Monday, December 2, 2013

Thoughts on FMQ…

Yesterday I wanted to quilt two small quilt tops that have been laying around the sewing room…

The first one up was this small table topper!

P1250226

I have the perfect spot for this quilt …I want to hang it on a ‘new’ quilt hanger and it will be draped so I wasn’t too, too worried about the quilting…I decided on an all over smaller meander…something that I haven’t done yet on the mid-arm. 

I decided to quilt both quilts the same way…they are both busy designs and an all over meander wouldn’t take away from the quilt….plus with all those intersecting points I thought it was best to try and avoid bumping over these…SEW a plan was hatched!! 

And like all good PLANS this one went array…I thought I would bang this puppy off in no time…or sew I thought!  Nope…I had ‘issues’!  UGH!  I thought I was finished having ‘issues’…I thought my mid-arm FINALLY liked me…really LIKED me!! 

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I did everything that the machine liked…I really DO treat her like a QUEEN!  I dusted her, oiled her, put in a new needle, new thread…slacked the quilt as much as I could but being so small I couldn’t get it as loose as ‘she’ likes…(I think this may have been the problem…I couldn’t get it loose enough…?)

Anyways it was a fight…fraying thread (SoFine) to the point of breaking thread and then towards the end the underbelly threads tension was being ‘compromised’…I tried to sweet talk her out of her mood but she was having none of it!

So I got her done and FAST…and got the heck out of there!

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The meandering is far from perfect…and can you see the tension…but hey…she’s done and washed (my friend Kim says if you wash the quilt after quilting anything looks ‘good’ ;)  She is SEW right…I love the wrinkles and crinkles…

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…just don’t look at the back!!

Think I’ll be hand quilting this one…P1250185

Oh well…it’s all good…right?

Have a marvellous Monday…enjoy the magic of the season!  Put on some Christmas music…everything seems better with some FaLaLaing in the background …and besides, it helps to drown out the cuss words…!)!~P

Posted by paulette at 6:55 AM

14 comments:

  1. ferneDecember 2, 2013 at 7:06 AM

    I am using my domestic machine and quilting a wall hanging right now and as usual I like it but, I am not wowing myself...as soon as I put them in the wash though, poof! they look great!

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  2. AnnaDecember 2, 2013 at 7:13 AM

    mid and long arms struggle with wanting to be the boss! there is no comparison to hand quilting but I just don't have the time. both quilts are the sweetest!

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  3. SandyDecember 2, 2013 at 7:56 AM

    hmm.. looks pretty good to me, on my tiny computer screen anyway! Darling quilt. Personally, I stay away from FMQ as I've never really got the hang of it. Good for you, for persevering and getting it done!

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  4. Karens Quilts, Crows and CardinalsDecember 2, 2013 at 8:27 AM

    Sweet little quilts Pauline. So sorry the little Miss was being temperamental - who knows what gets into those girls at times.

    I had a burr once on the underside of the needle plate of my domestic. It gave me fits through an entire quilt until someone on my blog suggested that was the problem -- sure enough...

    I hope the attitude goes away soon... tell her it's Christmas!!

    Take care now.
    Karen

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  5. WoolenSailsDecember 2, 2013 at 9:23 AM

    Wonderful quilt and quilting. Hopefully I can get mine finished this year.

    Debbie

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  6. HeartsdesireDecember 2, 2013 at 9:34 AM

    Another cutie finished. You're really getting through that stack. Sorry about the mid-arm problem, but the quilt looks fabulous, as always. As for the other one, a good hand-quilting project for lying around the pool?

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  7. SheilaDecember 2, 2013 at 2:27 PM

    I don't have my sweet sixteen on a frame so don't really understand about the slack . But would it help to attach some waste muslin / calico to the edge of your quilt to increase the size of the quilt? Getting the tension "right" is the most frustrating part of the whole process. The anxiety is enough to freeze me into inactivity . Both little quilts are really sweet, i am tempted to do the star one , but that would be another excuse not to quilt the pile of flimsies waiting for attention .

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  8. Janna and MikeDecember 2, 2013 at 4:58 PM

    I wish I was there to help you with that fickle machine!! It is so much fun to use when everything goes right.

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  9. marieDecember 2, 2013 at 6:07 PM

    Great quilt. The quilting looks good on the computer screen. After it's washed all the imperfections will go away. Do you want me to send you all of my little quilts to practice on? lol!

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  10. K and D in the RVDecember 2, 2013 at 7:57 PM

    HAHAHA Paulette! Ok, so now everyone knows not to look too close at my FMQ!!!!! You let the cat MEOW outta the bag! I am doing a FMQ workshop in January...! Hurry up and get here our friend!!!!

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  11. audreyDecember 2, 2013 at 11:46 PM

    So true that washing and drying hides a multitude of less than perfect stitching.:) Great wallhanging.:)

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  12. QuiltSueDecember 3, 2013 at 1:13 AM

    Well I presume you're joking about the quilting on this one, cos it looks brilliant to me.

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  13. Carla A Few Of My Favorite ThingsDecember 3, 2013 at 4:16 AM

    This is the very reason I hand quilt. I did make a woven quilt last summer that I think I will try to machine quilt, i just need to work up the courage. I will try to remember that washing will hide a lot of my blundering. LOL

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  14. LoriDecember 3, 2013 at 7:43 AM

    Some quilts just don't want to get quilted and fight ya every step of the way. It is so annoying!

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