Zig Zagged Squares

Lacking in the originality department - unable to think of a remarkable name for this quilt - I'm callin' it like it is: Zig Zagged Squares.

This 58-1/2" X 69-1/2" quilt was made for the sole purpose of using up 2-1/2" squares. Lots of bright, scrappy goodness in this one! Background fabric is Kona White.

It's double-batted with Quilter's Dream request poly on the bottom and QD's wool on top. Thread is a medium-gray, Presencia 50-weight. 

Quilting this on my Pfaff Grand Quilter was a less than enjoyable experience. The top thread broke frequently, though I kept changing the needle size... from 80 to 90 to 100. The size 100 worked better, but not ideally.

I mostly persevered through quilting, cutting off broken thread pieces, rethreading the machine, and starting again... until the next thread break. 'Bout a hundred times. Yep... less than fun. After speaking to a Pfaff representative, I anticipate the machine is heading to the Pfaff repair doc, about 45 minutes away, on Friday. Quilts gotta be quilted!

These outdoor photos were taken at the Big Cypress Rec Center where Big Cypress Quilters meet every Tuesday afternoon.

I have lots of good friends there. Thanks Frances and Joanne for being my quilt holders on a gorgeous Florida day! Linda

Quilt Folding

Have you ever been dismayed to find folds in your stored quilts? Or even on a quilt that's been folded across the back of a sofa? We're all in the habit of folding a quilt across it's length and width, and if a quilt is stored this way, those fold marks can appear almost permanent.

About ten years ago I changed the way I fold my quilts. I've done it so often that I don't even think about it, so when I'm among quilters who happen to see me fold a quilt, I'm inevitably asked, "What did you just do?!" Let me explain and demonstrate.

The reason this method is better for a quilt goes back to an understanding of fabric weave.

Length of grain fabric has the strongest tension.
Cross grain fabric has a mid-strong tension.
And fabric bias has the least tension, meaning it's stretchier.

The fabric stretchiness is what we're taking advantage of when we fold a quilt on the bias.

How to Fold a Quilt on the Bias
The quilt I'm demonstrating with is my recently-finished "Which Way?" quilt. Since I want the front of the quilt to show when I'm done folding, I'm beginning with the back facing up. If you think of this quilt like a clock, it might help you better understand the process.

Step 1
Beginning at one corner - the 5:00 position - fold a 45-degree angle. 

Step 2
Choose the next corner to the left, folding the first fold onto itself. You're lifting the 7:00 corner and moving it to the 2:00 position.

Step 3
Choose the next corner to the left - the 11:00 position - folding it toward 4:00, overlapping to make the quilt bundle the size you wish.

Step 4
Fold that little corner back onto itself.

Step 5 - Fold to the Size You Desire
Choose the 1:00 position and fold it toward the bundle.

Fold all of it in half to complete your quilt bundle.

If you don't like the way the binding shows, after Step 4 simply fold, fold, and fold the quilt onto itself. 

All my quilts are folded this way, including those that are stored in pillowcases in the top of the closet. It's also how I fold a quilt that's being boxed and shipped to a quilt show.

By the way, I don't take credit for this quilt-folding method. It appeared as a single page article in a long-ago issue of Quilter's Newsletter Magazine.

Isn't it worth sharing again? Linda

A Little Catch-Up

It's been a week since I posted, so I feel the need to say hi.

Thanks to each of you who commented in my last post, or texted, or emailed, to ask how my leg angiogram went last Friday. As expected, the doc found that the six inch-long stent in my femoral artery - that had been placed there 26 months ago - was blocked with plaque. Since I was mostly awake during the 20 minute procedure, over my head I watched the machine the doc used to balloon out the plaque. At my follow-up appointment on Wednesday, I learned that he also peeped down my left leg and says it's still looking clear (that leg was opened February 15). Suffice it to say that: procedure days are always long, like six hours or more; a few techs are getting to know me by name - "Weren't you in here a few weeks ago?" - and; I'll be forever grateful for the attentive care I receive from Dr. Q. I don't anticipate any problems with my legs for at least the rest of 2016. But, Dr. Q plans to monitor my carotid arteries and heart for plaque built-up which haven't been problematic like my legs have been. In late June I'll return for testing.

So! Getting down to more important things... While I recuperated from my angiogram, I worked on these 4-1/2" (side measurement) Spinning Wheel English paper-pieced blocks, making two more during my down time. I started this a while back after seeing a finished quilt made like, using EQ 7 to draft and print card stock papers. No surprise, this is a long-term project.

I also finished a quilt! No full view pictures to share yet because I want to get outdoors to take proper pictures, but this is the one I made with more than one thousand scrappy 2-1/2" squares. Here's a link to my EQ7 design for this free block. I haven't come up with a name for the quilt. Do you too find naming a quilt hard to do? It seems the more quilts I make, the more difficult it is to come up with a name.

The quilting shows up well because this is what double batting looks like. It's Quilter's Dream request loft poly with wool on top of that. Thread is gray 50-weight Prescencia that I received in a gift box from MassDrop. It might have been the thread that caused me fits as I was quilting. Every eight to ten inches or so, the thread broke. Though I changed the needle from an 80, then to a 90, and finally a 100, and adjusted the tension, and cleaned and oiled the machine (twice), the problem persisted, though became less frequent. Quilting in those circumstances about made me want to tear my hair out. It will be interesting to see how the next quilt goes as I plan to use different thread.

Oh! And my Canon S100 camera was returned to me today. That's why I was able to take the photos above. I'm tickled that it's working, but the fix wasn't free, as I hoped it would be. A sense part had broken. My options were to either fix it for $160, or buy a replacement camera for $335. I'm a smart girl, aren't I?

Friday, April 1 finds me teaching all day again. Ten students have registered for Free Motion Quilting through the Lifelong Learning College. I'm looking forward to seeing a few familiar faces, and imparting my love of quilting to all of them. Will let you know how it goes. Linda

Quilters in Jacksonville

On Monday and Tuesday this week, I was with quilters from the All Star Quilter's Guild in Jacksonville, Florida. It was a wonderful experience for me.

The guild meets the third Monday of each month at 10 am, and this meeting found 91 members in attendance!

My 50-minute, 92-slide presentation about domestic machine quilting was followed by a trunk show of 14 of my quilts, and I think it went well. At least no one complained!

It was nice to revisit some of my "oldies," particularly Snowflake Medallion. That's the quilt that really set me on my free motion quilting adventure.

The quilt-holders didn't complain about holding up Scrap Vortex which weighs a ton - it's big, and has thousands of seams.

That afternoon, and again on Tuesday morning, I taught domestic machine quilting to 20 (maybe only 17 attended?) quilters. Since I this is the first time I've free motion quilting with a class of seasoned quilters - mostly new and newer quilters through The Lifelong Learning College - I discovered a difference not only in the level of student abilities, but in their expectations. 

While some of them have the same self-doubts about their capabilities - just as new quilters do - in general they seemed more determined to learn. They asked and remarked about their concerns, and I quickly learned that I needed to step up my game to keep ahead of their thoughtful questions. Teaching and sharing what I know was very rewarding!

The photo collage pictures were taken with my cell phone because after the presentation pictures were taken, my camera's telescopic lens wouldn't retract.

Since I use this camera all the time, I pursued the problem through the Canon website which revealed a common lens problem for my particular model and serial number.

So, even though the camera is out of warranty, all I need do is ship it to Newport News, Virginia, for a no-cost repair. Well, shipping it cost $26, but it's a better deal than having to buy a new camera... if this is the fix.

Anyway, it's good to be home again, after a whirlwind few days. As much as I enjoyed the trip and meeting super-nice quilters, I do wonder how in-demand quilting instructors do it. Preparations, and often being on the go is tiring. Maybe it's all about one's age.

Tomorrow - Good Friday - I have another leg angiogram. It's time to have my 70-80 percent plaque-blocked right leg femoral artery reopened. The visit to Dr. Q's cath lab for a procedure marks the eight time I've been there. Oh boy! I'm getting so close to ten reward points and that new toaster I've been promised! (Ha, ha.) Linda

Which Way? Finish

Which Way? is my latest finish. The quilt finished at 40" X 54" and will be donated to Project Linus.

The design was fun to make because I could use up lots of my 2-1/2" X 2-1/2" squares as well as stashed fabric. I was thrilled to find this perfect backing fabric in my cabinet. Score! From the back you can see that I walking-foot quilted the arrow. Then, each horizontal section is quilted with a different design using a matching thread color.

Batting is Dream Pink, Quilter's Dream's new select loft 80/20 blend. A purchase of this batt supports breast cancer research. So this is a donation quilt made with batting monies donated to research for a cure! Win, win!

I used my favorite "no tails binding" method to add edging that coordinates with each side.

Here's a bit of colorful mail that arrived all the way from the UK! My name was drawn in a blog giveaway by Leanne of SheCanQuilt. My prize is this scrap bundle from the famous Karen Lewis (notice that her name is Karen?!). Scrap fabrics are from her Blueberry Park collection.

I think this is hysterical.

But I guess only a quilter would appreciate it. Thanks, Kathy, for sharing it with me! Linda

Monofilament Thread Samples

That's for me! I'm 63 today.

I'm also boycotting Instagram today due to their proposed algorithm changes. (See previous post.)

So because I thrive on social media, you get an extra dose of me today! Ha, ha.

Today I'm preparing to go to Jacksonville to give a lecture and workshops to the All Star Quilters. The topic I'll speak and teach about is "Domestic Machine Quilting."

I'll give a Powerpoint (Keynote on a Mac) presentation about a domestic machine quilter's journey, show a dozen or so quilts, and then teach two half-day workshops.

Wanting to to provide thorough information, I recently collected spools of monofilament thread, also known as invisible thread, to quilt a test sampler.

These are the brands/types I compared:

• Aurifil
• Invisafil by Wonderfil
• Transfil by Mettler
• Sew-Art
• Wonder by YLI

I'd also like to add Superior and Sulky monofilament threads to my sample piece. 

With each monofilament thread, I used a different color of Aurifil 50-weight cotton thread in the bobbin. The quilt top fabric is a solid dark gray color. I thought it would show the threads more clearly, but it was difficult to photograph.

Beginning at the bottom... Aurifil. It sewed well and didn't require any tension adjustment. I like it.

Invisafil was a surprise. First, because it's such a fine thread. Really more like a thread than a fine nylon. Second, it has a silver transparency to it, rather than being clear. It's more shiny-visible than the other threads, but pretty. After using it, I learned that Invisafil is a 100-weight, cottonized-polyester, and that it comes in 60 colors! So perhaps it really isn't fair to consider it on the same level as other invisible threads. However, I do like it and would like to try other colors.

Sew-Art gave me the most tension problems. In the picture below, you can see the hot pink bobbin thread that pulled to the top, even after loosening the top tension to zero.

Transfil started well, but in a couple places the orange bobbin thread pulled to the top. I made adjustments to the top tension and a little later the bobbin thread appeared at the top again.

Wonder quilted beautifully. To be perfectly honest, I had only the smoke-colored version of this monofilament thread. It looks nice on that steel gray fabric.

Believe it or not, this is the solid lavender-colored backing. It too turned out to be a difficult color to photograph.

From the bottom up are Aurifil (purple) and Invisafil (green). Both look good.

Sew-Art (hot pink) and Transfil (orange). On the back, the tension problem with Sew-Art is apparent. The bobbin thread even feels stiff to the touch. Transfil looks very nice.

Transfil again (orange) and Wonder (blue). I like Wonder.

It's difficult to draw any firm conclusions except to say I probably won't again use Sew-Art brand. I could easily quilt with Aurifil, Invisafil, and Wonder. And I remain curious about Superior and Sulky. Linda