2/6/14

And, we’re cooking with gas now…

Does everybody remember that saying?  Are there young ‘uns that don’t know that cooking with gas instead of wood or coal was a good thing and a great improvement?  It means all things are going better.

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Now that I’ve decreased the loft of the quilt, my Bernina is much happier.  We’ve got about half of the vertical and horizontal stability stitching in and after that, I begin the tedious miles of ditch work around every one of those little points.  It’s a good thing that’s my vision or it would seem very daunting indeed. 

So, this one will stay on this machine, just like this and I can start the next one. 

For the next one, I’ll be blowing up a photo to poster size and transferring it to fabric as a whole cloth, thread sketch, like a pen and ink sketch.  (Boy, those are lofty goals, eh?  Again, the little engine is chugging “I think I can, I think I can, I think I can.”)

I’m going to try to do that on my Grandmother’s 15-91.  I have her all set up and figured out.  Now, let’s see what she can do with some fine fabric and thread.  I need to get far enough along on that one that I can submit the pre show photo in July.  But, with such ambitious goals, I can hardly afford to wait. 

I can submit three in a show and I’m thinking of the Blue Heron thread painting as my third.  Is it okay to enter something you did in a class?  What are the right and wrong on that within a guild? 

I also got Mary’s stack and whack together. 

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I have a friend that is fighting the consistent quarter inch seam battle that every successful quilter eventually fights.  And, I’ve been showing her this quilt as an example of how to pin points to get them to match.  Yesterday, she brought in her machine and I looked at it, and it’s a machine specifically for quilting, and I told her to stop using the quarter inch foot that came with it and we set her up with a different foot and a seam guide “fence”.  I’m pretty sure it is going to solve her problem.  The quarter inch foot didn’t cover the right side feed dogs, so her piecing always pulled to the left.  What we set up yesterday moves the needle to the right, and uses a wider foot that covers all the feed dogs, and we set up the fence to keep her on the exact quarter inch.  I hope to hear good things from her today about how much happier she is with her piecing.

Everybody have a great Thursday.  The President of the guild wrote me yesterday that I’m back on as secretary. 

Whaaaaaa?

Lane

5 comments:

Marei said...

Glad things are working out with the Orange Peel and the Bernina. You'll have it done before you know it as you just keep plugging along. Our show doesn't have any rules against entering quilts from classes .... a quilt is a quilt, isn't it? But I guess you'd need to check to make sure. And congratulations(?)new secretary. :)

lw said...

Back on as secretary? You'll be great in that position. I hope the original one isn't sick or anything, though, as that was pretty sudden.

I am having a similar issue with the 1/4" seams, but this time, it's on my paper piecing. The printed lines are so thick that if you go to the inside of the line, the block is too small. I need to measure better and start over, and I may need to use a ruler and paper instead of a printer.

Laura said...

'Cooking with gas' was a phrase my dad always used to use. He's the only one I've ever heard say it, and he is probably 30 years older than you.

Unknown said...

Thank you for helping the peer with the 1/4" seam. So hard to do but so critical.

Blessed Wishes!
Cindy B.

Elizabeth said...

I just looked down at the bottom right corner of my screen to see how far behind I am. I almost had a heart attack, until I realized that 2:28 was the time and not the date. Still, I'm pretty behind.

The stack and whack is so pretty! I love those bright colors.

You amaze me with everything you get done. Seriously, do you ever sleep?

Also, congrats, Mr. Secretary.

xo -E