Scrapy Progress
Well now I have twelve 18 1/2 " blocks. Pic is of two of them. Now my big problem - a way I can quilt them. It is just too expensive for me to send everything to my long arm quilter. I don't want to hand quilt. I don't want to practice a lot. I don't like tying. I have a walking foot that works well. My last try at experiment in quilt-as-you-go was failure. Seems like no good way. Any ideas? Also do you prewash your batting?
Have you ever quilted without batting?Yup, I bought fabric. Spent $100. Probably should have put it toward the long arm quilter, huh? Anyway, this is a taste of it. The print is what I've been looking for the background for Tonya's letters. Of course I had to get some matching blue fabric for the letters, right?
I'll show more fabric later. Nothing special. Two large cuts for quilt backings and some pieces for the stash. Okay, off for my hour of housework so I can quilt. :)
8 comments:
Here's what I would do...and HAVE done before. Using your walking foot, start at one side towards the middle of the quilt, and make a nice big curve moving upwards a few inches until you hit the center of the quilt...then start curving down several inches and make a nice big curve that swings to the other side. You can practice by taking a piece of paper and just make a nice big curve across.
You don't even have to change the curve in the center if you don't want, but it dips nicely when you do.
Once you make the first curve line, measure over at some random number...1" or 2" and just repeat the same curve from that first line, until you get to the far corner. Then go back to that first line and work from that out towards the opposite corner and it's a simple way to quilt.
The wave makes it easier than keeping the lines perfectly straight. My foor has a bar that will pre-set so I can keep the spacing perfect.
Sounds like you do the same as me, reward yourself with quilting after you do much time with housework. Quilt wise things are looking good. Try free motion meandering with your sewing machine. It is fun and works well.
Why not get an interesting print for the back and then quilt around that? There was a book that explained how to do that, but it's a simple technique. For example, a plaid on an angle can be a great way to stay with straight lines without your quilting being boring. A large floral pattern or geometric pattern that you can trace around can also add interest to the quilt.
You could always just stitch in the ditch between the blocks. The warm and natural has webbing in it so that you can go up to 8 inches between quilting lines. I haven't washed my batting, but I hear it's a snap to do. But I haven't noticed it shrinking when I wash my quilts so ...
Straight line diamond grids work really easy with your walking foot. Especially if you have a quilt guide attachment for your machine that lets you guide it along one line to determine placement for the next line.
Your scrappy top looks great Katie! Way to go in getting some of it cut up and into blocks.
I never pre-wash batting, and have had no problems with shrinkage when I washed the quilt afterwards.
I've quilted through just about everything. You can use flannel as a lining(old sheet blankets of wornout flannel) were very popular back in the 1930's and 40's), regular new flannel works fine. I've used pretty much every batting made at some time or another. There isn't much to lift the seams off the backing with NOTHING inside, but it can be done. They were called summer quilts. I remember Carolyn, over at Lakeside Quilting Blog talking about that last summer sometime.
It makes a nice lightweight cover for the hot months. Pretty, finished and not heavy.
You could even do a pillowcase turn on a quilt top like that.
As for machine quilting. I'd be tempted to stitch in the ditch...or maybe you need buttons at the intersections..*S*
The sky is the limit on what you can do. Did you know that back in harder times, they often even put newspaper inside a quilt for added warmth?? Yup..I'm sure they were utility quilts and not for show, but to keep from freezing was the goal.
I'm no help with machine quilting ideas. I don't pre-wash my batting - I like the effect of it shrinking up a bit. Those are some great fabrics for making some letters - looking forward to seeing what you come up with.
You can do either an overall meander or stitch in the ditch. Both would look fine.
The one thing I don't like about the "summer" quilts is that there is no definition to the quilting. So if you want it really light, why not try Thermore?
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