Yesterday I got to quilting my Punctuation baby quilt, which will be gifted to my boss for his new baby boy. I worked on straight line quilting the center part, then got a wild hair to try out free motion quilting in the borders.
This was my first attempt and I was stunned at how well it went. I do wish I'd worked a little less tightly because it's taking up a lot of time and thread and certainly doesn't need to be this densely quilted. Right as I was questioning this, my machine started skipping stitches! Could it be a sign? I've stopped to consider my options. I may push forward or just rip out what I've done so far, which is about 1/4 of what I would need to FMQ this way. What to do, what to do...
I was frustrated and had to switch gears to preserve my sanity! Rather than work on other ongoing projects, I started making these little bitty HSTs. There's been a stack of 4in squares cut up for months and they'd been dying to become something. Through this method each pair became 4 2.25in HSTs and I'll be able to bring them to work and square them up over my lunch hour! I have no idea what to do with them, but I'll play around until something strikes my fancy :D
I'm linking up with Marg's Pajama Party Sunday, over at Sunshine? Paradise? and also with Karen's Sew Darn Crafty Party over at Sew Many Ways. Click on over and check out the action!
I have yet to learn the art of loose fmq - I always seem to stipple densely (which is an absolute nightmare to unpick). Your half square triangle block looks great - it will be fun to see what you do with them.
ReplyDeleteI tend to FMQ densely too. The last time it took me hours to unpick but I'm glad I did. I have some Punctuation in my stash, I love your quilt, it looks great.
ReplyDeleteThe HST's are pretty, there are so many things you can do with them, I'm looking forward to seeing what you decide to do.
Thank you for linking up this week.
I really like your quilt~! Your quilting looks great, nice free motion contrast in the borders. Something I have learned: when I see skipped stitches or have breaking thread, it's time to clean out the bobbin area. You might try this and see if it helps. With my Bernina or my Longarm, I thoroughly clean out and oil after EVERY bobbin. I didn't used to do this on my Bernina, but over the years, I have learned that it makes a world of difference. Take off the throat plate cover and blow out the lint. With all that cotton thread and cotton fabric, it really lints up fast. Take out the bobbin, the bobbin race (if your machine allows) blow out this area and oil any points listed in your service manual. Make sure you don't have a bit of lint under the area where the tension screw is on your bobbin. Blow out the bobbin. I keep a can of air in the table right beside both of my machines. After a day of sewing, I may have cleaned out the bobbin 7-8 times. When I started sewing (30 years ago)I probably did it once a year! Yikes~ Good luck, you have no idea how many stitches I have picked out!
ReplyDeleteWell you're one up on me - FMQ and I are just not friends.
ReplyDeleteI'll add to the comment abovfe mine by saying change your needle and re-thread your machine too. Sometimes that's all it takes to get stitches working beautifully again.
I really like your punctuation quilt. I made one of those myself earlier this year . Love that fabric line.
Good Luck with sorting your sewing dilemma.
Wow that FMQ is lovely, your boss is going to love the quilt!
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