Square Peg, Round Hole, part 4

After washing the quilt, I was pleasantly surprised that the bleeding had indeed disappeared! But the quilt had shrunk a bit. So I had to stretch it out and block it into shape.


This quilt is slightly wider than my cutting table. I pulled out one of those cardboard cutting mats...the kind that you can buy in your local fabric store...and put this on top of my cutting table. I used clamps to firmly attach the mat to the table on one side. This way, I could pin my quilt to this mat to block it.

But the quilt was WIDER than this cardboard mat. So I pushed my ironing board up against the table and pinned the opposite side of the quilt into the ironing surface. Not high-tech, but it worked to allow me to pin this quilt into size/shape and keep it there until it dried.

At this point, I r.e.a.l.l.y wanted to be finished with this quilt but I knew I had to continue as planned and couch on this black sparkley thread that had been patiently waiting for its turn to shine.


Using a needle-threader and needle enabled me to bury the ends of this thread into the quilt before couching it. I cut long lengths and layed them approximately in place and used the needle to run both ends of the thread into the quilt surface, leaving long tails sticking out at each end. These were cut off after couching that thread.




Then I used a narrow zigzag stitch on my regular sewing machine to couch over the thread.


I covered every seam of the checkerboard with this couched thread...between each wedge and around each concentric circle. I also used it around the golden center circle (with the nipple).



It was hard to handle this heavy quilt on my sewing machine at first, but then I had an idea. I ran down to the garage and pulled out a pair of clean garden gloves that had a rubbery-grippy palmar surface.

These gloves worked GREAT for manipulating the quilt under the machine! I was better able to pull the surface taute so the decorative thread would lay in the seam...plus, the gloves helped me to assist the feeding of the quilt under the machine.

Yeah, I did have to pull them off each time I needed to cut with scissors or thread a new length of the decorative thread onto the needle, but even with the repeated on and off, the gloves were a big help!

So that is pretty much every single detail I can think of regarding the creation of this quilt! Too much info, maybe?

The end. Maybe. ;)

Square Peg, Round Hole, part 3

After adding the background to the checkerboard area, I also cut and added the borders. The challenge rules stated that there HAD to be an outer black border that measured 3" wide...then a 1.5" border that was one of your colors...then a 3/4" border that was also black. This way, ALL the quilts would have the same 'frame'.

I had already quilted the majority of my quilt, but had yet to decide how to quilt the borders. I removed the quilt from the frame and layed it on my cutting table to audition various designs. I folded paper and cut curves, then unfolded to see what it looked like. I decided this one would work.

So I unrolled some freezer paper to a length that was as long as my quilt and cut strips from it that were as wide as the outer border.

After drawing the design onto one strip of the freezer paper, I used the tip of the iron to stick two strips together, so that I could cut two at a time.

I only pressed the strips together in the areas OUTSIDE my design area...in the waste.

When all the sides were cut, I ironed the freezer paper templates to the quilt border all around.

Then I put the quilt back on the HandiQuilter frame to quilt the border area.



I stitched around the paper templates first, then tore them away a little at a time to do the stippling. I found I could stipple more easily once the paper was removed, and by then, it was no longer needed.

I have never used this method before, but it worked well, and if I am not too stupid to remember it, I will do this again!

I DO wish I had used double batting, though, to give a bit more of a 'trapunto' effect. Next time.

Now the quilting was done! But remember, ONE of my indigo fabrics had bled onto the adjacent goldenrod fabric, so I knew I had to wash this quilt to hopefully rescue it!

As you can see, the center had not yet been added to the checkerboard. I didn't want to add that until AFTER I had washed the quilt.

I put on the binding and prepared to toss this into the washer, not sure what it would look like when it came out!

Here you can see some of the quilting BEFORE it was washed. It was kinda lumpy.

Below is the back-side of the border area before washing. Remember? There are white pokies here, where the batting poked through the back fabric.

I knew I had to throw this in the wash, but I didn't want to add the center piece (the square peg) until AFTER washing it, so I just scabbed-on a lovely black and pink scrap to protect the exposed batting in this area.

This black/pink piece would be removed after washing and replaced with the golden nipple...I mean, 'square peg in the round hole'.

This is what it looked like as I prepared myself (mentally) to toss it into the washer, hoping the bleeding would not be made worse, and hoping the blue lines would come out.

Up close, you can see the blue lines that I had drawn on the fabric to direct me in my quilting...and if you look closely, you can see where the blue fabric has bled onto the yellow fabric in those two inner rings.

This is the back of the quilt, before washing but after the binding was put on.

Then I washed it...

Square Peg, Round Hole, part 2

I narrowed down my fabric selection to just these fabrics. Yes, there was still SOME variation in value within many of these, but I was hoping that in the end, the fabrics would read as being the same as my crayon colors.

I cut graduated chunks of each color as I wanted them to appear in the expanding checkerboard, and used hair clips to bundle these chunks together in order.

When unbundled, below is how the fabric looked when layed out in the order to be sewn. I call these 'chunks' because they were not always squares...some were the same length as width, but some were not.

When sewing these together, I just matched the center of each square to its neighbor's center, but since each one was larger than the one before it, the edges do not match along the sides.

After pressing the assembled sets, I used a 9-degree ruler to trim each set into a wedge. As you can see, there was very little wasted fabric.

Still fretting over some of my fabric choices, I was aware that there were some blue dots in one fabric that might be interpretted as a little too 'turquois'...and NOT as indigo...so I used a permanent marker to color these dots purple, which was my complementary color choice.

After cutting all 40 wedges to size and coloring in all mis-colored dots, I was ready to assemble the wedges into a checkerboard. I layed them all out on my cutting table and just picked them up two at a time and sewed them in order.

Once all the wedges were connected, I 'squared' off the corner using my rotary cutter and ruler. Again, you can see that there was very little waste. That was by design!

Next I slipped a solid(-ish) fabric under the edge of this part-circle and drew around the outer edge of the checkerboard. Then I drew another line that was 0.5" away from this first line and cut on that line...this gave me enough extra fabric for 2 seam allowances. Then I pinned and sewed this checkerboard to the solid background, which was also trimmed to size.

Next, I added the borders...

Square Peg, Round Hole, part 1

At the late-September meeting of our quilt guild, we drew 3 crayons from paper bags which were to determine the colors for our quilt. As luck would have it, I was going with the Memphis Sewing Guild on a day-trip to Paducah in mid-October! I took my crayons along and scoured the isles of Hancock's of Paducah for any fabrics that matched my crayon colors. I scored big! I wasn't sure what I would make yet, but I had the fabrics!

Then, at the next few meetings, the rules were clarified a little...we were NOT to use lighter or darker values of our crayon...this was about saturation. There was some leeway as to hue...like, if we drew a red crayon, we could use orange-reds and bluer reds, but not pink or maroon. Don't go lighter or darker...try to match. Hmmmm.... The stripes were ruled out, as they had large amounts of the lighter value. Rats! Actually, I was worried that MANY of my fabrics would be deemed unacceptable!

I had already begun thinking I would do an expanding checkerboard design, but when I realized my fabric choices were growing smaller, I decided to try other designs.

I considered doing a play on boxes...and this is where the original 'peg' was born.

But this design really didn't trip my trigger! It was as if I was married to the idea of the expanding checkerboard...I couldn't fall in love with anything else! So I picked out SOME of the fabrics that I thought would pass and went back to the idea I liked best!

But I DID like the 3-D element I had created for the 'box' quilt.... the 'peg', or 'nipple' as we like to call it around here! ;) The expanding checkerboard would need a center circle, so I decided I could still use this 'box' idea, but make it circular instead!

Also, I made that first box (above) 1" tall and deep and wide. One inch is the maximum amount any embellishment can protrude from the quilt suface. I was afraid that the box might bulge a little after stuffing, so I reduced the size of the next one to 3/4" high by 3/4" deep by 3/4" wide. This way, even if it bulges a little, it will still be within limits.

To create the box pattern, I used the CAD portion of my pattern-drafting software (the Pattern Editor of Patternmaster Boutique). But any cad program would work...turbo cad, whatever.

I first drew the overall square to the size I wanted, then placed the 1" box in the middle. Then I made it 3-D and added seam allowances.

Below, you see the start of the square one, but the finished pattern is the round one...only the outer shape is different.
I fused interfacing to the back of my fabric and cut these pieces out. After sewing, pressing, and clipping the corners, the inside looked like this:

I didn't want this little box to collapse or become misshapened once it leaves my hands, so I needed to find a way to stuff it securely. My friend, Linda Wilson, suggested I use felt. Perfect! I cut 3/4" x 3/4" squares of acrylic felt and ran a needle with thread through them several times until they were stable.

I stuffed the felt stack into the box and grabbed 3 layers of batting...I wanted this area to be a little fuller than the rest of the quilt. I stipple-quilted this area on my sewing machine, getting as close to the nipple as I could (yes, by now I was calling it a nipple!).

When I was finished, I trimmed the batting around the edges, then began turning under the outer edges so I could applique this onto the quilt. Well, duh, it is way too thick around the edges! What was I thinking, using 3 layers of cotton batting and taking them all the way out? I had to start over!

So I cut new nipple pieces and new felt squares and batting...and put together another nipple. But this time, I used only 2 layers of batting...one was smaller than the other, and the larger one was stopped about 1" from the outside edge. When I quilted it, I stopped the stippling where the batting stopped.

Below, you can see my nipple collection! The original square one, the newest one with pins, plus the too-thick one, which, BTW, makes a great Frisbee! That sucker will fly across the room better (and more level!) than any plastic Frisbee I have!

Before I sewed the new nipple to the quilt, I added the ring with the bead. I used a monofilament dental-floss threader and ran it through the golden earring (with the ear wire removed) and used it like a needle-threader: I put thread through the loop then pulled the thread through the ring. Then I put sewing needles onto the ends of the thread that was sticking out each end of the ring, and pierced the nipple, stitching through the felt stack and tying the threads securely on the back.

Now the new-and-improved nipple was pinned onto the center of the expanding checkerboard and I stippled around the outer 1" to secure it.

But there was a visible ridge at the edge of the batting that bothered me. I needed to soften that ridge...so French knots it is! I did a series of knots around the outer part of the batting area.

This is looking more and more 'anatomically correct'! My DD calls the French knots the 'no-slip grips'...a term that was new to me, but I liked it!

More later, so check back!

Square Peg, Round Hole

Today is the day...the challenge quilts were presented and voted on, to decide WHICH 8 quilts would represent our guild at the AQS Ultimate Guild Challenge in Knoxville. And once again, my quilt was chosen! Yea!!!



I even won a prize for Viewer's Choice:
this lovely crayon toothbrush set! :)












As you may remember, we blindly chose 3 crayons, which would determine the colors for our quilt. We could also use black, plus the complementary color of any ONE of our crayons, for a total of 5 colors.

My crayon colors were:

Goldenrod (light)

Tumbleweed (medium)

Indigo (dark)

As a complement, I chose Purple.



I decided on an expanding checkerboard design, with a twist.




This is my challenge quilt, 'Square Peg, Round Hole'.




Yes, that is a broom handle and duct tape loops that are holding it up!




Ok, so maybe quilt display is not my best skill...










The challenge rules stated that the quilt HAD to have at least one bead or button as embellishment.




So I put a single bead on a gold ring.



And I put this gold ring through my square peg.




















To add a bit of texture, I also did a series of French knots around the outer area of the 'round hole'.




I couched on some sparkly black thread over all the seams.




I'll go into more detail in my next post, and show you how I made this quilt.










Jeanie Velarde made the participation ribbons...isn't this cute?

Success!

"There's no such thing as a failure who keeps trying; coasting near the bottom is the only disgrace."


I love this sentiment, lyrics from the song, 'JUST WAIT' by Blues Traveler.

By this measure...in spite of my best attempts...so far, I am not a failure where this quilt is concerned! The blue lines and bleeding DID come out in the wash! Yea!!!

Look at these Color Catchers. The 3 darkest ones on the left were in the initial wash. When it was finished, I removed them and tossed in 4 new ones, then selected a Rinse~n~Spin cycle with an extended rinse. These are the 4 on the right. They were still blue, but much less dark. I was afraid to put the quilt through yet another cycle...I don't want to wear it out before it is ever finished!

I had another major scare when I removed this from the washer. Even though the washing did its job, the quilt was now much smaller! Yikes! This is a 'challenge' quilt, and to qualify, it has to meet all the criteria of the challenge, including SIZE.

I quickly spread it out on the sewing table and began measuring...sure enough, it was too small. But I could pull it and stretch it back out...block it. I was hopeful but not confident.

PLUS, I wanted to dry it in the dryer just a little while, to kinda get the outer fabrics dry enough that no more bleeding would occur (just in case!). So I went ahead and tossed it into the dryer on med-low heat...for about 10 minutes. Then I took it out of the dryer and began smoothing and coaxing it into shape on the table, pinning it to a mat and stretching, then moving the pins and smoothing/stretching some more. When I left it last night, it was pinned out squarely...diagonal corners measured equally...and it was overall big enough to meet the challenge! Whew!

Now that it is dry, it is time to begin work again...my plan for today is to couch on some threads.

Crossing fingers (except when sewing!)...

It's in the washer!

Today I finished hand-sewing the binding on the challenge quilt.

I tossed it into the washing machine along with 3 Color Catcher sheets.

It is VERY nerve-wracking to watch all your hard work being sprayed with soapy water and being forcibly tumbled around the drum! I cannot help but wonder what condition this will be in when it comes out!

Half-way through the cycle, I looked inside to find that the color catchers were completely blue! Oh dear...I should have used more. MANY more! But it is in the rinse cycle now...so I will wait until it is finished and perhaps do another rinse~n~spin with a few more color catchers in there...then I'll take it out for drying/blocking.

Cross your fingers! (Yikes!!!)

Making Progress

Since I haven't been whining each day about my quilting problems, you probably figured out that I was busily stitching!

Yep.

I am using a size 18 needle.

There is still some poke-through of the batting to the backside, as seen here, but I will have to live with that.

I am ready to cut and apply the binding. After that, I'll be able to toss this whole thing into the washer, to wash away the markings I drew with the wash-away marker, and also, to see if I can resolve the earlier problem where my indigo fabric bled onto the adjacent goldenrod fabric. I bought some COLOR CATCHER to throw into the wash and I am hoping that will prevent the excess dye from settling where it shouldn't.

I am not sure what is causing the batting to poke-through.

• The batting is Warm and White.
• I did use the (previously mentioned) basting spray to hold the layers together, and...
• I am using the size 18 needle. The larger needle is needed to penetrate the batiks on the face, but the backing fabric is not tightly woven like the batiks. Perhaps that is the problem...perhaps the backing needs to be more similar to the face fabric!

In any event, I am hoping that everything will come out in the wash...that the little specks of batting will 'disappear' from the back, the blue lines will disappear, and the indigo bleed will be a thing of the past!

Love Letter to Liz

a.k.a. 'Hooray, My Quilting Has Improved!

A big thanks to Liz A. for all the tips and advice she has offered.

While I cannot undo the spray basting on this one, I will NOT use it on the next one.

But her best advice for me was the "permission" to use a size 18 needle!

I would NEVER have seriously considered this, as it just seems too big...I rarely use a 16, let alone an 18. I didn't even have any!

I ran out today and got a pack of 18's...although they aren't titanium (I don't think they are, anyway) but they are "universal". I popped one in and started sewing.

Things went just fine.
I kept waiting for the thread to pop...nothing.
Then I got into the thick area where the seam allowances are.
There was a slightly different sound, but the stitches held...NO SKIPPING!!!
I am blown away!
And so happy!
THANK YOU, THANK YOU, THANK YOU, LIZ!

Quilting Advice

I received several helpful comments on my last post and answered several of them in the comments there. But rather than answer another one in the coments, I decided that since the conversation was a bit long, I might as well post it here!

Liz A. commented:

>>are you using batiks? I've found that the tighter weave of the batiks tend to cause me to have some issues when quilting them. I usually use a larger needle.<<

Liz, with your batiks, do you use a needle larger than a 100/16?

I considered trying an 18, but I don't have that size on hand...not sure they are even available locally!

I DID look around and I found a small package of ORGAN needles, so I pulled out a size 100/16 to compare and try.

The Schmetz Topstitching needle was actually a tiny bit longer than the Organ, and the eye was much larger.







I turned both needles sideways and poked them through a small piece of fabric to hold them in a position to allow a side-view.

It seems that the Schmetz needle has a larger, deeper scarf on the back...hard to evaluate for sure. I am not sure what that means...perhaps the smaller scarf would be less likely to skip?


Who knows.


So I put in the Organ needle and tried it.

This needle made absolutely NO DIFFERENCE as far as I could tell. So I went back to the Schmetz needle with the larger eye.



>>I also like Superior Threads So Fine on batiks.<<

The Superior Threads So Fine...what size is that? So far, I have had the best luck with Gutterman Cotton thread, which is 50 wt. (the C~n~C polyester thread I tried was 40 wt.). My mind tells me I want to be using a larger thread so the work will show...but maybe not?


>>as for how taut your quilt should be on the frame, we generally say you should be able to grab your fingertip when poked from underneath. on batiks this is especially important. you don't want to be able to bounce a coin off the top -- that's way too tight. <<

Thanks! I need a guideline/rule of thumb, and this will help.


>>also, is it better going one direction than the other? sometimes some threads will only seem to quilt going from left to right and break when going other directions.<<

Yes!!! Yes, definitely the breaking thread is more likely going backwards and away from me. I am not sure about the skipped stitches though. I kind of think the larger needle is breaking the thread, but the larger needle is needed to pierce all the layers!


>>if you're using a very thin batt AND used batting spray, it could possibly be contributing to the problem. the thicker batts help give the batting spray someplace to go as the needle goes thru. I've had some brands gum up my needle and others not back when I used basting sprays and my sewing machine to quilt.<<

I definitely think the basting is a contributing factor to the skipping stitches, at the very least! I have used this basting spray before, but this time, I was on the phone with my daughter while layering the quilt, and was distracted from the task at hand. Suddenly I realized that I might be using way too much of this spray...but by then, the deed was done. It is wise to pay attention to what you are doing! duh...

I think the basting spray is making the needle and thread "lift" the quilt as the needle comes up and out of the fabric, which causes the skipped stitches. I could be wrong, but that seems likely.

The fact that the problem is worse in some areas of the quilt than in others also makes me suspect the spray...as I most certainly sprayed some areas heavier than others.

And the issue I mentioned about the needle poking the batting out on the backside of the quilt ONLY happened when I used the polyester thread. As soon as I changed to the cotton thread, this issue stopped completely! Now, occasionally, I started getting a little timy bit of batting being pulled UP to the top of the quilt, but as soon as I used some of the Sewer's Aid, as Etta suggested, that stopped.


>> if you're using your handiquilter, you shouldn't be using a basting spray.<<

I know...(grin)...but remember, my HQ is only a 'frame', not a quilting machine. I use a Brother PQ1500S mounted on the HQ frame...and this is a SHORT ARM machine. So, if I want to do any anything other than 'channels' or a narrow panotograph, I must stop stitching with the needle down (in the quilt) and roll the whole thing back and forth to do larger designs/areas. I was afraid that with all this repositioning back and forth, the batting would not lie smoothly, since it is just 'floated' between the layers. So, using the spray basting was my answer to doing larger areas and still keep the sandwich nice and smooth.

Basically, I put the layers together, then mount the quilt sandwich to only 2 of the 3 rails, one on each side, so I can roll it back and forth as I need to.

This quilt is not a bed-sized one...it is 48" by 58"...for the wall. I wouldn't try to do this with a large bed quilt...I would just stitch smaller designs! I think...

On Wednesday, I did finally make enough progress on the stitching so as to run out of thread! Although yesterday was a 'meeting' day and I knew I wouldn't get much done, I DID manage to run out (in the falling snow!) and get more thread, so I'd be ready to begin quilting bright and early today. Well THAT didn't happen!

I had lots of correspondence to catch up on, so I have made exactly NO progress on the quilt today...none!

Well, not yet!

But the day is not over.

Wish me luck...

And, P.S. I appreciate the comments, everyone! Thanks!

Quilting Woes

Tell me again just *WHY* I make quilts? Grrrrrr......


Right this minute, I am taking a 'break' from my quilting...mostly so I won't throw things!

I have been having trouble quilting this one since the onset!

Tension issues, skipping stitches, shredding thread...I fix one issue and create another!

First, it was the tension problem I mentioned in my last post.

Then, the bleeding hand-dyed...which has still not been addressed.

Once I changed thread colors (and types) I started getting skipped stitches. I would go along just fine, then change directions, and wha-bam! Long stitches.

According to Diane Gaudynski, the causes of skipped stitches are almost always caused by one of the following:

• • the needle being too small for the thread


• • the batt being very thin and flat


• • the presser foot pressure too low


• • a defective needle


• • threading done incorrectly


• • hands too fast for the speed of the machine

I was moving so slow my stitches were tiny, so I could rule out that last one.

I rethreaded a thousand times, so that could also be ruled out.

The needle was changed ad nauseum...so I was pretty sure that wasn't it either.

But the pressure foot pressure? Hmmm. That is a possibility. So is the thin batting. BOTH of these work together...a thinner batting needs more pressure on the foot than a loftier batt. And duh, I am using a very thin batting! So I increased the pressure on the foot by quite a bit...there are no index marks, so I just turn the knob at will.

Also, on another forum (but I cannot remember which one) I read that it was NOT necessary to keep the quilt so tight than one could bounce a quarter off of it! Just keep it tight enough to be stable. Hmmm....I do tend to really keep the quilt taut on the frame, so I loosened it up a little.

The skipping stitches seemed better...and I sewed for a few minutes, feeling like maybe I would finally make some progress. Then the shredding began...

So, back to the internet to do more reasearch. Basically, shredding is usually caused by using the wrong needle. A TOPSTITCHING needle has a larger eye and is less prone to cause shredding. Plus, the larger needles have a larger scarf (groove) for the thread to ride in. But I had tried a larger needle (100) before and it was actually causing the batting to appear on the backside of the quilt!

That's right. Little white blobs on the black background fabric...not acceptable.

I had switched to the smaller needle (90) to prevent the batting poke-through, and it seemed ok until I reached a corner of the piecing, where the seam allowances were thicker...the thread would shred and break. But not every time! Good grief.

I decided that, in spite of the fact that I have now quilted several areas using this polyester embroidery thread, I was going to have to return to using cotton thread like I started out with. I only bought the polyester thread (Coats and Clark) in the first place was because the color I wanted was not available in the cotton (Gutterman). But I thought the shiny nature of the poly might be a nice accent. However, it is thinner and obviously less-strong.

So I changed the top thread and did a bit more stitching, still using the poly in the bobbin. Again, it worked for a few moments then wha-bam! breaking and shredding and skipping stitches.

So, back to the internet to do more reasearch.

Some suggestions for eliminating the shredding:

• Turn the spool over to allow the thread to unwind in the other direction.


• Don't put the thread through that last guide right above the needle.


• Change the needle to one with a bigger eye, bigger scarf...a larger needle.


• Loosen the top tension, and...


• Use a HEAVIER thread in the bobbin.

This last one got my attention. While I had messed with the tension already, NOW I was using a thinner thread in the bobbin. So I changed the bobbin, putting in a cotton thread that was equal in weight to my top thread. I put my sample fabric back on the frame and stitched for quite a while...all fine! Stitch quality ok, no skipping, no shredding! Yea!!!

So I began stitching on the quilt again. Immediately, the shredding began again.

And that is where I am now.

Currently, quite frustrated.

I am wondering if using the basting-spray has anything to do with this?

I know, I am grasping at straws. But SOMETHING has to be causing it!!!

a hot mess, aka the challenge quilt

Well, I started quilting on the challenge quilt today. I have been working toward that end for days now.

I loaded the quilt on my HQ frame several days ago.

After MUCH thought, I finally settled on a stitching/quilting design.

Then yesterday, I spent practically the whole day trying to resolve tension issues. This was tough...I tightened tensions and loosened tensions...rinse and repeat. I flossed the tension dial. I brushed out the bobbin area and bobbin case. I poked around with a pipe cleaner, to free any obstructions that might be there. I held my tongue just right. Still, the tiny loops occurred. And it was not just loops on the top or loops on the bottom. The loops would alternate between top and bottom, depending on the direction I was stitching or the speed with which I moved the machine! How can that be resolved? Eventually, after gettting the sample stitching as good as it was gonna get, I decided that the BEST option for overcoming the potential for these tiny loops was to use the same color thread in the bobbin as I was using on the machine...despite the fact that the back of this quilt is BLACK and despite the fact that I had already wound TWO black bobbins!

Next, I decided I needed to make some marks on the quilt to use a guidelines for stitching. I don't usually do that, but this quilt needed some. I started marking with my Dritz Wash-away blue marker...but it was nearly dried up. So I grabbed my keys and ran out to the store to pick up another one, so I'd be ready to start actually quilting in the morning.

Ok, so today, I used the new marker and marked off the areas to quilt...then I actually started stitching ON the quilt! At first, it was going quilt well. Then I stopped for lunch. When I came back, suddenly I was having 'issues'. The thread would break or there'd be skipped stitches. I thought, maybe the needle is tired...so I changed it. I tried a bigger needle...then back to the smaller needle. I raised the fabric and lowered the fabric...the poles which hold the quilt have to be raised or lowered to keep the target area on the bed of the machine as the rolled-up quilt gets fatter. Finally, I found that it was the straight stitching that was the most bothersome, so I'd stitch straight for a short bit, then, if a stitch skipped, I back up and start stippling! Eventually, after lots of starts and stops and ripping-out, the section I had marked off was done.

Time to change thread colors.

I figured this was a good stopping point for the day, as it was dinner time. I wanted to take a look at how this was turning out, so I grabbed a wet paper towel and began sopping at some of the wash-away markings, to make them go away so I could better evaluate the design I had stitched. Well, guess what?! One of the hand-dyed fabrics I have used in this quilt is bleeding!!! Yep...and of course, it is the INDIGO...which is right next to the very light Goldenrod...so basically, my blue is bleeding on to my yellow!!! I am pissed.

It's a challenge.

Once again,, I am choosing to participate in the ULTIMATE GUILD quilt challenge. The challenge issued by my local guild is~
Color Saturation: Stay within the Lines.

At our meeting in September, 2010, we were to blindly draw a crayon from each of 3 bags, one containing light colors, one medium colors and one containing dark colors.

These are my colors.

Goldenrod (light)

Tumbleweed (medium)

Indigo (dark)

So in October, when I went on a day-trip to Paducah, KY, with my local sewing guild (a different guild from the quilt guild!), I visited Hancock's of Paducah and picked up LOTS of fabrics with these colors.

Now I am working on a quilt. But I can't post many details until after it is presented to the quilt guild for competition on the 4th Tuesday in February. But I'll try to sneak in a peak every now and then!