Friday, March 16, 2018

LISTENING TO THE QUILT

My last post mentioned that I was moving along to the quilting stage of this quilt, though I had no plan for the direction that would take.

After considerable trial and error tests on spare fabric, it seemed best to keep it simple and allow the fabrics to speak for themselves. Once the quilting reached the borders I was stumped.  Eventually I decided to follow the theme of the uneven patchwork segments.  The design was worked out on tissue paper, pinned in place, and quilted along the lines using my walking foot.  One negative of course is having to remove the paper and all the tiny bits that remain between the stitches!

Because of the simplicity of the outline quilting of every section, for a better impact I chose to work with an antique brass thread. I'm happy with the look but oh my, I probably spent more time tying off each of the thread ends as it took to quilt the entire piece.  

In general, I don't like the look of the tie off function of my machine, nor stitching in place at the beginning and end of each line.  So I always tie off and bury the threads by hand.  This metallic thread had a nylon core that made it impossible to use a self-threading needle as the thread shredded.  So it became necessary to thread a needle with the ends in order to bury them between the layers. It's interesting, I never broke a single thread while quilting but the finishing part was very time consuming.  

Stay tuned for a photo of the finished piece.  In the meantime check out what other creative stitchers have been up to this week:  Nina-Marie's Off The Wall Friday, Sarah's Whoop Whoop Friday, and Crazy Mom Quilts.

8 comments:

Kathy said...

And right here is where your attention to detail shines through! I would have used tape and made sure that I started and ended at the outside edge. Your method brings your work up to a very high level of artisanship. I hope this one sells quickly, too, so that you are rewarded for your work!

The Inside Stori said...

It so helpful to hear other approaches.....I don't quite understand what you mean "I would have used tape...." Perhaps you can explain further? I actually purposely started the stitched lines (wherever I could) closest to the body of the quilt and ended at or close to the outside edge, sewing with my walking foot. I had no distortion.

Ann Scott said...

Looks great and I think echoing the patchwork segments was the perfect idea. I use 1/4 or 1/8 inch masking tape to mark quilting lines when using the walking foot. When I sink my quilting thread knots, I use a doubled thread in a needle and the quilting thread doesn't go into a needle but instead goes through the doubled thread. Are you familiar with that technique?

quiltedfabricart said...

Good choice to keep it simple. I don’t have the patience to tie and bury but then I don’t enter quilt shows either. I admire your attention to detail. I think by tape the pervious commenter meant using the thin masking like tape they have to stick to the quilt surface to follow while quilting. It is very hard to quilt straight lines. I can swirl and circle all day long but a straight line makes me break out in a sweat.

The Inside Stori said...
This comment has been removed by the author.
The Inside Stori said...

(I’m soooo brain dead with the stress of hubby’s surgery, lack of sleep and overall not fully engaged in my thoughts!!!) Dah….of course Kathy was talking about using painters or masking tape, wow…can’t believe I didn’t understand what she meant!!! It IS a great choice when stitching uninterrupted straight lines. However, for these shorter/crossed lines I thought the tissue paper approach would be better. Yes, I am familiar with the thread circle as I call it.....but I found for the metallic thread I was using...shredding was such a problem so a big eye needle worked best for me. How fabulous that there are so many ways we can solve our construction issues.

I’m so grateful for all the tips/techniques we all share!!
Mary

The Idaho Beauty said...

LOVE that border quilting design - a perfect solution. I like using the quilting paper too on some designs but yes, often there's time spent picking out tiny pieces with tweezers. As for the thread, I'm amazed it did not give you fits while quilting with it. I too prefer to pull threads to the back and bury them for the most part, and yes, it takes a tremendous amount of time. Still, we wouldn't have it any other way, would we, in order to get the look we prefer on the front? ;-)

The Joyful Quilter said...

I wasn't fond of quilting on paper, but sometimes it's the best option for achieving a particular design. It's good to have options!!