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Saturday, August 30, 2014

Betsy does it again

Anyone who knows me knows I love color!   So you can imagine how happy I get when a colorful quilt shows up to be quilted.  It puts me in an instant happy energetic mood. 

Betsy's quilts do not disappoint!


Let me tell you, this was one fun quilt to work on!


Just put on a good audio book and quilt away.


I couldn't help myself, I had to do one rogue block!   Believe it or not there is a pattern to my madness on this quilt.  But I just couldn't quilt the expected on this square.  It visually stood out to me as the focal point on this top. So I chose to break the pattern and I'm glad I did.  I love that it has it's own look and plays differently on the converging corners making it stand out even more.

 

It's funny, in pictures the purple square stands out more but in person the polka dots really pop.  I started second guessing my use of the word Rogue so I looked it up.   

Rogue - a dishonest or worthless person : scoundrel or mischievous person 

Well.....at least one description fits.  I'll take mischievous!! 

 
Having fun on the corners.



  Random waving and straight line work on the borders.


 Another Fun bright and colorful quilt coming up soon!
And this one I get to keep =)

Thursday, August 28, 2014

Longarm thread breakage

Even after 15 years of longarming I tend to forget the most basic fixes when hit with quilting issues like thread breakage.  Hmmm, maybe because problems always hit you when you have a deadline and stress takes over common sense.  And maybe it's because after so many years quilting on my longarm I've learned it's thread preferences and how it likes it's tension set.  It's been so many years since I've had thread breaking on me I've simply forgotten what to do.  Yikes! 


Today my issue was with the thread.  (Of course I discovered this after hours of trying everything else...rolling eyes) The thread was catching when coming off the sharp edge on the bottom of the cone.  I forgot to take a before picture, but this cone is a good example of a sharp edge. The bottom needs to be rounded so it slips over the edge Smoothly.  I call this softening the cone.


 Note the gentle curve on the bottom of the cone?   It's not a huge difference, I don't want it too smooshy. 

 
Lay the cone on it's edge and gently roll it back and forth


and you get a nice smooth edge!


Why a picture of a bowl of ice?  Because I didn't want to clean out my freezer for a picture, lol.   Did you know freezing dry thread may revive it?  Thread can dry out from age or plain ole dry air.  Running a humidifier in your sewing room can really help.  But in a pinch tossing it in the freezer in an open sandwich bag over night can help restore lost moisture. 

A few things to ask yourself before messing with your machines tension.  

What has changed sense the last quilt (which quilted fine)
Did I drop the bobbin case (tweaking it)
Different brand of thread?
Dry or old thread?
Did I re-thread it correctly? Did something pop out of line? (always re-thread it first!  More than likely something is amiss in the threading)
Is there a fabric issue or combination of fabric issues? (Sheet, batik, tone on tone, metallic, etc.)
Is the sandwich too tight? (loosen one or two clicks)
Lint build up?  (Clean under the plate and any thread paths that may have lint build up).
Bad needle? (Too thin of a needle can cause deflection.  Or you may need to turn your needle slightly)
Bur on the hook?  (try using an emery cord to smooth it)

I'm sure there are many more I'm not thinking of. (Please feel free to add them in the comments)

Dark dyes on fabric or threads can cause breakage as well...but that's a whole other story, lol.



October is getting closer, I really need to figure out what I'm going to do with this guy =)

Monday, August 4, 2014

Kelby's Bronco quilt


 Kelby's Bronco quilt!


A while back I posted a baby quilt I made for my sister in law Julie who was expecting her first baby.  My in-laws are HUGE Seahawk fans.


Julie's husband Kelby is not, lol.  Kelby is a HUGE Bronco fan!  


And so quilt number two began


 I did straight line quilting in blue and orange thread.


I love these colors together.  Even my Seahawk loving husband loves this quilt.


Nolan Daniel Stout was born 7-31-14.  What a cutie!!   He has loads of dark hair. 



The look of surprise on his daddy's face at seeing his quilt made all the late nights sewing worth it.


I'm  LOVING the orange binding.   It was just the final touch of orange needed to make the quilt scream Broncos!!!
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