Stitching the pieces together
Comments
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Melisssa, if that was your stitching then you are a star!! Those holes looked liked machined selvage!!! You have left good margins for the 1/4 inch to be taken up at the star points and your mid-points meet well together. I'd love to hear what your instructor has to say about your block!! I think you have done an AMAZING job!
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By the way, those holes will close up once your piece is ironed with a hot iron. The heat relaxes the fibres and they fall into place.
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The quilt top is done
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That is so cute! Lucky baby.
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Meece - that is ADORABLE!!!!!
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PERFECT binding!!
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MelissaDallas, you're off to a great start!
And Meece, your quilt top is awesome - love those bright colors!
• Your Mods
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Meece, that is just the cutest! My Uncle & his wife went to Rice University & collect owls. This would have been the perfect quilt for my cousin when she was a baby.
Thank you so much for all the kind encouragement everybody. I've had a hard week & I needed it.
I made old fashioned apple butter in the oven today & also finished my second quilt block. I was stuck at home all day while I had tree work done, so plenty of time to be a domestic goddess. Unfortunately my tree guy found the entrance for the critters I heard in the attic a while back. Since we put a metal plate under the eave where the *#!! squirrels chewed into my house LAST time they have chewed a BIG hole in the ROOF all the way through the decking. Oh how I hate squirrels! I can't afford the money I keep having to put out for them tearing up my house.0 -
Melissa - Let me add my comments on your work. You did an absolutely wonderful job on matching all the corner and making the points. Also for leaving a good margin on the edge points so that they will not be cut off or sewn into the seam of the next peice. Your spacing on stitches is so even and that is only learned by doing a lot of stitching (or "Tiger Tape"
ask your instructor or someone at your quilt shop what Tiger Tape is and you will see how it would help get stitches even.) You are off to a fantastic start. I also wonder why your instructor did not tell you to finger press the seams as it will be difficult to get the completed block to lay flat even after it is ironed. Anyway congratulations on completing 2 blocks! I was sorry to read about your friend. That kind of loss is so sad when you know how much potential they had. Hugs to you sweetie.
Meece - the owls are so cute! What a great quilt for Baby Whoo. Hope you get the rest you need to get everything done before the baby gets here.
AJ
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Thank you!
I basted the quilt together yesterday. I will now machine quilt it and it will be ready to pack for our trip. Once the baby arives I will make the bindiing in the gender specific color. If it is a girl I may put a ruffle on the edge. I think I will make the crib skit from the stripe and add the gender color to the bottom.
I will pick my favorate owls to enlarge and pain on the walls. Who knows, I might be painting one of each!
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Hi Barbe, meece, and all
I want to share with my BCO stitcher friends. If you go to the "Inspire one another to be creative," thread you will see some photos of my friends daughter in her wedding veil. It took my friend 9 months of full time work to make the veiul. It was knit out of the finest merino wool, weighed 8 ounces, was as large as the top of my kingsize bed and included a knit alphabet my friend created. She is a lace artist. I just wanted you all to see this because in my estimation it is absolutely amazing.
Hugs Ginger
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Wow, Ginger. The veil is amazing! I can't imagine keeping my place for months on end!
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I commented on the other thread but that veil is unbelievable!
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Okay, she demonstrated pressing these blocks and they press out flat beautifully. I'm too tired to do mine tonight, but remember, the way we hand stitched these two blocks none of the seams are stitched down like with machine sewing. They are all free because we stitched to the seams, backstitched, then passed the needle through the base of the seam edges. Does that make sense?
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Sounds good to me, Melissa.
Geesh! I went to pick up some machine quilting thread for the quilt. I wasn't happy with the colors at JoAnn so I went to a local quilt store. They were selling machine quilting thread for $12 a spool! Are they kidding? Or, am I just out of touch?
Barbe....Calling Barbe....
I noticed that some machine quilting thread was 100% cotton, and some was polyester. Many moons ago you described which is best for hand or machine quilting. Could we have a repeat lesson? I also found thread labeled for "Quilting and piecing". It didn't say Machine or Hand Quilting.
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How large was the spool?
12.00 wow
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The prices at the quilt store - yikes is right! While I feel I should support them, oh my gosh, they are so high on everything!
I haven't done any sewing in years but I can't believe how expensive everything is. Making your own clothes & things used to be a thrifty thing to do. Now a pattern is close to $15 and fabric is out of sight unless it is on sale. I had thought about making some simple skirts. I think I can buy them for less than I can make them now.0 -
JoAnn and Hancock's regularly have sales on patterns 5/$5 or 10/$10. I wait until that sale is on. I have been stocking up on home decor and children's patterns. When I was making the bridesmaids dresses I bought one at $12.95 but the next week the patterns were $1 so I bought one for each dress so I could easily make the adjustments.
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Oh, the spool was 500 yards.
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I checked online and most places sell it for $7.50.
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I have also been stocking up on Halloween costume patterns.
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Meece, have you let the store owner know that the price is so less elsewhere? Perhaps a clerk made a pricing error. Have them check!!
Use COTTON when hand quilting, hand applique and NOTHING else!!! Remember....old quilts break down due to the cotton threads and fibres!! You don't want that to happen to yours! Also, cotton thread can (not always - unless it's $12/spool heheheheh) bleed!!! Polyester is stronger than cotton (which is why you can't use it by hand as you'd tear the fabric!! It doesn't break down and it doesn't pick up dyes or bleed. It is cheaper too.
IF you MUST use cotton thread, your machine might not like it!! Cotton thread produces a LOT of lint as it's made up of tiny fibres that "shred" at the needle position and get jammed into your bobbin case. Just clean your machine after using cotton thread and you'll see it. Egyptian (and some Turkish) cotton threads have longer fibres so they shred way less, but are priced high! Meece, check where that $12/spool thread is made. If you find you keep breaking threads when sewing with cotton you'll have to switch to polyester for the sake of your machine.
Hope that helps! Let me know what happens!
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O.k, how long is it going to take me to learn to cut straight with my rotary cutter? I know what to do but I'm not doing a very good job keeping the blade snugged up to the ruler edge.
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Melissa - It took me several months to get the hang of the rotary cutter and rulers. I am a lefty so that complicated things a bit since I was cutting with my right hand. You will get the hang of it soon. I found that if I use less pressure pushing down on the cutter it is easier to stay next to the ruler. The blades are so sharp that it does not take any effort to cut the fabric so a lighter hand works better and give you more control. Hope that helps. Also with the cotton thread, I use Egyptian Long Staple thread and I use a bigger needle (90/14 Titanium Quilting) in my machine for quilting. [If I am working on something like heirloom needle work I drop down to a 80/12 Universal or Wing Tip Needle depending on the effect I am looking for.] The thread rarely breaks and the lint is less also. I do clean my machine and bobbin case after every spool or project, which ever comes first. King Tut is the brand that works best for all my machines. It should run anywhere from 7.99 to 9.00 per spool. I usually wait for a sale then stock up on all the neutral colors and colors that I know I will be using. Good luck with your projects and I really want to see pictures of your completed quilt. AJ
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Just heard from SIL that her great aunt (92 yrs) just bought a new Bernina to use for making quilts. Said she needed a project after her brother and SIL died last fall. That's the spirit!
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Thanks AJ. If I was supposed to be cutting fringe tonight I'd be doing a great job:)
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Lol, Melissa!
It was Superior - King Tut which was the outragously expensive thread.
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I knew you'd be able to straighten me out, Barbe!
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Meece and Barbe I have a different philosophy with thread. I belive you get what you pay for and I pay $15.oo for a big spool. I swallow hard and pay for the best thread at my local quilt shops. And sew and quilt with only cotton. I use a size 90 needle when I quilt using Warm and Natural batting. I love King Tut thread for quilting. When I piece I use size 70 needles. As for cleaning the machine, when I take a potty break (about an hour of sewing), I clean it carefully. If I should happen to forget, I can hear the machine makes a "clean me" sound.
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Melissa, like Elissimo says, let the sharp blade do the work. Start your cut OFF the fabric and slice cleanly onto the fabric while holding your ruler firmly down. Spend more effort on your ruler, not your blade and you'll do fine! Let us know how it goes.
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