Showing posts with label My Place or Yours. Show all posts
Showing posts with label My Place or Yours. Show all posts

Friday, October 21, 2011

Busy in the sewing room

I have been busy in my sewing room, as you can see below...the room is a mess!

My cutting table is loaded with stuff....fabric and rotary cutters, fabric paints and even a glue gun! I've had a strange variety of projects lately.

You may have noticed that my sewing room has been rearranged again.
yep.

I was going nuts.
Remember?  I bought a longarm quilting machine that was delivered in late July.  While I love this machine, I was NOT in love with the way it looked in my sewing room.

The end of the machine was my view each time I entered the room....all the knobs and pipes and straps, oh my!  I was trying really hard to get used to this (and LIKE it!) but it was not fitting well with my sense of order and aesthetics.  But I was trying to get past these feelings, telling myself that it was just something new...I'd get used to it.

However, the lighting was very poor in this area of my room, so DH and I bought and installed some narrow black fluorescent lights over the quilting machine.

Well, I think that was the straw that broke the camel's back!

I HATED the look of the room once the lighting went in!  See for yourself...my view:


I was filled with dread and anxiety every time I looked in there!  And it wasn't about the money.  Yes, this was an expensive machine, but I did want it.  But I also wanted (and needed) my sewing room to be conducive to creativity!

This was not doing it for me.

So I measured my stuff and DD created a few alternate arrangements for me to consider and try.  Yes, it was a lot of work,, but the new arrangement is SO much more pleasing to me now!  I don't have quite as much usable floor space in the new arrangement, which meant the striped chair had to go (boo hoo) but other than that, the new arrangement is far superior!

I ditched those black fluorescent lights.  I HATED those!  in the beginning, DH was not willing to rewire a fixture that was intended to be hardwired to the ceiling, which limited my choices to those I could plug in with a cord.  Well, those dangling cords from these lights and the extension cords that went with them are gone.  (yes, I had planned to tack them to the wall, to control the 'dangle factor', but there was still excess cord length bundled on TOP of each light...ugly!)

In this new arrangement, you can barely see a fluorescent fixture that hugs the ceiling over the quilting machine, because the ceiling fan is in front of it....PLUS, it is white, so it blends in with the ceiling.  Yes, you can see the one that hangs over my sewing machine, but that one doesn't bother me...it wasn't right in front of my face each time I looked in the door!


There are cords from both these lights that travel down the wall but I put them in channels that I painted the wall color, so they don't bother me at all.

Finally, with the room arrangement determined and the lighting improved, I was once again able to work on the quilt that I had long-ago loaded on the quilting machine!

This is the first quilt I have tried to do since purchasing this machine.  I did a couple of throw-away practice pieces then went straight to a real quilt.

Almost immediately, I realized I had jumped the gun.  I had NOT worked out the tension issues as I thought I had.  When I advanced the quilt to a new area, I could see that the part I had already done was NOT good...there were loops on the back where the top thread was coming through.

I had had trouble with the tension balance right from the start.  To make a long story short, the problem ended up being the height of the needle bar: it was set too low.  Here, you can see a picture of the needle at its lowest position...notice the relationship of the eye of the needle to the hook arm above it.  You can see part of the needle above its eye.


Now, after resetting the needle bar height to raise it, you can see that there is almost no needle showing above the eye...this is how it should be.  Sorry the exposure is so different...hopefully you can still see.


Once I got the machine to sew as desired, I was ready to go.  I ripped out the bad quilting...that took about a day and a half.  By this time, the new quilting threads I had ordered had arrived, so I was all ready to go!

The actual quilting went pretty fast and was fun!  I was making it up as I went along.

Here are a couple of sneak peaks:




Although I am finished with the quilting, this piece isn't 'done' yet. I might paint on it...and I might add beads! We'll see...
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Monday, August 29, 2011

Loading the Quilt

I am ready to load my first quilt on my new longarm machine!

To begin, I piece together some fabric fto make a wide backing, then trim it to make sure it is 'square'.
I notch the center of the top and bottom edge of the backing fabric, which is loaded on the frame WRONG SIDE UP.

Then I align the center notch on the bottom edge with the center marking on the canvas leader for the backing...the lower of the two front poles. I am using corsage pins to pin the backing to the canvas leader, putting my pins parallel to- and equidistant from- the edge.



Both sides should be the same distance from the center. I found it easier to pin the center first, then measure out to the place on the canvas leader where the side of the backing should be and pin that, then pin from the outside in towards the center; then repeat on the other side. This way, I am assured that each side will be the same. (I plan to make some new leaders with a tape measure sewn right on, but until then, I use my measuring tape to be sure I haven't pulled or stretched either side when pinning.)



Once the bottom edge of the backing is pinned across the entire edge, I smooth out the backing fabric and begin to roll it onto the pole, using my hands to smooth out from the center as I roll, so that the backing fabric will not twist or skew.


I stop rolling before the entire backing is rolled up, because not it is time to attach the other end of the backing fabric to the take-up roller at the back.

Again, the center notch on the edge of the backing is matched and pinned to the center mark on the canvas leader of the take-up roller.




I measure out to the half-width place and pin the corner, then work back toward the center.












Once the entire upper edge of the backing fabric has been pinned to the canvas leader of the take-up roller, I can finish rolling the backing fabric on the lower front roller.




You can see the seams where I pieced the backing...I hope they don't pose a problem for me!



Now I put the clamps (two on each side) on the sides of the backing fabric to hold it taut.







Because my machine does NOT have a channel-lock feature, I use clamps from the garage to stabilize the machine on the carriage; clamping in front and behind one wheel will prevent the machine from moving forward or backward, yet it can still move side to side along the frame.




Not pretty but it works!



Now I set the batting, which is cut to the same size as the backing, onto the backing. I align the top edge with the edge of the canvas leader and smooth out the batting.




Using the basting stitch, I baste the top edge of the batting in place...the 'channel locks' enable me to move perfectly straight to the side, giving me a straight line of stitching.



Now it is time to load the quilt-top. The top and side edges of my quilt are 'square' but the lower edge is not (intentially). Because I need a square/straight edge to pin to the leader, I fold up a little bit of the lower edge to provide a straight edge and pin it into place.



Then I lay this quilt top onto the batting, aligning the center of the quilt top with the center mark on the canvas leader on the take-up roller. I align the upper edge with that straight line of basting that I just did...and pin.



I pin the entire upper edge, again, making sure to keep each side the same width...the same distance from center.



Once the upper edge is pinned in place, I begin pinning the lower edge. Just as before, the center of the quilt is aligned with the center mark on the leader.




I use a pin placed vertically to indicate the width on each side...pinning the edge at the center then at the side and working my way back to center.



Both upper and lower edges of the quilt are pinnned in place but they are not rolled up yet...the top is just kinda piled there.



I move the clamps that I placed on the carriage, scooting them forward about 1/4" to allow the machine to again sew a straight line across, but this time, slightly farther forward from the roller. This enables me to baste the upper edge in place through all layers.



I also baste down each side for a distance...that will have to be repeated each time the quilt is progressed on the frame.



Now I am ready to begin quilting!
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Wednesday, August 24, 2011

New Project, part two

This is how the quilt looked after all the blocks were sewn together.




Some people who saw it thought it was a sunset...some thought it was mountains out west.





I am calling it "My Place or Yours".





I wanted to add a band of flying geese across the upper part. So I layed a piece of exam table over the quilt and drew a curve, erasing and redrawing until I got it to suit me. Then I removed the quilt and refined the curve, adding a second line to form the other edge. I added vertical sections and drew in triangles...geese.





Then I cut this into manageable sections and began paper piecing.

The narrow sections were the hardest, as the pieces were so small. Who thought this was a good idea? Hmmmm...yep, that would be me. sigh.

The wider areas went fast and were no problem.





After seveal days of working on this (on and off) the string of geese was complete!






Now it was time to trim the edges and remove the paper from the back...always fun!






I pinned the geese to the quilt top, auditioning fabrics to use along the edge. Initially, my plan was to put a narrow piping along the edge of the geese...this would make it easier to attacch to the base. I decided on a dark red/maroon fabric and cut a strip, slipping in behind the geese. Here it is only on one side, either the top or the bottom, depending on the curve, and it doesn't really go across the whole thing (it is just a sample).




I tried putting the strip along BOTH edges of the geese (far right).




This went on for hours...on with the strip of dark red...off with the strip...moving it here or there. Eventually, I decided I really preferred the geese WITHOUT the strip, so no piping will be added. That will make application a little tougher, but I can do it.









The bottom edge is NOT square but is curved...like a ~ (only backwards!). I did that on purpose, but will probably need to add a strip of temporary fabric to the bottom so I can square it off so that I can load it onto the quilting frame to quilt!
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Thursday, August 18, 2011

New Project

While cleaning and sorting through my stuff, I came across a bundle of fabric that was purchased this year at Paducah. It was a roll of fabric that was in a brown paper sack and only the outer fabric was visible. Like buying a pig in a poke...

Anyway, I had purchased this bundle because the outer fabric was part of a collection I was using on a quilt and I had hoped it would have other pieces of the same collection inside. No such luck! but the fabrics were nice enough...just not part of the collection I had hoped for.

So I began looking at these fabrics...sorting and putting them in order. I noticed a bunch of oranges. Hmmmmm... Didn't I also have another bundle of orange strips that had been given to me? Yep. I pulled them out too and began cutting the strips into wedges.

I had purchased a box of wax paper sheets at my local Sam's Club...these are for wrapping deli sandwiches, but to me, they seemed perfect for paper/foundation piecing! I began sewing the wedges to the wax paper sheets, starting with the one pink fabric and moving to the more red colors before using the oranges.

Once completed, the first row looked like this:

For the second row, I decided to make it a bit scrappier, and intentionally mixed up the wedges so that I would NOT end up with a row of a single fabric across the 6 blocks (this later turned out to be a mistake, but I didn't now it then).

I pulled other fabrics out of my stash to be used also, transitioning from orange to browns then greens then blues.



After completion of the 3rd row, it looked like this:

As you can see, the blocks are not sewn together, but are just pinned to a cardboard cutting mat...I don't yet have a real design wall.


I wasn't exactly thrilled with the way this was looking....the browns were all jumbled up where they met the oranges... there was no smooth transition.

I rearranged some of the blocks in that second row. Hmmm.... ok, better, but still not great.


I decided to rip and rearrange some of the wedges on the lower portion of the second row...the browns...to make a better transition. So much for the 'scrappy' look that I had intentionally done! No, I was much more satisfied with the look when the pieces were placed according to choice (as opposed to randomly).


Now, this was better.

I began sewing the blues, although at this point, I kinda liked it 'as is'...without any blue... but I continued making blocks.

Once the entire 4th row was finished, I was glad I had continued...the blues looked good.





Now on to row 5! As I layed these out, again, I was tempted NOT to sew them, thinking it was good enough already. But the wedges were cut and layed out in order...I might as well sew them.



Once the 5th row was added, I was ok with the blues, but the 2nd row was still bothering me!

I finally decided to rip and rearrange several of those random oranges in that second row. Here you can see the before and after...not a huge difference, but I was more pleased. There was one particular orange fabric that seemed out of place, and it appeared in every blockk in the row. it was removed entirely.


The blocks on the left haven't been joined together yet, but the blocks on the right have, so that does make a little difference in how they look as well!




PLUS, on the right, you might notice that I added another pink as well as a pale lilac to the upper edge. The pink on the top really bothered me and I considered cutting it off, but then I decided what it really needed was MORE pink! I wish I had had a large piece of that lilac, but that was all I had. Perhaps I'll find more.





Once I was pleased with the blocks, I began joining them into columns. My original plan was to cut each block to the same size, and there would be horizontal as well as vertical seams between each block---but I ended up joining the blocks (vertically) using the wedge angles so the horizontal seams are not really visible... they look just like all the other wedge seams! The vertical seams that join each column will be visible, however.



Once the blocks were joined, the strips were trimmed along the edges to make each column the same width.


I joined the strips ONLY as far down as the 'horizon'...where the green fabric met the blue.


I wanted the blue area to have a straight horizontal seam, like the surface of the water, so I sewed the upper blocks together using the wedge angles UNTIL I came to the bottom of the green fabric. Then I squared off the lower edge.




The lower (blue) blocks were also joined to each other using the wedge angles. But I squared off the upper edge of the blue sections so that when the upper strip was sewn to the lower (blue) strip, each column would have a horizontal seam there. Then, when each completed column was sewn to the next, the horizontal seams created a 'water level'. Or at least, that was my plan!





Stay tuned for part two.
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