Ahhh...after what felt like weeks on end, I finished my three quilt tops and am finally able to get back to what I love most... freemotion-quilting.
Made a start on my
Natalia Bonner 'A Year Of Stars' quilt for the quiltalong that has commenced in January. As I am not on a frame longarm, I have to secure my quilt with stitching in the ditch before I can start all of the ruler work. I did order some Monoploy thread on a cone which arrived recently and started with testing my tension.
I have a few blocks that ended up in the 'not so perfect bin' and I am using these for testing. On the Q20 I used a Universal 70/10 needle and Bottomline in the bobbin. I deliberately am using a different bobbin thread - normally I use Aurifil but I am a bit more in experimental mode with this machine and I have a few spools of Bottomline thread that need to be used. Had no issues really. The tension came in at 1.25 which was comparable to what I have read about on other owners' blogs. The testing did not take long and I was ready to tackle the stitching in the ditch.
I am using my trusted Handiquilter Ditch Ruler for this task. Must say that that ruler is one of the rulers I probably use most of all. It is just a good size for my hands and it has those handy notches that you can align on your seam. In the photo I am quilting on the right of the foot, but I often change over and also quilt with the ruler on the left side. Have not figured out which side is more comfortable for me. I think it depends how much bulk I am dealing with at the time, where the pins are and what the seam feels like.
How good does this look with invisible thread
I am using stitch regulation, so it is looking nice and even (except for those times when I wobble). Bit undecided whether to stitch in the ditch around the elements of the blocks with the invisible thread or to leave that until I go into the block for the ruler work design. I will do the ruler work with Aurifil 50/2 thread, probably in a light off white colour which would stand out a fair bit if I do the ditching in the block with that as well. On the other hand, I am unsure how much back tracking is involved in the ruler work, so I will have lines that will stand out more anyway. Will ponder on this as I go along.
This was almost therapeutic! Tomorrow, no doubt, I will be whinging about the stitching in the ditch as I will get impatient to start the ruler work. Watched the first of Natalia's videos on YouTube and can't wait.
I think your mono in the ditch looks absolutely perfect. I'm going to check out that ruler, for in the ditch. I've been using the grid ruler you introduced me to, but for in the ditch this ruler looks to be better. I think you and your machine are back in the saddle and will be humming along with FMQ/Ruler work on this quilt shortly. Going to be lovely.
ReplyDeleteLove the new blog banner and your Year of Stars top looks great! I was sorely tempted to join that QAL but with a graduation quilt needing to be cut, pieced and quilted in addition to the urgency of mastering the IntelliQuilter, I felt like it would be best for me to circle back to this project later. I'm always way behind the pack with QALs anyway, like the Moda Modern Building Blocks that I'm working on right now (from 2015). I lost track of you for a few months -- thought I'd added you to my sidebar so I'd see your new posts, but had not done so. Fixed now!
ReplyDeleteWonderful quilt! Anyway, I found another fabric store which is Broadway Fabrics.
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