First Tries and Mistakes

Well, I finally quilted a quilt on the long arm. It was a whole lot easier than doing it on my sewing machine. It was a whole lot faster too. I would not go back to trying to quilt on my regular machine despite the fact I made mistakes and had to unpick several rows or that I had a little trouble with the placement. I figure all of these things can eventually be mastered. The truth is I made mistakes in quilting on the sewing machine too and with a more experience than I had when doing this one on the long arm.

I view these quilts as learning experiences. I will get better but only if I learn from each quilt. So lessons from quilt number one.

1. Don't rush the planning and placement. I was so eager to get quilting that I didn't quite get the pattern set the way it would look best. I quilted a leaf/vine pattern. I got the size the way I wanted it and I flipped the directionn0f every other row. It looked good. But as I started quilting it I realized I should have off set every other row as well. The pattern would have filled the space better. 
2. Trace back isn't necessarily going to put you right back where the thread broke. Take time to nudge to get the needle in the right place before resuming sewing. better yet get back to a junction of threads. If you are slightly off it won't be as noticeable.
3. When a thread breaks un-stitch enough that you can knot and bury the thread. Don't think you are going to stitch over it and lock the stitches in place.
4. Take care in pinning and leave them in until it is done. I had pinned the top to the leader in such a way that it folded over. When I got to the last row I was concerned about not having enough space for the final row of stitching so I unpinned it. Which removed tension and caused a little buckling.
5. Don't be stressed while quilting. You are more likely to make mistakes if you are stressed. So if your daughter is nagging you to get it quilted, don't start until you are ready. Also if you are getting frustrated. walk away for a few minutes.
6. Remember this is your work, you are learning, mistakes happen. minor mistakes add character. As Jenny Doan says finished is better than perfect. Also she said that she never had anyone turn down a quilt because her points didn't match.

But if I am being Honest the biggest lesson I learned is Don't wait three months between quilts. I had forgotten so much that I was getting very frustrated. So that being said I am eager to get the next one on and quilted. It really was a lot of fun. The next one is smaller so it won't take as much time. I just need to get the back put together and put it on the machine. 

What mistakes did you learn from this week? 

Organization and Small Accomplishments

I want to apologize to those who follow me. I had company last week and didn't get around to blogging. I am sorry I missed last week. I know I only have a few followers but I love the encouragement and feed back they give me.

These past two weeks have been busy ones. As I said above we had company over the 4th of July weekend/week. So the week before was a mad race to get the spare room ready for them. That meant a lot of things that we had just piled up in the various rooms had to be pulled out and organized. That meant a lot of the stuff I had stashed while we worked on the studio had to find a home.

Killian, my son, built me this lovely shelf to hold some of the jewelry making stuff. I couldn't find a shelf that would hold as much as I needed it to. I had this one spot we could use. I told my husband that I was beginning to think we would have to build one to meet my needs. Being the problem solver and engineer that he is, my husband designed this shelf. He then tasked Killian with building it. I tasked my daughter Perigrine with painting it. The shelf goes from floor to ceiling and replaces two small shelves that I had in the studio before I got the long arm. It is made out of 2x12 and put together with lag bolts. Killian jokes that in case of tornado he is tying himself to the shelf.

As you can see there is still quite a lot of clutter. I will be taking time every night to sort through boxes and bins and trying to find a place for all of it. I have manage to empty three bins and four boxes in the past week. I have lots more to do. I know that I won't be able to put all of my craft stuff in the studio. So I decided to focus on the things I do the most. One of course is the sewing/quilting. The other is jewelry making. Most of which you can see on the shelf. I have also decided that once the studio is organized I will invite my friends over to check out the long arm. I really do want to share my joy with my friends.

Other than cleaning the house and having friends over, I have managed to finish piecing the lap quilt. If you recall I made the Around the Rail Fence quilt and had enough blocks left over to do a lap quilt. I had almost finished putting it together but with the chaos that has been my life both at work and home I had not put the final borders on it until this past Friday. I love how it turned out and am looking forward to getting it quilted as soon as I get the larger version done. (I laid this out on my bed. Don't you love the camo sheets. I am married to a hunter after all.)

When it comes to fabrics, I tend towards bright colors. When I found the fat quarters I used for this quilt on clearance, I almost didn't buy them. I loved the bold colorful floral that can bee seen in most of the blocks. However brown is not a color I tend to buy. But the price was too good to pass up so I bought the two bundles they had. I am really glad that I did. You never know just how much you are going to like a project until it starts to come together.

This week I also started the Star block quilt I planned last December. I have gotten four blocks done and will be blogging about that next week.

My goals for the next week? I am sticking with the same goals. Sew/Quilt each night for 20 minutes or more. Work on the studio for 20 minutes or more. Hopefully, this week I can keep my hours at work down to eight a day and get home in time to get things done.

Oh and I need to take the time to mend a pair of trousers for a missionary. He had a seam give out. As I looked at the trousers, I discovered he has several more about to give out. I will get them reinforced and back to him this week.

Those are my plans. What are yours?