CHEVRONS

 I found this tutorial at play-crafts.com called shattered chevrons and thought I would give it a try. I give her 5 stars for great pictures and directions. It really is a fabric portrait of me. You know I would use all of these prints together. There are back and white, and dots, batiks. It currently is not quilted,but probably will be. I had this 12 1/2 inch album frame from JoAnns and it is perfect for my portrait. Wouldn't this be great in group of three or five on a wall? Try doing your own fabric portrait. It's really fun.

QUILT HUMOR

 

I love learning new words.

 

 

COMPLETED DRUCKARDS PATH

I was asked to post a picture of the completed quilt. I choose a yellow and black stripe for the binding. I am very pleased with it and have decided it will serve as a sample for the FMQ classes.

SUMMER PLANS

 

Time just flies......I wrapped up my Wednesday class and then went camping. I managed to read a couple of books ( nothing I would recommend) and do some hand work. We returned yesterday and I took a doll class today. I'm not thrilled with her hands and feet, but I love how fast it goes together. I want to do more dolls this summer and dye fabric and try thermal  screening. Of course I want to do several quilts as well, and then there is knitting.....

IN THE GROOVE

So how are you going to quilt that? Easy answer, let the quilt do the talking. What is it made of? Circles mainly.So one big spiral will do. What about that irregular border?  When in doubt, replicate the shape....somewhat. I think I'm in the groove with the quilting. Now onto the binding. I am really trying hard not to bond with this piece as I had deiced to sell it. Too many class samples are living on my couch.

 

 

CAREFUL WHERE THE PATH MAY LEAD YOU

Really, I was going to do just six  3 1/2 inch drunkards path blocks to discuss at class this week. Six turned into nine and nine turned into a project. A project that needed borders. Borders with bias strips. Bias strips that needed dots. Really....it was just supposed to be six blocks.

ONE OR TWO ?

This is a technique I learned a long time ago and deiced to try again. If you have a zig zag throat plate on your machine, you can use a twin needle  to sew. We use to use them to sew the decorative double hem on knit clothing. Wow I am really dating myself. I also learned to use it in FMQ. They come in different widths and size combinations as well as needle type. I happened to have a 2.0/80 universal and a 4.0/100 denim. There are smaller...1.5 and larger..6.0 which is the widest distance between the two needles. The first number refers to the distance between needles and the second number refers to the needle size. In terms of threading, I have two spindles, but the spools were too big so I used a bobbin for one thread. I threaded the machine as though I had one thread until I reached the needle. Be careful not to get threads twisted. You might want to consult your manual. I did slow down until I felt things were going well. These needles are not strong and I could see them flex as I sewed.Tension was an issue and I just adjusted my upper tension until I was happy. Below is the result of my experiment. I really like the more open stitches as they have a ribbon like appearance without having to repeat stitching. I think using a twin needle to FMQ has a place. Try it and let me know what you think.

 

looks like regular FMQ

 

until you get closer.....2.5mm needle

 

4.0 mm needle

 

use bobbin if spools too big to fit

 

size difference.