Seriously, I found something last month, used it today and immediately bumped it to the top of my favorites list. The quilt halo. It is a hefty iron ring coating in a slightly tacky plastic. It really keeps the fabric from bunching up right under the needle. Keeps the fabric flat and at just the right tautness or flatness which helps with tension issues. I don’t have to wear those uncomfortable gloves any more. It makes me happy! Oh, it also seems to lessen the need for a free motion slider.. but with both in place.. it’s like quilting on an ice rink. Seriously, I like this tool. If I had to choose between the slider and the halo. I’d pick the halo. Before you ask, NO! I’m not getting paid to endorse. I just like this tool a lot. If you local quilt store doesn’t have it, you can buy it from the source.
http://purpledaisiesquilting.com/collections/top-10-products/products/quilt-halo-free-motion-quilting-tool
Superior Threads Reference Guides
Ricky Tims and Alex Anderson posted a list on TheQuiltShow website about their favorite Superior Threads reference pages. They just happened to post my go-to pages! How about that?! Here is the link on The Quilt Show of that very helpful list.
Superior Threads Reference Guides.
PSST. The $42 bucks I spent on the full access star membership for thequiltshow.com is the best return on investment I’ve gotten on quilting education. And they didn’t pay me to say that. There is such a wide variety of topics and guests on the show, it’s amazing. I’ve had a lot of ah-ha moments watching the episodes.
Free Motion Troubleshooting Skipped Stitches
Frustration City! Skipped stitches can really make free motion not fun. And it really should be fun. I can’t recommend enough to always test your exact materials and design elements on a test sandwich first before you start on your quilt. Also, fresh needles can solve many problems
Skipped Stitches are caused by a lot of things. But usually the culprit is misthreading or a damaged or dull needle. You might have just put a new needle in the machine and that needle could still have a micro sized burr in a bad spot somewhere. Or maybe you are like me and think you can eke out the whole darn quilt including patchwork and quilting with one needle. Well, that needle is probably the problem. There is a reason that sewing machine makers make the needle so easy to replace.
The needle is easy to replace because we are supposed to do it pretty often.
- Are you sewing with your presser foot down? Often new free motion quilters will forget. If the presser foot isn’t down, then the tension discs can’t help form a stitch.
- Replace the Needle – needles are the cheapest part of your sewing expenses. Try just changing it out. You don’t have to use them, but I like titanium coated needles. I explain why in this post.
- Is your needle the correct size? You choose fabric and thread first, then match the needle to it. Here is more info on Thread Weights and Needle Sizes for Free Motion
- Take the thread out of your machine and clean your machine. Be sure to take the bobbin out for good measure too. Clean it, clean the bobbin area, if you can remove and clean the bobbin casing then do it. Take the presser foot plate off and clean under it. Clean lint off the needle holding metal bar thingy (very technical term there). Clean it all.
- Rethread the machine properly.
- Is your presser foot up before you thread? If you don’t bring up the presser foot, the thread can not get in-between the tension disks. This is a problem as stitches can’t form..
- Is your bobbin oriented the correct way (does it spin the right way once it is inserted in the machine)? If there aren’t arrows stamped in your machine, are you sure you’ve seen the manual to know. One friend actually sewed for years with the bobbin going the wrong way. It was okay for straight stitch, but when she finally wanted to learn free motion quilting, it didn’t work well at all and caused skipped stitches.
- You can look through my troubleshooting posts on this blog and hunt online for answer. These are collated from personal experience, other free-motion quilters, Superior Thread Company, Schmetz Needle Company, and a lot of other sources. This is all common knowledge stuff, no rocket science here or proprietary info. But I hope it helps you. I use my blog as a resource all the time. I love comments too. Please help if you know something else that should be added, or another solution.
I do have a chart in the works that I promise to post in the near future.
A Burning Cedar Tree Quilt Inspiration
Quilt inspiration can come from the most unlikely sources. Tonight I’m fantasizing about all the cedar trees in the world spontaneously combusting. I am going to pour out all the vitriol I feel towards the whole genus of Juniperus on a new quilt.
Quilt inspiration can come from the most unlikely sources. Tonight I’m fantasizing about all the cedar trees in the world spontaneously combusting. Yes, I have a degree in natural sciences and I KNOW all about the environment and I KNOW how interwoven it all is. BUT! After a month, that included a week in bed, feeling like I have the flu, suffering from CEDAR FEVER, I think it might be nice if they just disappeared, like instantly. With all that KNOWING being said… officially, on my list of quilts to do someday is a burning cedar tree. It won’t be religious, or a statement on *gasp* global warming or climate change. IT will be brutal and mean and I am going to pour out all the vitriol I feel towards the whole genus of Juniperus and especially Juniperus Ashei. This quilt shall be named Ashes to Juniperus and Dust to Cedrus. An odd name that sounds very big and angsty (my new word today). A name that will give me justice at least in my own mind toward that despicable immune system bashing miscreant plant.
I actually do feel better after spouting that out. Now, where is my Nyquil?
A Blunt Question to Ponder
Melani is right about doing a little planning. A little planning is all about loving and taking care of those we love after we’re gone. I have quite the collection and I know my hubby wouldn’t do it justice, nor would it be fair to leave the mess to him to deal with if I were to go before he does. Quilting is just not his thing. I’m 100% sure I’d be better at dealing with his horses than he would be with my quilt hobby collection. So, I must thank Melanie for this reminder… to write a letter and include it in our disaster folder.
Do you have a plan for your stash? Not for while you’re using it, but for when you are not?
I’ve heard the old joke, “She who dies with the mosts stash wins!” But it’s not really true, is it? At some point, all of us will be done quilting, whether that comes because of a loss of interest or ability, or due to death. Be prepared for that day.
Will your family look hopelessly at your shelves, cupboards, closets, bins, and tubs, full of fabric and kits and unquilted tops, wondering what to do with it all? I have read too many stories of people whose stashes were discarded because family members were not interested and had no idea of the value. Sewing machines are expensive. Here again, family members may have no idea of value. Would you like your $1,000 sewing machine sold for $75? It might be able…
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Cancer just sucks
From me to another another survivor,
“Cancer just sucks
Fucking Sucks
But we are here
We are HERE!”
An Easier Way To Join Binding Ends
Oh Snarky Quilter! Thank you for posting the link to the McCall’s video. She explains it so concisely and well demonstrates it. Why recreate something that’s so well done.. unless you want to wear nail polish or something. But when I put that stuff on, it just looks clumpy and totally bad on my man hands. (I’m not a man, just have man hands)
Try this ridiculously easy trick—just kidding—but I did find an easier way to get the ends of my quilt bindings sewn together. Back in the day, quilters were advised to tuck the tail into the binding start that had the edge turned under. This left you with an unsightly bulge.
Then, other methods were put forth to join the two ends at a 45 degree angle. In fact, there’s even a gadget sold to help you do this.
I’ve been using my own version of Sharon Shaumber’s method, which works but is a bit awkward. Then, I found a new method on one of my Pinterest feeds. It advertised ease and success, so I saved it and tried it out for my recent binding marathon (3 quilts in 2 weeks.)
This method comes from McCall’s Quilting, of all places, and you can watch a video on how to use it.
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Forgive and Remember
While our biological drives haven’t changed or evolved, our learning and culture has. We can choose to remember and not repeat the past. We can choose to forgive those who came before and remember what came before so we don’t repeat it. But we have to CHOOSE and ACT to not repeat it.
The craziness of what is going on in the U.S. today is on my mind. What got me started specifically was the public lynch mobs rioting and protesting who want to punish people who are not guilty of any crime.
I’m a biologist by education. I accept that evolution occurs. However, biologically there isn’t much evolution or change that can occur in a large population of organisms. Humans are living organisms. But at least in humans our learning ability allows us to have a culture do and can change. This also got me to thinking about a plaque I saw on a wall once. It said “forgive and remember”. I think I get it now.
Regarding the past. Be angry, be mad, that is okay, so long as you move forward from it, forgive yourself and forgive others, just REMEMBER IT! Do not repeat it. It is, what it is. It can’t be changed. You don’t get to go back and “do over” on things that already happened. You do get the chance to make it different the next time a similar thing comes along. YOU can choose to react differently, choose to make a different choice, choose to participate or not. Lots of folks think history is stupid, learning it is a waste of time. I don’t. Why? If you don’t know what led up to stupidity (or greatness) how can you avoid stupidity or not avoid greatness in the future.
Anyway, back to the original thought line… thinking of history in terms of years is pretty unbelievable. If I say in 800 A.D. xxy happened or in year 10 B.C. zxy happened it doesn’t seem too real. But I knew my grandpa and he saw and told me about things that happened when he was young, that’s easy to believe. What about his grandpa, and his, and his, and that chain of people is much easier to comprehend. And you know what? in that chain of grandpa’s, suddenly we are at a time when something very important happened. The government at that time bent to a lynch mob of public will and executed a guy who wasn’t guilty of any legally defined crime. That government created a situation that transformed the world and led to the demise of their own country and affected the entire world for ages to come.
We certainly can learn from history.
While our biological drives haven’t changed or evolved, our learning and culture has. We can choose to remember and not repeat the past. We can choose to forgive those who came before and remember what came before so we don’t repeat it. But we have to CHOOSE to not repeat it.
Think about this. Look at this guy’s theory on if one elderly person alive touched and transferred their wisdom to a younger person before they died. Follow the chain of people backwards in time. Time is much smaller than you think.
13 Generations
I lost my hair, stubbed my toe and decided to write a letter to Santa… and Neal of Innova Longarm.
Oh Santa! Did you know shouting curse words is very difficult while pouring anesthetizing agents down your throat? I actually choked. Yes, Santa, I CHOKED! Please give me an undo.
Dear Santa,
Since my younger cousins are feverishly writing to you, I thought that possibly you wouldn’t mind if I wrote you a short letter too. I know it’s been years since I sat on your lap. Well there was that one time at that party last year… and you suspiciously looked like that guy I sleep with every night.
Please Santa the one thing I really wish I could have for Christmas this year is …
UNDO
The reason I really need UNDO is to save my hair. And my marriage. Probably in that order. My husband really likes my hair. I like it too.
Last night was I working on this crazy wonderful project that I have maybe 150 hours into already. Being the geek that I am, I decided to use the masking feature to mask out my appliques from a stellar cloud pattern background. I plan doing some awesome freehand work in the spaces. So I set about 1250 push pins around this shape. It’s curved, thus it requires more pins. I saved my project, thinking it would save my pins too. Then I joined the pushpins to create a shape for masking. It’s a really cool Innova thing. I messed up and lost my push pins and had to do it all over. No problem. It only took me and hour the first time. The push pins weren’t saved by the software. So I did it again… ALL of it… All … over … again. ALL OF IT! Have you ever been so frustrated you pulled on your own hair? ARGHHH!!!
Oh Santa! An UNDO would be a really really awesome thing for Innova Autopilot and Navigator to have. It also would mean I would stop stomping through the house flinging open the bar cupboard and pouring gallons of anesthetizing agent into my stomach while gurgling unintelligible curse words. Did you know shouting curse words is very difficult while pouring anesthetizing agents down your throat? I actually choked. Yes, Santa, I CHOKED! Or maybe it was the hopping up and down while doing all the above. Anyway… if I had an undo after I accidentally clear 1250 push pins while I was joining them to make a pattern on my Innova Autopilot… then I wouldn’t tear all my hair out. And a bewildered husband wouldn’t come up on a gurgling choking wife with frazzled hair and a bleeding scalp in a heap on the floor whispering repeatedly, “if only I had an undo… if only.. undo….”
Please Neal, Please Mike, I’m sure Santa wouldn’t mind if you delivered this early so he wouldn’t have to go to all the work with his elves.
Sincerely,
The girl who stubbed her toe when she fell in a heap while gurgling, “if only I had an undo”.
Yet Another Instruction Guide on Tube Cut Bias Binding
I was in a class last week and we were supposed to do tube cut bias binding. I find this the best way to make bias in the entire world. But I had a major brain fart! It was, to say the least, a bit embarrassing. At that moment, I couldn’t have even told you what make my car is. Luckily we planned for overflow time the following Tuesday evening.
I made some notes and turned the unfinished keynote address into a Quicktime video. I will probably come back and add a voice over at some point. But the keynote slide show is what I’ll be actually using as a classroom aid. It will play better live in person.
Here it is for those of you who want an early peek.
Free Form Quilts 