a quilting lesson


Now if you have connected with my blog in the hope of learning stuff
your in the right place but it may not be what your think you are going to learn



a couple of weeks ago i put my TTS quilt together 
i was kind of rushing i had the deadline and lot's was happening on the home front so i rushed a bit

anyway i layed it out and pined it
as i was pin ning it i had in my mind 
how i was going to quilt it
so i pinned it accordingly
unfortunately i under pinned it and about three quaters through the quilting 
of the inside blocks i hit disaster....
the backing fabric had gone squew wiff
it was puckered and messy, so whats a gal to do......
find a comfy position out in the sun and unpick
(sadly as a not very good blogger i didn't 
take a photo of the mess,  i wasn't planning 
on telling all of you how much of a bodge i am)

anyway the quilt was layed out on the floor re.taped and this time i hand tacked it 
two reasons
1. i had a design for the borders that required me to use iron on tear away....it is easier to iron on when there are no pins

2. that sucker of a backing fabric was not moving one inch, if i had anything to do with it
(and it didn't)
unfortunately i hadn't done machine quilting for ages and my experience is not great
so i forgot to release the pressure on the foot


can you see how the fabric pulls slightly one way, then goes the other
Lesson 1..when you are using a walking foot reduce the pressure on your foot
the tension could have been a little tighter too,

 now for the dreaded and scary free motion quilting


it's a little wonky but hey it has character


a close up of the free motion

lesson 2..  when free motion quilting tighten up the tension
Lesson 3.. see the little knots well the lady at my local machine shop was telling me that
when you are free motion quilting your feet should be tango ing whilst your hands are waltzing
i am not sure what my hands were doing....i think they were dancing on the inside

conclusion i am thinking that i need some lessons in machine quilting
now i am making this quilt sound like it is a disaster, 
really it's not, from a meter away you can't notice any of the faults 
and on the front she looks really very good

so i guess know there is a decision in order

the perfectionist in me says unpick it and do it again

the student in me says leave it , it is a lesson
to remember before starting quilting 
get the little book out that you dutifully wrote notes in (about two years ago)
and read over the notes then you will remember about the pressure foot, and the tension

the tangoing and the waltzing will come with some practice

who would you listen to

the perfectionist 
or 
the student?

Ciao

Comments

Lorraine said…
That's a hard question for me to answer.......I used to be a perfectionist and unpick anything that wasn't perfect or close to it.....but I foundit it very restrictive being a perfectionist....so I started to be less critical of my work and started to enjoy trying new things that didn't always turn out perfectly.....and it is fun!
October 19, 2011 at 1:10 AM
Chookyblue...... said…
well remember........it is only a christmas quilt and you only have it out for a month or 2.......so go with the student and move onto a new project.........your doing way better then me by the way..........that bubble looks pretty good to me......
October 19, 2011 at 7:11 AM
Lyn said…
I think we tend to see things in our work that others never will...relax..It will be hanging against the wall so you won't see any little 'blemishes' on the back...I'd worry that I'd put a hole in it as I unpicked so I would leave it, enjoy it at Christmas and get started on the next fun project you have in mind
October 19, 2011 at 9:31 AM
Allie said…
I would listen to .....the STUDENT. I have a quilt like this where I'm not as happy as I could be, but like you said, get a meter away and it looks just fine. Of course, if I listened to the perfectionist in me, I'd only work on one quilt in my lifetime and still never finish it...it looks fine hon, just leave it, you done good!
October 19, 2011 at 3:19 PM
Peg - Happy In Quilting said…
Oh Trish.....stand back look at it, does it look good...I am sure the answer is yes...you could unpick, but why....my thoughts always are, am I happy with it, me not anyone else, we all have points of when we need to unpick, and only you can make that decision, I think it looks fantastic...I personally like quilts with character...the light globes look so good...you should be very proud of yourself...
October 19, 2011 at 5:43 PM
Shiralee Stitches said…
If you unpick it you won't have any sample to compare how much skill you've acquired as you become more proficient.....I'm sure it looks lovely, and as Chooky says it's only on display for part of the year....I think if you're happy with it then that's your answer.....work on another quilt, and give yourself another go I say...I think the safest way to baste is on a table top using dog clips on the edges, moving the quilt along as you go...I'll fill you in on this method if you want....have a wine (red of course) and the lines will straighten in the quilt and the knots blurr!!!...lol....
October 19, 2011 at 9:41 PM
Kaye R said…
I don't know if you are interested, but I don't pin when i quilt anything up to a medium lap rug. I use a quilt basting spray called 505 in a blue and yellow tin. I will post a blog about it very soon. I used to end up bleeding all over my quilt with safety pins popping open and stabbing me. This spray doesn't have a strong odour so you can use it inside ( i still ventilate ) It washes out and doesn't stain or turn yellow like the other basting sprays.
Happy quilting
October 22, 2011 at 10:45 PM
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