Thursday, July 23, 2015

Another one made from leftovers

This one needs a label and a name. One of my kaleidoscope quilts had several pieces of strata leftover. I didn't want to throw them away so bought some background and backing to go with it. This one is 72" square. 



My design wall is otherwise occupied so took this picture with the quilt tossed across the bed. The close-up shows the texture in the background created by my first panto design. It was a challenge to quilt, but the result suits the bits and pieces. See K-5 HERE.

Friday, July 10, 2015

Problem solved, but not without pain

That panto with the straight lines did manage to get stitched on my quilt. I could not find any solutions (other than buy the software) so tried to watch the laser and stitch it with a ruler. If the panto had been wider than 6" and my machine arm longer than 18" and my body any shorter than 5'4", it would not have worked. As it was, parts required standing on my toes.

Here are the photos. I finished it yesterday and today started applying a facing to finish the edges. I'll post more pictures later.





The pain? My attention wandered as I worked, and while it did, my machine decided to take a bite out of my hand. Sorry, no gross photos. The goose egg went down in a few hours and the black and blue showed up the next day. No blood, but the part that hit me (micro handles) did break the skin. No griping. It was worth it... I think.


Thursday, July 2, 2015

A question?

I've a modern quilt loaded on my longarm and was going to do a quilting panto with lots of straight lines. I designed this one myself and do not have the software for the machine to just do it for me. The photo shows two rows.



I tried a few inches and had to unsew it because what seemed straight with the laser was impossible wavy. It looked awful and I had to pick it out. 

Having never marked a quilt already on the machine, does anyone have any tips? I've made a stencil and could use chalk, then quilt it with a ruler, but this could take forever. Is there any way to do this that will not give me a headache and a sore back?

I could change the quilt pattern, but it is perfect for the quilt... and maybe I'm just a little proud of myself for coming up with it? Sigh!