Lightbulb Moment - Quilting Straight Lines Free Motion

It's all about the placement of the hands and the role each hand plays. Both change depending on the direction being quilted. I've been doing this intuitively sometimes, but not always. It explains why some of my efforts are better than others. It is really very simple.

Assume that you are quilting a sawtooth star in the ditch to outline the center square and the points. You are going to do this free motion and you will keep the star in the same orientation the entire time. You will not turn the fabric. There are 3 kinds of lines - vertical, horizontal, and diagonal. I have always found the vertical lines to be easiest and struggled most with the other two, but especially the horizontal lines.

I mentioned the "role each hand plays." There are two roles and the hands must play one, the other, or both depending on the direction of the quilting. The hand is moving the fabric, guiding the fabric, or both.

This is what is needed to maintain the proper control:

• When quilting vertical lines, both hands play both roles equally. If one hand scratches the nose, the line will not be straight. If one hand moves the fabric with more force, the line will not be straight. This is true whether you are quilting forward or backward. It is probably easiest to do if both hands are positioned equally to the left and right of the sewing surface.
• When quilting horizontal lines, one hand moves the fabric and the other guides it. If you are quilting in a right direction, the left hand moves the fabric and should be positioned even with the line being quilted. The right hand keeps the fabric square and guides it. The right hand should also be positioned even with the line being quilted. The right hand should not attempt to move the fabric or push it in the intended direction. The right hand needs to apply lighter pressure on the fabric so that the left hand can do its work. When quilting to the left, the opposite is true.
• When quilting diagonal lines, both hands play both roles, but not equally. If you are quilting in an upper right direction, the left hand is primarily responsible for moving the fabric, but does some guiding. The right hand is primarily responsible for guiding the fabric, but may do some moving from time to time. Both hands should be positioned along the quilting line, which means the right hand will be farther away.

I am least sure about the mechanics of diagonal lines, but I believe the other two are 100% true. This technique requires a lot of stopping and starting as hands and the quilt are repositioned.

Quilting Acorns

Sometimes the quilt's name is so long that it also has a nickname. That is the case with this quilt. Acorns is the nickname for Where Did the Acorns Come From? I started pinning it today so quilting should start this weekend.

There was a challenge for Acorns. Could I make a large quilt and limit myself to only 3 fabrics? The number was 3 because the block used in the center required 3 shades - light, medium, dark. To complicate matters I only had 1/2 yd of the medium fabric. Instead of searching worldwide for more, I decided to make 1/2 yd do. I was successful in meeting the challenge, but I don't think I could have done it without the use of applique. The quilt top is approximately 62x72, which I believe qualifies as a large enough quilt.

So now I need a new challenge. (I'm not sure why this quilt requires another challenge. It just does. For the record, not EVERY future quilt will involve a challenge. We're not going there.) I decided the top will be quilted without benefit of a walking foot. That is, the walking foot shall not touch Acorns. It will be done with 100% free motion quilting.

Saturday, 11/24, a.m. Quilting is underway. Quilting a medallion quilt is a different thought process. I'm not sure a walking foot would have helped all that much. The center block is 16". I thought it would be best to quilt the center block in the ditch first and work my way around the borders instead of the strip approach. Because of the width, there was a lot of unrolling/rolling required. Also much repositioning of the quilt as I changed directions. I reminded myself how important it is to keep the quilt in a squared position. Failure to do that could be one cause for quilts hanging poorly when finished. After quilting the center block in the ditch, I removed the quilt from the machine and rolled it again before proceeding to the next step. With this quilt I am trying Bev's method of tieing knots and burying threads instead of doing short stitches. It takes more time, but avoids little knots of thread on the back. May be more secure too since a later step will involve stippling over the places where the threads are buried.

Monday, 11/26, p.m. Finished all the quilting in the ditch, which I am calling step 1. Proceeded to step 2, quilting the points of the center Bethlehem Star. I quilted parallelograms 1/4" in from the ditch. It is something often seen in hand quilting. Then I went on to step 3, quilting the zig zags at the top and bottom. This involved skills similar to the points of the Bethlehem Start. All of this took multiple days. Finished Friday evening, 11/30.

Sunday, 12/2, a.m. Acorns has 14 sawtooth star blocks. In the center of each, I quilted a heart design (step 4). I don't intend for it to be noticed as hearts. It just filled the space well. Most of that was done on Saturday. Today I started step 5, which will finish the quilting on the stars. (I have the need to use the word "finish" in some capacity.) I am quilting continuous curves on the points of the stars. Then I sneak back into the center and outline quilt the heart design 1/4" from the edge. I am really pleased with the stars. Back to work.

Wednesday, 12/12, p.m. Since 12/2 I have quilted continuous leaves with center veins in the flying geese and a single center vein in the appliqued oak leaves. I am almost finished with the veins in the leaves.

Sunday, 12/16, a.m. We had significant snow last night. This morning it looks like a REAL winter morning. It is so pretty. Unfortunately my driveway looks like a winter driveway and I struggle to see the beauty in it. The veins in the leaves are finished and I have also quilted 14 acorns into the star and squirrel applique sections of the quilt. Today I think stippling will be underway. This is a deciding moment. How small will the stippling be? Because whatever I do today dictates what I will need to do to finish this quilt.

Sunday, 12/16, p.m. The stippling on the background within the flying geese border is complete. It is 1/8-1/4" apart.

Monday, 12/31, p.m. I just completed the last of the stippling. All that remains is the label and the binding. It is indeed a Happy New Year!

Design Thoughts - Waking Up In Color

Quilt Name: Waking Up In Color

Quilt Story: I'm a murky person who loves my morning coffee. I was drawn to the coffee cups IN SPITE OF the bright colors. I shopped for the coordinating fabrics online one morning, mug in hand.

This has got the be a record. I know what I will put on the entry form before the quilt is started, before I even have all the fabrics!

The coffee cup fabric is a piece of the Spill the Beans (which I've done) collection by Barbara Tourtillotte for Clothworks. I liked it and opted to purchase it because it would give me an opportunity to work with Freddy/Gwen colors.

To be continued...

Quilt - How Do I Quilt Thee

This is the original poem.

How Do I Love Thee

How do I love thee? Let me count the ways.
I love thee to the depth and breadth and height
My soul can reach, when feeling out of sight
For the ends of Being and ideal Grace.
I love thee to the level of everyday's
Most quiet need, by sun and candle-light.
I love thee freely, as men strive for Right;
I love thee purely, as they turn from Praise.
I love thee with a passion put to use
In my old griefs, and with my childhood's faith.
I love thee with a love I seemed to lose
With my lost saints, --- I love thee with the breath,
Smiles, tears, of all my life! --- and, if God choose,
I shall but love thee better after death.

- by Elizabeth Barrett Browning, 1806-1861

This is my version of the poem.

How Do I Quilt Thee

How do I quilt thee? Let me count the ways.

I quilt thee to thy length and width
As far as thy borders shall reach.
I quilt thee to the level needed,

Every 4 inches, by sun and Ott light.

I quilt thee freely without marking.

I quilt thee surely without hesitation.

I quilt thee in the ditch, with feathers and stippling
I quilt thee in my nightgown throughout the night.

And, if God choose, I shall bind thee too.

How Do I Quilt Thee is the name of a pink and brown quilt I have been working on for some time. It has strips of on-point Ohio Star blocks separated by strips of vining appliqued flowers and leaves. The border also has similar applique. This is more applique than I have ever used. I've named the quilt this way because I have been wondering if the quilting strategy needs to be different for a quilt that is heavily appliqued. I don't have the answer yet...