I'm really pleased with my quilt so far. The squares all went together really well with none of the major mistakes I was anticipating. I think this was courtesy of the special foot I bought which makes such neat, even seams. Everything lined up pretty well and I managed to press the seams so they sat happily together. In a few blocks I sewed the fours in the wrong orientation and ending up with vertical rather than horizontal seams if you know what I mean, but these were quick to unpick. The colours are a bit off in these photos, the winter light seems to be making everything greener but you get the idea.
I'm a bit daunted by the next step. I keep rereading the instructions and looking on the internet, stalling! I'm going to add a plain white border all around first and I'd like to buy a plain flannel sheet (blue or green?) to make the backing. I'm off to Spotlight (local fabric chain) to buy some batting too.
Then I will attempt to tack them all together. I think the thing I'm really scared about is the quilting. Lucky I've got that super unpicker! I do have my quilting foot to practice with but I think I might need to stick to straight line quilting. Does anyone know if I can do that with a normal foot? All advice welcome!
wow that is looking great! The hardest bit for me was putting all the layers together - I hope your quilting book has some tips on that but if not, one blog I read suggested using spray adhesive so the layers don't move (apparently it washes out). I had a lot of trouble - would smooth out one side, pin it all, then turn over and find it all crinkly. So I'd swap sides and go again - same result. I was working on a wooden floor though so maybe if you lay it out on carpet you won't have the same problem. If you can get that lovely wool batting I would - I don't like the synthetic stuff much.
ReplyDeleteAs for machine quilting straight lines I did this with my normal machine and foot. My machine had this little guide you could slide in behind the foot so the sewing is the same distance apart - I loved it and was really pleased with how easy it was. I did get some puckering but I've been told if you hand baste it all first you won't and I fiddled with the stitch length, tension and foot pressure.
One lucky thing I stumbled upon was quilting cotton - it has a waxy feel to it and it made the quilting bit much easier. Good luck - you're obviously a natural at it!
Love the quilt top you have made. It is really modern, fresh and bright. For quilting I would highly recommend you purchase a walking foot for your machine. These are available separately for most sewing machines. It helps to feed the layers of fabric evenly through the machine (top and bottom feed), which will help to prevent tucks and puckers. When basting the quilt I would also recommend you use lots and lots of safety pins to keep the layers in place! Well worth the effort (and back ache!). Good luck. Can't wait to see it finished.
ReplyDeleteRita
I did my first quilt (and only, so far) using the tutorial at Oh, Fransson (http://www.ohfransson.com/oh_fransson/quiltalong.html). You may find her instructions on making the quilt sandwich and quilting helpful..
ReplyDeleteFor a quilt this size I would totally recommend spray basting. I actually spray baste all of my quilts now: from little doll quilts to great big king sized ones. It works really well--just read and follow the directions exactly. And if you get any on your linoleum floor (speaking from experience here) that Orange cleaner stuff will get it right up. Good luck!
ReplyDeleteThank you all so much! I'm really touched by all this wonderful advice, and encouragement.
ReplyDeleteI will push on, heart in mouth, and take it slowly, with lots of pins, for sure, and maybe a walking foot if I can find one for my machine and some spray baste. (A large measure of patience will obviously be needed too :-)