My Views about Machine Quilting

I must say that I am one of those people who prefer hand quilting. I also must say that after going to so many quilt shows lately I admire machine quilting. I know some of my friends are falling over right now. I am not sure if they fainted or if it is because they are laughing so hard!

I always loved the look of hand quilting and actually enjoyed hand quilting. The problem I have is I like lots of quilting and I just don't have that type of time. I have quilts that I started hand quilting more then 10 years ago. Two of these quilts have special meaning to me, so they will never be finished by me other then by hand. Now the other two quilts I can see me machine quilting them just to get them finished. The problem I have with both of these quilts is that they are large, have polyester batting in them and would be difficult to do on my domestic machine.

I recently quilted a quilt that is less then 50" square on my sewing machine. I had a few areas that were difficult to quilt, but most of it was fun. The hard part is deciding how I am going to quilt the piece. Borders are the biggest problem, because all four sides are usually alike and need to be quilted the same. Sometimes that is easy if the fabric has a pattern to use as a guide, but when the fabric offers no clues for the quilting???? I know I can use a quilt stencil, but that means an extra step. Funny I don't mind that step when I hand quilt, but when doing it by machine I kind of like the freedom to not having to follow a line. I think part of that is because I find it difficult to follow a line. My walking foot has an offset opening for pulling the threads through. I can't line up with that unless I move my needle......HA, I just thought of that. Why didn't I think about that when I was quilting???????????

Another problem I discovered for me is that moving the fabric with my hands causes my right hand to hurt right in the middle of the palm. Funny thing is I don't notice it while I am quilting, just when I am trying to relax and do something else. I also noticed that I need to take breaks to relax my shoulders. I get too tense trying to do the design just a certain way.

I did learn that making circles is easier in one direction then it is going the opposite direction. This is a good thing to know, but my natureral instict is to start in a place to cause me to to the direction that is not good for me. In time as I do more machine quilting I will remember where to start to make it easier.

I think the thing that I learned that really impressed me is that when you step back from the quilt about 3 feet all the imperfections disappear. It is when you nose is 6" away while you are sewing that things really look bad. Also when quilting close the imperfections seem to disappear as more quilting is added. Or maybe it is because I want to get the quilt done that I stop seeing the "problems" and just overlook what bothered me when I sewed the design.

Oh well! All I know is that I had better learn to love machine quilting, because I have lots of samples to quilt of my new patterns. I sent off last week for the last of the approvals I need before I start selling my patterns. So I will have several for sale soon!

It was cold here today, but not nearly as bad as it is where they are playing foot ball today. I can't believe they schedule a night football game in Green Bay, WI in January!

Very Early in the Morning

Designing quilt patterns is easy on one hand and difficult in the other hand. I have never had trouble coming up with designs or writing them for classes, but now that I am also writing for others I found drawing for instructions using the computer was difficult. So I decided to try a new program for the computer. Adobe Illustrator looked like the one I wanted to try, so I downloaded the 30 day trial from http://www.adobe.com I soon discovered that the ram memory in our computer was not enough to run the program. So I went to http://computer.howstuffworks.com/ram.htm and learned how to add more ram memory. They said to go to http://www.crucial.com to find out what type of ram memory I needed for our computer. I did the test and found out that we had an opening for memory and what type to get. When we went to town I was going to buy the memory, but they didn't have what I wanted. So when we arrived home yesterday I went back to crucial.com and ordered it. They sent me an e-mail saying the order arrived. Then a little later another e-mail saying that my items were ready for shipping and how I could track the package. I could see no reason to track it at that point as it was being send Fedex 2 day shipping. This was yesterday afternoon. They are located in Idaho. I am in Kentucky. The package arrived today early in the day. I was shocked, but pleased.

I waited a bit before tackling the job of putting in the memory, because the last time I added something to a computer, the computer stopped working. When I finally worked up my nerve I gather all my tools. That was not much, none magnetic screw driver, the memory, an antistatic wrist strap, cleaning tools (I knew there would be dust inside the computer tower) and scissors to open the package. I said a little prayer, turned off the computer and unplugged everything from the tower. I then proceeded to add the memory. I was careful, got rid of the dust and plugged everything back in. OH THAT AWFUL FEELING IN THE PIT OF MY STOMACH. I turned on the computer and it sounded like it wanted to boot up, but didn't. I WAS NOT GOING TO LOOSE ANOTHER COMPUTER! We can not buy a new one right now. So I unplugged again and opened the tower and checked to be sure everything was connected correctly. I appeared to be ok. I didn't put the cover back on this time I just plugged in the power and tried to start the computer. The same sound....and now the head started to pound. I unplugged and looked closely. Wow! The fan was packed with dust that I didn't get out with the first cleaning. So with the help of my husband Bill we cleaned out the dust. I plugged in the computer and guess what.......I turned it on and it works!!!!!!!! I was so releaved. I put the cover back on, plugged everything else back in and we were back in business.

I then finished loading the Adobe Illustrator trial. It loaded ok, but took a while. It is a large program. I played with it a little bit after dinner, but my eyes were hurting. So I turned the computer over to DH....as he had not been on it since early this morning and I took a nap.

Late this evening I went back to the Illustrator program and played with it. I learned enough to do the drawing I needed and feel pleased. I had been struggling with this drawing for days with the limited programs that we had on the computer. I am going to have to work hard to make enough money to buy Illustator or a similar program to aid in my pattern business.

I must get some rest now as it will be time to make breakfast before I know it.

Peggy

Five days into the new year!

I must say I am looking forward to tomorrow. The start of a new week. It seems like we have had two weeks worth of Saturdays. Everything changed because of the holidays. I thought the Wednesday after Christmas was a Thursday. This week was better, but I don't feel like I accomplished as much as I should have this past week. Even my sleeping habits were all messed up.

I did piece several items of various sizes and have been doing some machine quilting, but yet no one item is completed! Tomorrow I should finish a large pillow top and start quilting something else. I also hope to complete a couple of patterns I am writing. I have one finished, but I need to set it up for publishing, not for a mystery where every step is on a different page. The other two are in various stages, but I should be able to finish them soon.

DH and I watched fishing shows this morning. It is to be warm the next few days and I know he wants to go fishing. Unfortunately we are also to have rain and on Tuesday thunderstorms. Rain is not bad in the spring or summer, but winter rain is cold and usually is accompanied with wind, so fishing is really not likely to happen.

Best get going. Have a good one until I am back!

Out with the old, In with the new!

GOOD BYE 2007.............HELLO 2008



Happy New Year to everyone!



We started out the 2008 very quiet at our house. I was up and was near the door in case someone in our country neighborhood decided to shoot off fireworks. Our dog,outside, gets very nervous when she hears loud noises, including thunder. I was going to let her in the house, but no fireworks.....hmmmm our neighborhood must all be out of town!!!!!

Today we had a few snow flurries. The first of the season. You never know it may be the last. I remember last January I had to turn on the AC, but then in April we had a hard freeze for two weeks.

I am presently working on a quilting project that I can't show you or tell you what I am doing. I am working for someone else for this project and everything is underwraps for it. It is kind of an exciting project as I am developing a pattern, sewing the item, quilting it and best of all will be paid for my work!

I did finish piecing a table runner from the same pattern as I listed in November. It will be my first pattern to be published and I already have one sold as soon as I get everything ready! So I guess my new career is off and running. Tomorrow I will be machine quilting the table runner shown in the picture. I like to practice on something of my own before I work on the project for someone else.

I am also ready to quilt the dashing nines and in about a half hour I will have the secret project ready to quilt. Now I need to decide the designs I will use for quilting everything.

Our little sewing group that used to meet at my shop once a week is going to start out the new year right by setting up one day a week to meet again. We used to have six of us who worked together, but because of people moving and jobs etc we will be down to three. The nice thing is the three of us get along well and can pick up where we left off in our friendships. I am exited about us meeting on a regular basis again and have a project picked out to work on that will have nothing to do with business. I am going to work on a wall hanging that is a combination of piecing and applique.

It is getting late and I need to get two borders on my secret project.

Merry Christmas

Merry Christmas 2007. Things have been calm around our house. We are just having a nice dinner of Duck, for my parents and myself, Pork Chops with Stuffing for my husband, Baked Potatoes, Green Beans with Carrots and an Apple Lettuce Salad. For desert we have a choice of Raspberry and/or Cherry Pie. I did not due anything special this year, because the same four people will be at the table as usual.

Most of the time my husband and I go to Wisconsin to be with his family sometime during the holidays. We decided against that this year and it seems strange to just talk on line or via phone. This is just the kind of a year that makes one remember the real meaning of Christmas and to appreciate family and friends.

Today I listened to and watched Ricki Tims Christmas Concert at http://www.thequiltshow.com/ You must register, but it is free and look at the blog if the link is not up.

Happy Holidays to all.
Peggy

Special Day

Today is my father's 81st birthday. He came from a family of 10 children and 8 of his brothers and sisters are still with us. Believe it or not, my father is fourth from being the oldest child still alive. Actually he does have a twin brother, but he was born before my father, so he is older. They also have a sister age 89. I have some wonderful pictures of all of them taken last June, but I don't want to post them without permission. They all have some health problems, but for the most part are doing well.

My father also has another older sister, I don't know her age, but she still keeps us up to date on her family via e-mails. He has two younger sisters and two younger brothers. Unfortunately they live in different areas of the country, so we don't see many of them.

My father is what I like to call a down to earth man. I mean this with great admiration and wish that we had more people like him on this earth. He is the type of person that you can count on. He puts family first and always has put his family first. He still gardens and likes to go fishing. His activities have slowed down greatly the past couple of years, but he is still active. He does the crossword puzzle in the newspaper, puts together jig-saw puzzles and makes his own lunch. Sometimes he will make dinner for the family.

My father, with the help of family and friends, for the most part built two of the homes in which we have lived. He did hire a few things to be done, like pouring the basement floor and laying block. He was right there while all this was done and even helped. He also had someone else dig the well and put in the septic. So I guess that is why working with puzzles of making quilts comes naturally to me.

I asked him what he wanted for his birthday dinner. I was not surprised when he finally decided that he wanted meat loaf, scallop potatoes and baked beans. I didn't ask him about the cake, because I already knew he would want a Date Nut Cake. I have been making him this cake for years, but usually only on his birthday. The recipe makes two loaf cakes and one gets frozen for later. I remember my Grandmother, my father's mom making this recipe when I was little. It is moist and tasty, but weighs a "ton" kind of like a fruit cake. It usually gets better when it sits for a few days.





Yesterday I sewed together a pillow top from the stash box pattern. Patti wanted a sample in blue to use in the Batiks by Design booth at the upcoming quilt shows. I am going to machine quilt it in a royal blue metallic thread made by WonderFil. Here is a picture part of what I have done so far.


Tomorrow I will wash some fabrics so I can finish my Dashing Nines and a table runner I made last weekend. Both will then need to be quilted and photographed to be used as covers on my new patterns.














































































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Busy, Busy, Busy

Well not actually busy, just have not felt like writing. I have been sewing on the dashing nines. While putting the rows together I noticed on two different blocks one piece of fabric was sewn wrong side up. So I practiced a bit of unsewing, frogging or what ever you want to call it. That did give me a minute or two with my DH and a rest in my living room chair.

This shows the progress of the dashing nines. I hope to finish sewing the top together tonight or maybe not until tomorrow. I also need to make sure I made all the corrections in the pattern before I forget what changes I made.

I will post another picture once I get it finished and the pattern published.

Last night I was looking for a design my friend told me about and stumbled acrossed a great site for rugs. I kind of got lost there and found some great designs. I was so inspired that I designed another quilt last night. I wonder if I will get all my designs made and into pattern form. I didn't copy the rug, I just liked some elements of the rug. I found that creating the setting was a challenge, but managed.

This afternoon I was sewing a block for a table runner. I was sewing the last seam when the electric went out. It seemed strange, because our weather wasn't bad like other areas of the country. It wasn't out too long, so that was good.

I need to practice machine quilting. I just don't have the time or desire to hand quilt, but I am not the greatest machine quilter. I learned free motion when I was doing machine embrodery. I liked the hoop to help with guiding my work. Wish I had a hoop for machine quilting on my home machine! I know one is being developed, but it isn't for sale yet. If I dont come up with a comfortable method I will be buying that hoop.