Showing posts with label QCT. Show all posts

Lots of Quilting

I quilted two small quilts over the weekend.  I upgraded my quilting software so decided to make another Quilts for Kids to test out the program.  I had several larger pieces of fabric I'd bought especially for this purpose, so I went into the fabric closet to pull out some coordinating fabrics.

 And then realized that I did not purchase enough yardage of either piece.  Giant sigh.  

 On to plan B.  I dug through my stash trying to come up with enough yardage of anything.  Side note:  I don't usually buy yardage of anything except shades of white.  I found a huge piece of yellow fabric that would work for backing plus enough to mix in with the front fabrics.  Kept searching, came up with a yard+ piece of mouse fabric.  I'm pretty sure I've had this piece of fabric for over 20 years!!  But it is still cute.  Came up with gray polka dot that was left over from a quilt backing.  Okay, this can work.  It's a little offbeat, but all good.

 As I assembled the top, I realized that I really didn't care for the piece of fabric I'd pulled for the inner border.  Back to the closet I went, and came up with a coordinating color.  Bonus, it had cats on it!

 I decided to really try out the software upgrade by stitching an orange peel design.  Orange peel is notoriously hard to line up from row to row with the software.  It did pretty well, so I'm pleased.  The only change I would have made is to use white thread instead of the gray, because I don't love the gray on the yellow fabric.
I've accumulated quite a few quilts for the Quilts for Kids charity now.  This is a stack of eight that I've done over the past year.  They are closed through at least May 15 due to COVID, so I can't send them in yet.  These will all need to be washed and dried before sending.  Can you imagine how big and heavy this box will be?
Since the trial quilt went well, I decided to load another quilt.  This one is from the Primrose Cottage Quilts spring box and is 36" x 36".  I have loads of batting remnants, but couldn't find one the right size for this quilt, so I made a "Frankenbatting" for the first time.  It was no big deal and I would do it again for sure. It might even help me tame the giant batting avalanche in the fabric closet. Here's a picture of the batting while I was zig-zagging it together.
I quilted it with the Pretty Posies design and I love how soft and feminine it came out.  While the kit came with binding, I wanted a different fabric, so ordered it and am waiting for it to arrive in order to complete this one.
I'm ready to start quilting my Dash Along churn dash quilt along quilt from a few years ago next.  After a good month of not much sewing or quilting, suddenly I'm ready to quilt all the things.  My sew-jo has returned. Woo hoo!  Do you need a top quilted?  I am ready.  Click on the circular "Quilting by Anne-Marie" logo in the sidebar to head to my quilting services page to order quilting.  Sign up for my once-a-month newsletter while you're there in order to receive special offers/codes.  Your email will not be shared.  :)

 I was on a Zoom call last night with the larger quilt guild I belong to.  One of the ladies shared her finished Frolic top and I love how she did the border.  I had been dragging my feet because I didn't love the original border and felt like it would need another after that.  However, I loved how Marita's looked. I am totally stealing her idea and will probably finish that top next, no extra/additional borders needed after. I already have the quilting design selected for that one.  I'm still working on my For the Love of Geese top too.  We won't talk about the Unity quilt.  ha.

 Things are coming along in the gardens.  Some of the irises are starting to bloom. I ventured out in the rain yesterday to snap these photos.
I have loads of milkweed coming up in the lower front garden, so maybe this year we will get monarchs that can take advantage of them.  

 The allium looks nice this year.  We have hummingbirds now too!
The veggies are mostly doing well, minus the beets.  The onions look limp, but since this is our first year trying to grow them, I'm not sure how they should look.  They are in the hanging boxes in the picture below. My husband has added three strawberry beds outside of our fenced vegetable area.  He build protective frames for them with pipes and netting.  We'll see how that goes too.  You can see two of them in the back of this picture.  The other one is on the other side of the garden.
School ends for my kids tomorrow.  2020 sure has been a strange one so far.  Hope you are all doing well.

Linking with For the love of geese, My Quilt Infatuation, and From Bolt to Beauty.
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Churn Dash Mini

Happy Christmas!

 I managed to get several things done in the past week, including cleaning my house!  😂 I finally got the binding on the mini churn dash quilt.  This is one that I quilted at the beginning of December before I began the intense custom quilting job that I shared last week.
The quilting on this is a combination of computer- and hand-guided.  I learned how to use QCT to place a block and sort of how to lay out a border.  I filled in some with some free-motion quilting as well.  I was disappointed to find out that I do not have the Borders portion of the program included in my setup.  I was extremely disappointed to find out that if I do want access to it, it is $200 per year.  What!?  

Anyway, it was a good learning experience.  I need to remember not to use the tie/cut function when doing custom or blocks because it leaves loads of giant thread knots on the back that are very unattractive.  I already used what I learned when I quilted the custom quilt immediately following.  I also was reminded why some battings really aren't suitable for long arm quilting.  The chunk I used in this was an inexpensive variety that was a leftover from something.  With cheap stuff, no matter how much I fiddle with it, the tension never looks good.  It's just not dense enough to stand up to the quilting.  At least the front looks good.

So, this mini was my One Monthly Goal for Elm Street Quilts.  I also had it on my extensive list for 2019 Finish A-Long Q4.  I do not feel bad about multi-tasking either. Since the year is nearly over, it is pretty unlikely I'll get anything else finished (though I will try).  As of right now, I have 33% of my Q4 goals finished.

 Check out Elm Street Quilts here.

 Switching gears, I completed the two Chewbaccas I was working on.  My husband helped me with the vinyl pieces on the belts. The pattern is by drawpilgrim.com.
I also made this wine tote bag.  I received the kit at my guild Christmas party and it is a gift for my sister, who thought a wine tote bag seemed fun.  I'm a teetotaler; she is not. She laughed at me because I called the white wine yellow.  It is yellow on the fabric! Side note, I finally found a thread that my Bernina doesn't like.  It was a 40 wt long arm thread.  Oh well.

I have now completed the first two clues of Bonnie Hunter's Frolic mystery.  That means I'm two weeks behind still, soon to be three!  You should, of course, head to Quiltville.com if you want the patterns for her mystery.

I spent Sunday making a bunch of goodies, including fudge and my grandma's cookie recipe.  I was only going to make the fudge and the pretzel candies, then decided I couldn't live without the cookies.   'Tis the season for nostalgia?
Oh, and remember how last week I said I was done with FLL coaching forever?  Not so fast.  The team got invited to the Razorback Invitational in May.  So I will have some more to do, but not as much as for the regular season.

 If you are interested in long arm quilting services, be sure to head over to my business page, www.quiltingbyanne-marie.com, and sign up for my newsletter.  I send it once per month or less, and I am planning some fun promotions in the new year, including one for the Frolic quilt.

 I hope you are having a peaceful holiday.

 Linking with From Bolt to Beauty and Elm Street Quilts.
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7.3.19

This past week has been a bit off.  We had unexpected schedule changes and sometimes the kids just need you more than usual.  

 I did manage to finish quilting the quilt that's been on the frame for several weeks.  I was trying out a new pattern on it and the computer program just didn't like it.  Not only was it super slow, it crashed continually and I had to keep reprogramming the pattern.  Thankfully I had thought to write down the settings so that it wasn't too bad to reprogram.  Each row took 30-40 minutes to stitch out and had over 12,000 stitches.  I lost track at the end of just how many rows I did, but I am confident in saying that it has over 180,000 stitches. Next up will be making and attaching the binding.
I have since learned that I could have tried a different file format to import the design and it would have then perhaps had a smaller file and wouldn't have been so prone to crashing the program.  While I generally prefer a tighter, smaller pattern, I think I should have gone much larger with this one.  I'll try again another day.

 I sewed four more book blocks while the long arm was stitching.
I finished painting the room we are working on.  Next up is to replace the windows.  The originals leaked at the corner seams and we got new ones under warranty.
I've mentioned before that we've had a very wet summer and how it seems to have affected things.  We've had very few butterflies--still no monarch sightings.  We have had a lot of birds stay longer than usual, especially the orioles.  The orioles do stay all summer, but don't usually come in to the feeders after a few weeks. We also have at least one pair of rose breasted grosbeak that have stayed--those generally come through in May and stay only a week or two.  We have very few goldfinches this year.  Those we generally have in abundance all year.  We have a much smaller amount of hummingbirds as well.  Anyway, the point of all this is that we are also seeing juveniles of many of the birds.  Some are easy to identify and some are a bit more challenging.

 I saw this group of orioles last week.  One of them was feeding jelly to the lighter one.
I also have been seeing this bird at the feeders often.  I'm fairly certain it is a juvenile red headed woodpecker.
 

 I'm really hoping to get in more sewing time this week.  If not, school starts in five more weeks... I'm planning to do the binding for the quilt shown above, piece two more charity quilts, make more book blocks, and just try to be more productive than I've been lately.  I'm drowning in fabrics that I really would like to use up.

 Also, I'm really not a fan of people shooting off fireworks at home, especially over a long period of time, like a week or more.  Some people, pets, and children do not handle the sounds well.  You think you're safe in your own home, asleep, and suddenly it sounds like you're under attack.  I'll be glad when this week is over.




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Some Quilting

I managed to sneak in a little sewing time yesterday.  I've had the FQS 2013 BOM on my frame for a week.  I'd been having problems getting the pattern I wanted to quilt on it to actually load correctly.  It kept crashing the program.  I finally deleted it and reloaded it into the software and that seems to have helped.  I have finished three of 15 rows so far. Each individual row has over 12,000 stitches.

While the computer was stitching away on the quilt, I managed to get two more book blocks made.  I'm super far behind where I wanted to be on this project, but it will get there eventually.

Over the weekend I had lots of time in the car, so I finished binding the Charming Lucy baby quilt.  Now I just need someone I know to have a baby.  LOL.  This quilt was made using Stacy Iest Hsu's Best Friends Forever fabric for Moda.  The free pattern is by A Bright Corner.


Originally I thought maybe I'd bring the 365 Challenge quilt to bind, but once I picked it up and realized how heavy it is, I quickly decided on the baby quilt instead.  I was curious how much the 365 quilt actually weighs.  It's 90" x 90" and it weighs between eight and 10 pounds!!  I did the super-scientific thing of standing on the scale with and without the quilt.  :P   Right now this is the only quilt I have left to bind.
We have had so much rain lately and heavy storms too.  Most of our garden plants are super happy.  We have a bumper crop of milkweed this year and haven't seen a single monarch butterfly or caterpillar so far.  Go figure.
This bee balm is super happy, as is the spearmint that is taking over everything.  I need to thin it out a lot. The good thing about the spearmint is that the deer don't like it.
Our vegetables are starting to look a bit wild.  I bought a cucumber plant this year.  I think it's an English cucumber.  It all the sudden started growing like crazy and has pushed through the fence to the outside.  Of course the deer have eaten off most of what sticks out through the fence, but they apparently don't like the actual cucumbers since this one is still here.  And yes, I know I need to weed the vegetables.


When I was taking pictures in the sewing room this morning, I saw what appears to be a baby/juvenile blue jay sitting in my window well garden.  I had to zoom in a bunch, so the picture isn't the best quality, but I found it funny that a chipmunk photo-bombed.

I'm hoping to get in some more sewing time this week and I also have a room to paint.  What are you working on?

 Linking with Sew Fresh Quilts and For the love of geese.



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Getting Started with Quilter's Creative Touch with Juki Long Arm

A useful way to try out quilting software is to make and quilt charity quilts.  I decided to make some for Quilts for Kids.  While you can request kits, I chose to use my own fabrics this time because I wanted to get started right away.  They offer many free patterns on their website and I picked Alternate Squares and Rail Fence this time. The quilts finish at around 38 x 44 and each top takes me about an hour to sew.

 For the first quilt, Alternate Squares, I decided to try out a free pattern, Lisa's Raindrops, that I got from Urban Elementz. It took me a lot of time to try to figure out how to use the software and make a layout that I thought would work.  While Juki does not offer any tutorials (shocking, right?), I watched several APQS videos on YouTube and also found this video from Quilted Angel extremely helpful in walking me through how to set up a quilt. Other places to help get started with the software are videos by dfgeorge (using a Grace machine) on YouTube and tutorials by Thread Waggle Quilting (APQS).  There is also a Facebook group for the software that is loaded with information.  I recommend watching the videos and taking step by step notes to help you.

 Anyway, it took me forever to figure out how to baste my layers together to get started.  In order to use the Juki long arm without the software, you turn on the machine but not the tablet.  Then you can baste the layers.  Alternately, if the tablet is on, you click on the red toolbox in the software and hit the release carriage and release machine buttons to baste (don't click the ok button until after you are done basting).

 After I got the basting figured out, it took me forever to figure out how to get the design into the safe area. Once we figured out that you can click on the quilt measurement buttons and type in your quilt dimensions, it was quite easy.  The recommended overage is adding two inches to each measurement, but I am finding that an inch is more than enough for me so far.  Another tip:  make sure you ALWAYS optimize each row!

 So we finally got the design into the safe area and started stitching out the first row.  It took like 20 minutes. For a 38 inch wide quilt.  I wanted to cry.  I thought this was supposed to speed things up for me.  For all the time I'd spent trying to figure out the software and setting everything up and then the 20 minute stitch out, I could have custom quilted the thing four or five times over.  Then the software completely froze.  And I didn't know what to do and was near meltdown.  We just shut everything off and I walked away for the day.

 In the morning I watched the APQS video about restarting after an unplanned shutdown.  I went through the steps and found out that my pattern had somehow corrupted because when I reloaded the pattern, instead of five inch high rows spread over the entire top, I had two .8" high rows for my entire quilt.  Maybe that's why it was so slow the first time?  So I had to start completely over.  I enlisted my daughter's help to rip out the row of stitching.  Even thought that was frustrating, I was okay with it because some of the stitches were super long in our first stitch out and I didn't quite have it placed correctly to start.

 I reprogrammed the design, started over, and the entire quilt was stitched out in under an hour.  That included changing a bobbin and figuring out how to advance the quilt and line up the pattern correctly.  I didn't have weird, random long stitches either.  Each row only took a few minutes, not 20.  

I'm pretty pleased with how it came out, though I would make the pattern a bit smaller and not so spaced out if I quilted it again.

For my second quilt I used another of the Quilts for Kids patterns, Rail Fence.  I decided to purchase a pattern, Malachite, from Urban Elementz for this one.  Malachite is such a great pattern.  It was super easy for me to lay out in the software.  I think it took under five minutes and just nested together so nicely.  It stitched out really well.  I need to be super careful when advancing the rows to ensure even spacing. While I love how this looks, I could perhaps make the pattern a bit larger, especially for a kids' quilt. This one had 704 inches of stitching for each row of the pattern.  There were six rows of pattern.  That's a lot of stitching!



I still need to bind these.  Quilts for Kids requires that the tops are machine quilted and machine bound because they need to stand up to heavy washing.  I'm hoping that my math was correct when I was trying to figure out yardage.  Oh, and they do need to be washed in scent-free detergent before shipping as well.  No problems there since I use scent-free anyway.  

 Now that I've figured out the software, I'm ready to quilt for you.  I can quilt virtually any digital pantograph you find online.  Good places to find digital designs are Urban Elementz, Intelligent Quilting, My Creative Stitches, Quilts Complete, and Willow Leaf Studio. Check out my long arm quilting service tab for more details.  I'm waiting to hear from you!  :)

 In other news, we are enjoying the heavy blooms of the iris and clematis this spring.
Caesar's Brother Iris
Clematis--can you see all the buds?
Another Clematis.  It's so pretty!
I can't remember what this purple plant is, maybe a Penstemon, but it looks outstanding this year!
Some of our vegetables are coming along nicely.  The lettuce is still really struggling.  I'm sad about that because there is nothing better than fresh lettuce from the garden.

 We are nearing the end of our school year, just a few days left now.  I am just done with this year and looking forward to the official end.  Our summer is going to be a busy one with lots of appointments, three different weeks of camp for the kids, and three different trips to Michigan since we couldn't work out the timing any better.  I'm still looking forward to it.

 I'll leave this today with a funny paper my son brought home from school.  He made a note on the paper about what they were supposed to wear.  I think he needs to pay better attention!!
In case you're wondering, it was supposed to say clothes for the woods.  Big difference!

Linking with My Quilt Infatuation.
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