus, I'm a student of Leah Day and if Isacord is good enough for her...