Red Window Quilt - Warmth on a Cold February Day

I was able to get outside and take some pictures even though it was a bit overcast and starting to get dark. Humphrey insisted that he should get in on this action. I think he adds something to the quilt, don't you?

Another finish in February, makes up for no finishes in January. I made this quilt to "practice/test" my new Baby Lock Tiara machine - I think Betty-Lou (I name all of my machines) passed.

The quilt turned out very soft and cuddly

FMQ Wiggly Lines

FMQ Paisley

FMQ Swirls

I didn't use any batting, just simple brown fleece for the backing. I think the quilting really shows up well with this combination. I really like how the red binding sets off the whole quilt, even the back.

There were a few thread "burps" on the back, it really helps when you learn to thread your machine correctly. The quilt dimensions are 59"wide  X 71"long, a generous throw. The Red Window quilt is my own design.

 Today, I'm linking up with FMQ Project Friday, TGIFF, Link-A-Finish Friday, Can I Get a Whoop, Whoop and Finish It Up Friday


Color Me Quilty!

Pat 

Red Window Quilt

I'm pretty happy with my Red Window quilt. I finished quilting it on Saturday.

The texture on this quilt turned out great.

I used just fleece on the back, no batting. 

This was the first project I quilted using my new Baby Lock Tiara and I'm thrilled with how it turned out.

Linking up for Anything Goes Monday, which is over at SergerPepper today!

Color Me Quilty!

Pat

Fresh Sewing Day February 2014

January has come and gone. Nothing finished to show for it, although, lots of stuff almost done, lots of projects worked on.

Left to Right, Top to Bottom:
Red Window Quilt
Casserole Carrier
Express Your Love/Goddess Quilt
New Baby Lock Tiara
QAYG Demonstration

Linking up with Lily's Quilts for Fresh Sewing Day February!

Color Me Quilty!

Pat

WIP Wednesday

I think I found a huge part of my ongoing tension issues with my Tiara; I missed a thread guide while threading. Isn't that sewing 101, know your thread path for threading your machine???? I can tell you that I feel a little silly missing the stirrup guide!

I think it's a testament to the machine that it ran as well as it did, threaded incorrectly. Threading it correctly has allowed me to loosen the top tension and less thread breaks. YIPPEE!

I will say that quilting on the Tiara really makes the quilting go quite quickly.

I finished the red section of my Red Window quilt and I started the quilting the left side of the quilt. I think this quilt will be nice and snuggly with the fleece on the back. I love how well the quilting shows on the fleece.

I've also made good progress on my casserole carrier this week.

I've been waiting on something to add to my carrier to make it complete. I received it yesterday, so hopefully I'll finish this up this weekend.

All in all, not a bad week!

Here are this week's stats:
In-process: (6)
Express Your Love
Grandma's Quilt
Charming Squares Quilt
Red Windows Quilt
Humphrey's New Bed
Casserole Carrier
 
New projects: (0) 


Finished (0)


I'm linking up with  Freshly Pieced for WIP Wednesday!

 

Color Me Quilty!

Pat

Baby Lock Tiara Thread Tension

There is definitely a learning curve with my new Baby Lock Tiara, not so much with the actual free-motion quilting part, but getting the tension set properly. There are no numbers or settings, just screws and knobs to turn. In my day job I'm a Quality Engineer, you know I have to find a way to measure things. After some research on the internet, it seems that bobbin tension is the key to setting tension on a longarm. I watched numerous videos on how to test it and thought I had it, but I was still getting "flat-lining" on the back of my quilted pieces, which would normally say I had to tighten the top tension,  except that was so tight the thread kept breaking. So I decided to buy a TOWA gauge just to be sure, it measures tension in M Class bobbin cases.

I thought I had my tension set quite loose, but it was still too tight. After a few more adjustments, my stitches finally look good.  So I basted my Red Window quilt and started quilting it.

I'm using red thread on the top and brown on the bottom. Not seeing much of the wrong color on either the front or back - Yippee Skippee!!!!

The back is dark brown fleece.

This quilt is so soft, perfect to snuggle on the sofa. I'm feeling a little better about my new machine.

Linking up with Marelize at Stitch by Stitch for Anything Goes Monday!

Color Me Quilty!

Pat

A Little More Goddess

Yesterday was such a lovely day to stay in and quilt. I decided to work on my Express Your Love/Goddess quilt and see if I could over come some thread breakage. I know that I'm still working through some tension issues on my new Tiara, but I didn't think that the Isacord thread breakage was all just tension. Then I read Linda's post, over at Linda's Landscapes,  regarding humidity and polyester thread breaks because of static. The humidity in my house is in the low 30's this time of year, so I set up my humidifier and got it up to about 45%. Didn't have one unscheduled thread break, although I did slow it down a bit.

 

All of the FMQ fills are some version of Leah Day's designs. It's so nice to be able to just flip through and pick out a fill to try out.

Anyway, I'm off to quilt!

Color Me Quilty!

Pat

More Playing Than WIP Work

If cleaning, organizing and setting up a new machine in your sewing room counts towards WIP work then I'm good, otherwise not so much.  I spent part of last night learning how to wind a bobbin on this contraption. It's the bobbin winder that came with my new Baby Lock Tiara.

It worked pretty well, but it was a bit intimidating. Winding a bobbin allowed me to work on my Grandma's quilt. I got another row of quilting done.

 I also did a little playing around on a practice piece.

 I also stitched out a section on my "Express Your Love" goddess quilt.

I still have a long way to go to get used to this new machine. Luckily, I have a lot of WIP to learn on.

Here are this week's stats:
In-process: (5)
Express Your Love
Grandma's Quilt
Charming Squares Quilt
Red Windows Quilt
Humphrey's New Bed
 
New projects: (0) 

Finished (0)


I'm linking up with  Freshly Pieced for WIP Wednesday!

 

Color Me Quilty!

Pat

Meet Elisabeth Louise

Yes, I name all of my machines and Elisabeth Louise is royalty! She's a Baby Lock Tiara! I got her from Quilters Corner because their service and support are excellent!

I live in a very rural area and Elisabeth Louise may be royalty, but the name is just a bit pretentious, so I will be calling her Betty-Lou. I think that will help her fit in just perfectly! I even rearranged and cleaned up my sewing room, just for her arrival.

Still have plenty of room for my husband's visiting chair.

I'm pretty impressed that everything have fit so well into this room, it isn't that big. Betty-Lou is running pretty well so far, although I haven't really put her through her paces yet. I'm excited that next weekend is a long weekend (MLK Day), so hopefully I can really test her out.

Linking up with Marelize at Stitch by Stitch for Anything Goes Monday!

Color Me Quilty!

Pat