Tips for Beginner's: Part 1 the machine

Recently I was asked to give advise to a friend on what to look for in a sewing machine for someone looking to dabble in quilting.  Instead of just doing a quick response on Facebook I decided I would post a blog on it.
It was perfect timing since I am helping a friend make a quilt at her house with her brand new sewing machine.
My friend Meredith (who I'm helping with the quilt) has a mommy that is quite special... Since Meredith is known for her baking, her mom got her a computerized sewing machine........... Monday morning Meredith took her machine out of the box for the first time in 10 months. She figured out how to plug it in on her own and that was it. I sat down and explained all the parts, showed her how to make a bobbin and thread the machine. Then it was time to start working on the quilt. 
There is no foot that was 1/4" foot so I began looking for the 1/4" mark on the plate. Finally found it. It was even smaller than 1/4"! I lined the fabric up to the mark and the mark disappeared. Out came the scotch tape and sharpie. Line extend! 
Next was the sewing. The needle is automatically in the far right position, I'm not used to that so it took me a while to get used to it but I did, I don't like it though. Next problem I have with her new fancy machine is the automatic stop in the down position, I turned that feature off because the bobbin kept catching (we were naughty and using stock thread).
With everything so fancy you would assume that the machine would run smoothly, it doesn't. I don't know why but it doesn't seem to sew a straight line very well. It is almost like the needle jumps and curves if that makes since. Well here it kinda goes like this ________-----_____----___ I had had 6 cups of coffee that morning so I know it wasn't me.




Now things I like about the machine...
There is a table that attaches to the machine that would come in handy doing quilting and clothes making. There is also a switch to adjust the stitch speed. Great for newbies and pros.




Ok now please ignore how dirty my machine looks. It is 13 years old and well loved... My machine has a 1/4" wide foot so I don't need the 1/4" line on the plate, but you will notice that my plate measurement lines extend in front of the foot so they can be read before the material goes under. I have the tape on there for lining up the points on triangles.
My needle position is right there in front of you so you never forget what position it is in when you begin your sewing...
Ok there are my "reviews" of new vs old machines.
When it comes to buying a "new" machine keep the location of the measurement lines in your first thoughts. Next if you are only quilting, you don't need 360 different stitches you just need a straight stitch. Also check to see how easy it will be to get replacement bobbins, I have 4 threaded at all times with different colors, when I'm working on a project I also have 4 of that color pre-made so I don't have to stop and rethread the needle. New and old machines alike will skip stitches and stuff, just adjust your top tension until you have it right. Now for the biggest tip I have ever received... Years ago I bought my first sewing machine it was a lovely Brother machine that did everything I needed and best of all it cost me $89.00! About a year later in the middle of sewing 5 Halloween costumes it died. I took it to my local sewing machine repair shop. That afternoon they called me in. To repair it would cost $99 as a plastic internal piece that commonly brakes on those machines, broke. The repairman told me that those machines were crud, They are all plastic which is great for lugging it around, but those inexpensive machines are not meant to last invest in a good heavy metal machine. I cried and looked at new machines, I found my lovely Riccar on sale for $300, but it was the display model and they gave it to me for $250. Like I said earlier this was 13 years ago. I take it all apart yearly to clean and oil it. It may be ugly and only have 15 stitches (4 are the parts to a button hole) but it has made about 40 quilts and helped win lots of blue ribbons...

Part 2 tools of the trade, coming soon...

Let's Go Wild!

It's very nerve racking when you get hired to make a quilt.  It's one thing when it is a stranger hiring you, but when it's a friend of 20 years, EEK!!!  That's what happened to me in October of 2013.  My friend Jeff really liked my work and decided he NEEDED one of them.  As a male he didn't want anything girly and he is a huge Kentucky Wildcats fan so I wanted to do a blue and white quilt for him.

Finding quilt ideas is sometimes fun, other times I hate it.  His quilt took forever to figure out.  Do I want to do a chain quilt for basketball? Or a star quilt for winning?  What about a classic blue and white 9 patch?  Oh I know!  I'll do a basketball court!!!  Okay not a real basketball court, but kinda close...

On Pintrest I found a quilt that if you squint you can see basketball courts.  I clicked on the link and it's only pictures of said quilt... So there I was with my handy graph paper, my dandy pencil and my wonderful box of 64 crayons drawing lines and coloring them in until I came up with my design.  I snapped a quick picture and sent off to Jeff in Oklahoma (did I mention this quilt was being made for a good friend that moved from Nevada to Oklahoma 15 years ago?) he loved it.

Luckily since I had drawn out the pattern on graph paper it was so easy to figure out the material needed and the best part was I could use fat quarters!!!  When there are 16 different blues and whites that all need to compliment each other for a quilt fat quarters are a blessing!  I picked out 9 whites/light blues and 7 dark blues and cut and piled them all. I ended up with lots of extra parts because I wanted it all random... So each "FQ" was cut into 22- 2.5"*2.5"; 9-2"*4.5"; 10-2.5"*6" (the top row in the picture can be cut into 2-2.5*2.5 and either 2--2.5*6 or 2-2*4.5 or one each of the 6 and 4.5).


Since I wanted that part to be 100% random I put ALL 2"*4.5" pieces into a paper bag.  I sewed a light 2.5*2.5 to a dark 2.5*2.5 (you need 2 of those color combos for a block).  Then came the fun part  reach into the bag and pull out a 2*4.5 (no putting it back or accidentally dropping it) and sew it between your light/dark combos.  When you have finished this step you will have lots of 4.5"*6" sets.

To the top of each set sew a 2.5*6 of the same fabric as the 2.5*2.5.  Do the same to bottom. You'll end up with how ever many you need of the 8.5"*6 finished block.  Since I was making a throw I used 63 blocks (7 columns and 9 rows).

Now put ALL the blocks back in the bag and pull out 2 at a time.  Match up a light top with a dark top and sew together.  Continue doing that until you have 9 rows of 7.  Sew the rows together.  I added a thin 1.5" border to the quilt just because in the hand quilting it makes it more stable and the seams less likely to unravel.  Once you are done with the top go ahead and baste and quilt.  For the quilting I did straight lines in each block from corner to corner.  I of course added a nameplate on the back and called it good.  The Henry family loved it and used it during the final four this year.

My cat loves laying on my unfinished quilts...

I used left over scraps for the binding.

Mitered corners are the best.

My Beer Goggles

A while back I began this post about a quilt I was making.  Apparently all I did was title it... Well I have some free time and it is way to hot to quilt right now so I will finish this post...

Back in September of 2013 I was hired to make a quilt for a lady who was about to become an aunt for the first time. It was really exciting for her.  Again she had the material she wanted used and knew the pattern... Unfortunately I was not willing to spend the $100+ on the machine the pattern "required".  For days I worked out the pattern on paper and it just didn't seem right.  Then one night out having a drink I looked at my cup and realized that was it!!! The beer cup was the perfect size for the tumbler block she wanted used. With that figured out next step was finding more fabric she would like.  I looked through my stash and found some from a Celtic quilt I made years ago.  She liked it!

My scraps in the beer cup

Then it was time to get started.  I measured the top, bottom and height of the cup then marked it onto the fabric I was using.  

I did mine about 1/8" off...

From having done sooooo many Lone Star quilts over the years I knew that when I sewed everything the edges would have to be off center a little to get them line up perfectly...

The overlapping allows for perfect lines.

Next came sewing all 132 blocks together alternating them upside down and right side up...

The customer didn't want any of the same colors to be touching each other.  Let me tell you that was the hardest part!!! It took me hours to get them so there was only one spot where they did line up.

Can you find the spot that the fabric touches itself?

 I threw on some borders and did the binding in scraps from all the fabrics used in the quilt! I think that is some of the neatest binding you can do.

She wanted a soft green flannel for the back so I did the first border and "G" (for baby G) in the flannel.

 When she told me she wanted the green flannel for the backing I was petrified.  I had never hand quilted flannel before and thought of all the piling and thickness I would have to deal with.  Luckily baby flannel is much easier to deal with than clothing flannel.

Aunt Hope will always be holding baby G

No quilt is complete without an inscription...

 I wanted the quilting to be extra special and just for "G" so I traced the auntie's hand and quilted it all over the quilt.

Lessons I learned while making this quilt were: Plan way ahead when you don't want the fabrics to touch.  Flannel isn't too hard to work with for backings. And finally sometimes inspiration for baby quilts come in the least baby of places ;)