10 Tips for Spiral Quilting Success

After sharing my Scrap Vortex quilt and mentioning that I spiral-quilted it, a few people expressed interest in learning more about spiral quilting, so today's post is about that.

I'll admit that before spiral quilting for myself my thought was, "How hard can it be?" Well, it was trickier than I expect, so I'll give you the advantage of my experiences and share a few tips.

Tip 1: Approach spiral quilting with a positive attitude. No matter what size project you're quilting, expect that quilting will be v-e-r-y slow-going. At first, it will be!

Tip 2: Expect that your shoulders will get a little workout. All the cramming, shoving and quilt repositioning - especially for a large quilt - might give you enough of a workout that you'll it feel later! My arms ached a little and I'm in pretty good shape.

Tip 3: The walking foot you choose to use makes a difference! Here you see two walking feet. On the left is the foot for my Pfaff Grand Quilter; on the right is the foot for my Bernina 440. Notice that the widths of each foot are different? I intentionally chose to quilt on my Bernina so I could use the wider foot as a guide for the distance between spirals.

Tip 4: If your walking foot has the option of different feet, choose the open-toe foot for better visibility as you're quilting.

Tip 5: If your walking foot has a repositionable guide bar, use it. The guide is the best way to ensure consistent spacing. Since I spiral-quilted in a clockwise direction, I positioned the guide to the left of the walking foot. Conversely, if you plan to quilt in a counter-clockwise direction, use a guide bar on the right side of the walking foot.

For the quilting example that follows, I set the distance between spirals at 3/4".

Tip 6: A machine adjustment you might like to make is to the pressure put on the quilt sandwich. On my Bernina, the dial at the end of the machine controls pressure. I turned the dial downward to increase pressure to help control bobbled stitches that sometime occur between stops and starts.

On older sewing machines, the pressure adjustment can usually be made by "dialing down" the silver screw-like knob on top of the machine, above the presser foot area. Whatever you do, don't forget to return the pressure back to normal when you're finished quilting.

Tip 7: My Bernina's default stitch length is 2.4. For quilting, I like to set it at 2.6. I can't suggest a length for your machine, as each brand is set differently, but I definitely prefer to have a slightly longer stitch length than what I use for piecing.

Tip 8: Use the "needle down" option on your machine. When you're repositioning the quilt, like you need to do about a ga-jillion times, it helps that the needle stays in place.

Find the middle of your quilt, and draw around a circle. I used a quarter as my center, but you should choose a circle size that's in proportion to the amount of quilting that will cover the piece. For my 88" X 92" Spiral Vortex quilt, I started with a two-inch diameter circle.

Trace the circle with a blue wash-out marker, or disappearing ink pen.

Tip 9: I found it extremely helpful to also draw the tail that would lead me out to the 3/4" distance I chose for this piece. I recommend you do the same for whatever spacing you choose for your quilt.

Insert the needle at the point where the circle meets the beginning of the tail you've drawn. In the photo above, I've marked that point with an arrow. Draw the bobbin thread to the top. You're ready to begin quilting.

Stitch. One stitch at a time to quilt the drawn circle in a clockwise direction. Seriously. Take one stitch: up/down. Move the quilt. Take one stitch - up/down. Move the quilt. Repeat. Repeat. Repeat. This is the S-L-O-W part, and that's the only way to begin to quilt around the circle.

Tip 10: If your sewing machine has a knee lift, use it! You'll develop a sort of rhythm:

Stitch (up/down)
Raise foot
Move quilt
Lower foot
Stitch (up/down).... and so on. Eventually, you'll make it around the drawn circle.

When you've completed the circle, continue following the drawn tail until you reach the desired distance between spirals. Once you've hit that mark with your guide bar, or the side of your walking foot (or, if you prefer, eyeball a space slightly wider than the side of your walking foot, as I have also been known to do), continue quilting one stitch at a time.

Don't rush! Quilting one stitch at a time may seem to go on forever, but remind yourself that the number of stitches you take at one time will eventually increase. In the photo below, I've continued to stitch one stitch at a time.

When I reached this point, I was up to two stitches at a time.

And even while stitching this slowly, and turning the quilt every time, the slightest bobble can be seen just to the left of the guide bar tip.

Expect that perfection is next to impossible. Pretty-darned-good is wonderful! At this point, I'm up to a combination of two stitches (raise foot, adjust quilt, lower foot) and three stitches at a time.

As you continue to stitch, you'll gradually be able to take more stitches at a time, and when you hit four or five stitches at a time, you'll feel good that "the worst is over." Then, by the time you get to the 12th spiral or so, you know you've got it made!

Be aware that eventually your spiral will reach the edge of the quilt. At that point you'll see that the outside corners of the quilt still need quilting. On each of the four corners, keep the distance between each spiral the same and continue to quilt a gentle curve.

Though one spiral on a quilt is impressive, consider the possibilities of a more dramatic effect with several quilted spirals. I plan to pursue this further. How about you? Linda

Scrap Snap Quilt

Scrap Snap Quilt, 60" X 78"

I'd like to say that making the Scrap Snap quilt used up most of my scraps, but I can truthfully say only that the canvas scrap bins slide more easily into their cabinet slots. Ha, ha! Better. 

Thanks are owed to Kari, for the free Scrap Snap block instructions at www.quiltsforthemaking.blogspot.com. The layout for my blocks is my own.

This past week I quilted Scrap Snap, choosing to making easy spirals. If you've never tried spiral quilting with a walking foot, I recommend it as a way to quilt a large area quickly - well, at least faster than custom free motion domestic machine quilting. I wrote a blog post with tips about how to spiral quilt: 10 Tips for Spiral Quilting Success.

I spiral quilted my first quilt on my Bernina 440QE with a 7-1/2" harp. That size is doable, but since getting my Bernina 770QE with its 10" harp, it's somewhat easier. Mostly I need to be sure everything is off the quilting table surface because the "fluffy" quilt can easily knock things off.

Quilting Scrap Snap began with one offset spiral in the upper left section. In the photo above you can see I used the Bernina walking foot guide (on the left side of the foot) to quilt spirals one inch apart.

When the first spiral was finished, I moved to the lower right section to begin another spiral. That's variegated-color thread. 

I quilted with two different variegated colors of 40-weight YLI thread. All bobbin thread was Aurifil 50-weight silver, color #2615.

When the second spiral was completed, I added partial spirals to fill in the upper right and lower left sections. In this photo you can see where spirals touched one another. 

Each time a spiral "bumped into" a striped setting triangle, I stopped. 

Lastly, I used a ruler to quilt straight lines spaced to follow the striped fabric. Easy work.

Binding is checked fabric. I thought about using the same stripe as the setting triangles, but knew it would drive me crazy if the stripes didn't match. 

Even though it takes more time to piece a quilt back, I am always happy to use up fabrics for a scrappy backing, which seemed appropriate for this scrap quilt. 

I still love seeing a colorful quilt hanging in a Bismarck palm!

Scrap Snap Quilt, 60" X 78"

As many of you know from reading previous posts, I'm participating in Kristy Lea's upcoming "Create Collection" launch. Create is the name of her new fabric line by Riley Blake. Here's the list of quilters participating in making a project, and when to see them on Instagram. 

For those of us who blog, we'll also write a blog post on our assigned date. Tuesday, July 21 is when you'll see the small quilt I designed, and find details and free access to the pattern. I appreciate feedback from those of you who have expressed interest in seeing my project.

This post wouldn't be complete without a book review, but leave it to me to select a book that was the second in a series! No, I didn't read the first one. Sigh. Love's Every Whisper is in Naomi Rawlings' six-book Eagle Harbor series that takes place in the late 1800s along the coast of Lake Michigan. It's an age-old love story involving two kids who grew up in the same town, but from diverse economic backgrounds - Victoria's as the daughter of a wealthy shipping merchant, and Elijah's as the son of a fisherman-fur trader. After the death of his father in a lake storm, Elijah devotes himself to building a rescue boat and putting together a team of volunteers who are ready to assist a floundering boat. Of course, Elijah's long-time nemesis, is around to make life as challenging as possible, including wanting to make Victoria his wife.

This is what I call a "beach novel" - the sort that's pleasant reading while lying in the sand, or lounging at the pool.  Linda's score: 3.5/5.0 

Linda

E-Book Giveaway

This giveaway is closed. The winning number, chosen by Random Number Generator is: 

Congratulations Beth! - blue_dragonfly5

It's Friday the 13th, and it could be your lucky day! I'm hosting a giveaway and I couldn't be more happy to share this one - a quilting book.

Fellow domestic machine quilter, Christa Watson (author of Machine Quilting With Style) has written another quilting book, and in my opinion, it's a must-own. That's because it's written from two quilting perspectives: Christa's as a domestic machine quilter; and Angela Walters', as a longarm quilter. This makes the book a winner whether you domestic machine quilt or longarm quilt!

Not only is it an ingenious idea to write a book like this - sort of a "he said; she said," though this is  "she said; she said" - but the book layout is inspired!

Every page related to longarm quilting is color-coded turquoise-blue to indicate that this is what Angela has to say about it.

Every page related to sit-down (domestic) machine quilting is color-coded melon orange to indicate what Christa has to say about it.

How clever! After learning about their tools and tips in pages 4 though 16...  

... the book continues with 10 quilt patterns! It's picture heavy with close-ups of how each quilter chose to make and quilt those 10 patterns. The designs, and instruction for them continue all the way to page 138. With so much visual content, a quilter will never be at a loss for inspiration.

I'm a fan of spiral quilting, even though it can be physically demanding shoving a big quilt through a small harp. But once you get started, the quilting doesn't require much thought, and the texture is wonderful. So I was happy to see that Christa shared spiral quilting on her "Exploding Star" quilt.












With such good photos and suggestions throughout, the book really struck a chord with me. You can imagine that I was honored when Christa invited me to review the book for her, and offer a giveaway.

One winner will receive an electronic version of The Ultimate Guide to Machine Quilting so the giveaway is open internationally.

You have until Sunday, May 15, 6 pm Eastern time, to enter.

In a comment just tell me if you're a domestic or longarm quilter, and be sure I have a way to reach you if you win. Many of you are "noreply-commenter" which means I do not have your email address to tell you when you win. If you don't know for sure, add your email address!

However, if you can't wait until Sunday, or would just like to have a print version to hold in your hot little quilting hands, then order directly from Martingale Publishing here.

Or head to Amazon for a discounted price here.
Or get a signed copy from Christa here.
Or get a signed copy from Angela here.

Options, options, options! Good luck! This giveaway is closed. The winner was chosen May 15 at 6 pm Central time. Linda

Spiral Quilting by the Dozen

Without many quilt-y things demanding attention these days, I'm catching up with three quilt tops that need quilting. Here's good progress on the first one which should be completed today. 

It's an original design with 12 charcoal-colored linen fabric squares pieced in the top. Drawing a circle in the center of each square by tracing the end cap of a spool of Aurifil thread with a white pencil, I used my walking foot to quilt 12 spirals with 12 different colors and weights of thread (50-, 40- and 28-weights). Overlapping spirals make lovely texture with Quilter's Dream Select Cotton batting.

I'll have to say I'm feeling pretty comfortable spiral quilting! Practice helps! If you haven't tried it, but would like to, be sure to check out my blog post: "10 Tips for Spiral Quilting Success." 

Though charcoal linen would look good as binding, I don't have enough. Not sure what the edges will be finished with. 

At our weekly Big Cypress Quilters meeting we got to see examples of the finished ribbons our chapter members made for the upcoming January 27-28-2023 "Showcase of Quilts," the biannual quilt show of Quilting Guild of The Villages.

On two occasions, we spent time measuring, cutting, sewing, and gluing to make more than 120 ribbons that will be awarded at the show. We're very grateful that one of our members, Peggy, works for a custom embroidery business and did all the embroidered text for us. She saved our guild a lot of money! 

As you can see, this show celebrates the 30th year of Quilting Guild of The Villages. We were told that 485 quilts have been entered - more than expected! Three of them are mine. 

Next Tuesday Big Cypress Quilters will host a baby shower for Children's Home Society of Florida. Besides mine, there will be a whole stable-full of Patchwork Ponies donated. Pictures will be taken! 

A few people have commented that they didn't realize how large a Patchwork Pony is:

H14" X W13" X D2½"

Book Recommendation

23 Summers by Erin Hilderbrand has entertainment value, but not a lot else. If you're averse to sexual promiscuity and/or adultery, this is not the book for you. 

The story premise is based on an old Alan Alda movie, Same Time Next Year. A man and woman make a connection, and it's meaningful enough that they promise to meet again the following year, "no matter what." Thus, each year, beginning in 1992, Jake and Mallory start meeting over Labor Day weekend at her oceanside cottage on Nantucket Island... for 28 summers. Through the years, Jake goes his own way, always longing for Mallory even when he has a family. Mallory goes through men, always comparing them to Jake. No one measures-up. Yet she teaches high school English, has a son, and no one is the wiser about their relationship, including her brother and best friend. 

While listening, I found myself muttering "Stupid man." If you feel the urge to do that too, this is the book for you. 

Linda's score: 3.5/5.0

Other than quilting and listening to audiobooks, I've been regularly practicing my tenor ukulele. I love it! As I've been doing plucking drills, I'm hearing gradual improvement in my picking ability. I'm trying to memorize "Edelweiss." Learning something new is slow, but the sense of accomplishment is sure nice. 

Linda

Retreat Action

A whole week-long quilt retreat is time for some major productivity! And that's exactly what happened when six of us set up sewing machines and got to work.

We stayed on the fourth floor of a six-story condo in a lovely Kissimmee resort. Disney World isn't far away, so every evening we could see and hear fireworks from one attraction or another.

Though there were six quilters on our retreat, not all six of us were together at the same time. At the most we had five quilters sewing in the living room. Then, for several days it was just four of us.

Throughout the week, the camaraderie and conversation was amiable. We ate healthy meals, enjoyed good snacks, and watched movies!

Australia - Nicole Kidman and Hugh Jackman
Florence Foster Jenkins - Meryl Streep and Hugh Grant
The Brave One - Jodie Foster

The Dressmaker - Kate Winslet, Judy Davis, Liam Hemsworth

The Lake House - Sandra Bullock and Keanu Reeves

The Light Between Oceans - Michael Fassbender and Alicia Vikander
Unfaithful - Diane Lane and Richard Gere
War Room - Priscilla Shrier

I have a difficult time picking a favorite, but I'll say that "Australia" is very special. After watching it at least five times, it never disappoints.

I had three complete finishes, finished a quilt top, made good progress on my LindaNova English paper-piecing project, and did a fair bit of machine and hand quilting on Urban Trek.

I made this Bowties quilt, a free pattern from the Moda Bakeshop site.

I pieced it in baby boy colors, in a baby boy size: 35-1/2" X 46-1/2". 

Bowties is made entirely with a tumbler template. Though the paper template can be printed with the pattern, I cut out the fabrics using a lucite tumbler shape that had already been used to make this "So What's Your Point?" quilt back in 2001. What's old is new again, isn't it?

To pin baste, I cleaned the master bathroom floor, and got down on my hands and knees. I'm glad the quilt wasn't any bigger! 

I used my Bernina Aurora 440 to free motion quilt circles in the center of each bow tie. Then, with the Bernina #72 ruler work foot and a straight Fine Line Ruler (by Accents in Design), I quilted lines in the bow ties.

When the bow ties were done, I added FMQ waves - I think they look like bed springs -  in the Kona Silver background. Simple quilting that will do for a child.

Binding is Moda Bella in the color Little Boy Blue. Too perfect! Backing fabric is Zen Chic.

This Octagonal Orb block (free pattern here) has been an orphan for several years. I quilted it using Westalee Sew Steady Circles on Quilts Template Set 1.

I sewed it into an envelope-backed pillow that will be stuffed with an 18" square pillow form.

This 24" X 24" Cross Check Mini Quilt is a free pattern from the modern quilt TV show "Fresh Quilting" by Yvonne Fuchs - QuiltingJet Girl. She explained transparency in a segment of season 2, episode 6, and offered the Cross Check Mini Quilt pattern with that episode. (You need to be a member of the Modern Quilt Guild to view these links.)

Quilting one spiral design is all this quilt needed. If you haven't tried spiral quilting, here's a link to my tips and tutorial for successful spiral quilting.

Moving forward on a WIP (work in progress), I foundation paper-pieced four more blocks to make a total of 16 blocks for a "Rainbow Rounds" quilt.

I now have a 58" x 58" quilt top that needs backing and quilting. 

Rainbow Rounds is a pattern by Jo Avery (MyBearPaw of Edinburgh, Scotland) that appeared in Love Quilting magazine. The magazine named the design Rainbow Rounds, but Jo (who I had the pleasure of meeting in person earlier this year at QuiltCon!) calls it Bufferwheel.

So much sewing and quilting and movie and friends time! I also played my ukulele, briefly, on two occasions, and power walked twice. Suffice it to say that it was wonderful! And it's nice to be home and back in my cozy sewing room too. No doubt there's more sewing time ahead. Linda