Machine quilting

Sally wrote and asked the following;

Hi.  I love your two new pieces on your blog.  I was looking at your quilting, especially the "flame" look stitching.  I just finished a quilt that used that type of quilting in part of it and when I turned the quilt over I noticed there were tiny "blobs" of thread at the point of many of the flames.  Am I making any sense?  Do you get those, and if not, how do you avoid them?  And what kind of machine do you use?  BTW, I always look forward to seeing what's new on your blog.  TIA, Sally

Thanks for asking Sally. Without seeing your work my guess would be that you are pausing when you get to the tip of the flame. If you pause while you are quilting in one spot you will create little knots on the back, this is because you are taking more than one stitch in that spot. It is possible that your tension is off a bit as well. You can tighten or loosen the upper tension and see if that helps. One of the things I try to do before beginning to quilt any thing is do a test run on a scrap quilt sandwich. I keep these under my sewing area so that I can just grab one and go. I want to check my tension with what ever thread I have put in the top and the bottom of my machine. I can then make adjustments before I start on my piece.

When I am creating a design I make sure I can use it smoothly. I want to be able to just change direction as I am quilting. So I practice it before I begin to use it in my work. I use those scrap sandwiches to practice, practice, practice so that my quilting is crisp and the flow is smooth. As I make that flame design when I reach the top of flame I just change direction to where I want to go next. I may slow down but I never take extra stitches at the point. That is why practice is so important. No matter what design you are making, you want your points to be sharp. So get out those sandwiches and practice!

I have a Janome 6600 that I love. This is my third Janome and I have been very happy with all of them. They have a new model out a 7700QCP Horizon. I think if I was in the market for a new machine I would look at this one. But I think it is important to deal with a dealer that is close to where you live so if you don’t have a Janome dealer near you visit the dealer you have and test drive the machines.  A great place to try out all the new models is a quilt show. I bought my second Janome at one of the big quilt shows and they usually have some nice discounts.

Hope this all helps.

Machine quilting

I have been finishing up some pieces that I started earlier in the year. The top one is going to go into an exhibit called "Midwest Meditation". It is one in an ongoing series called "Roadside Weeds".

This one is a close up of an all silk Jack in the Pulpit. I'll post the whole thing when I finish it. I love the way the quilting looks on the silk.

My garden

I love these ornamental lilies and have several different colors in my garden.

I wish this bunny no harm, but I surely wish it would stay away from my vegtables! If it wasn't so cute I would let George have his way with it!

Show teaching

I will be teaching at a few shows starting in August.

Laura and I will once again be going to Birmingham UK for Festival of Quilts. We have such a great time there we just keep going back. This however may be our last trip. SOOOOO if you haven’t seen us there or taken our class be sure to sign up.

I will be teaching “Field Poppies”. I fun and easy fused quilt. The colors in this quilt are just gorgeous, so dramatic and rich. It is just yummy. I know you will love making it. Come on everyone come on over to the UK for a fun weekend. :) you won’t regret it.

Sept 24-26, I will be at the Indian Summer Quilt show in Fargo ND. I am teaching a new Little landscape class, machine quilting and Laughing Leaves. All great classes. I will also be giving two lectures, one on machine quilting and one on my new book Fabric to Dye For.

October 14-16 , I will be at the Georgia Quilt show in Duluth GA teaching  Blooming Fun and Machine Quilting.

And I will be teaching again in Houston at the IQA show. November 3-7

Wednesday November 3rd
Blue Trees 9-12
Machine Quilting 2-5

Friday November 5th
Machine Quilting 9-12

I hope that if you are near any of these venues you will think about taking one of my classes. We always have a great time and I would love to see you.

In the Field

I wanted to show you how I quilted around some trees in this new piece called "In the Fields". I wanted to be able to quilt around the first tree, but I wanted to tuck the ends of all the trees under the fields. So I left the two left trees fused to release paper in the upper portion and tucked the trunks in under the fields and fused them down. I then folded back the two right trees and quilted the one on the left. Once it was quilted I removed the next tree from the paper and fused it down and quilted it. Finally I fused down the third tree and quilted it. I did stitch in the ditch around the trunk and then a decorative stitch up the tree branch. I picked a stitch that looked like chicken feet and narrowed it. It is fun to use those decorative stitches.

I pillow cased the edge of this quilt rather than put a binding on it, and marked a 1/2" mark in from the outside edge and straight line quilting up to that 1/2" mark. I think it turned out well.

Last week of the June special

Summer is here, the flowers are blooming, and it's time to be outside, not sitting in your sewing room. BUT when the mosquitoes and gnats drive you crazy and force you inside, you will want some new fabric and tools to play with. So, I am offering you a free gift in the month of June with orders of $20 or more. This special comes all the way from France. Bohin, a French company, makes a fantastic iron cleaner. This is one of my favorite "tools" because it keeps my iron shiny and clean, a must for fusers - but all quilters need to keep their iron surface clean. Once you get and use your iron cleaner, send me a review and I will post all the comments here on my blog.

Coming in August is my appearance on the Quilt Show.com. The Quilt Show with Alex Anderson and Ricky Tims will offer free to my newsletter followers a week of viewing. Send this link off to a friend who may not be signed up so that they too can benefit from this great offer. There are so many wonderful episodes to watch on the Quilt Show.com that this is a great opportunity for everyone to check it out, if you haven't already done so.

I also want to give you a heads up on a quilting vacation coming up in 2011. Have you ever wanted to get away in the middle of the winter? Well, here is your chance. Judy Coates Perez and I will be going on a Mexican Riviera Cruise February 20-27. Why not come with us? We will have three great days at sea to socialize, make some new project, sew and have fun. Check it out here at http://www.sewmanyplaces.com.

Minnesota Quilt show and conference

Check out the post at the SAQAIL/WI blog about the Minnesota Quilt show and conference.