The 10 Foot Studio Frame has Arrived!

It's been a hectic few weeks. The frame arrived 2 weeks ago and has now been all set up. There were a few delays, ie. my ruler kit only arrived last Thursday and the last day of my workshop also fell in between. Must say I did not expect that much 'mucking' around. It took about a day to set it up in the spare room. Then came an extraordinary protracted trial of trying to find a comfortable height. So I had it a bit higher initially, then decided that I might want it one hole lower and then yesterday we put it up again to where it was. Initially I was also unsure how much space I needed around the frame...did I want it set up close to the wall or not? ...that also changed twice. If I left space around both sides it meant that I had to squeeze through one side with the other side sort of ok, however in the end I decided on one bigger space on one side to walk around. The restriction on that side when placed towards the middle of the room just irritated me. All of this while trying to level the frame. Not an easy feat and I think we still need to do some fine tuning on that. The dealer came today to give my machine a spa treatment and to replace the bottom of the needle shaft...in all of this my needle could not be changed as the little screw  (already an issue a while ago) was stripped.

Today then I was also able to ask some questions which I had saved up for this visit. In a way it's been good to have a few days to take it all in. There are a lot of new things to get your head around apart from the actual quilting part. People are asking whether I like it...hard to say, it is just too new and all my usual processes of 'attacking' a quilt do not seem to apply.

Let me show you some photos of the first attempts on the frame:

Pantograph quilting

That was really hard to do from behind the machine. I am obviously not great at following a line with a laser. The hilarious part is also that I don't seem to be able to coordiante my body. While my upper half moves along the feet just don't want to cooperate properly. Too funny!

I had tried other bitses of just freemotion quilting by then but did not take a photo...strangely enough there are some designs I can do really quite well, whereas others I struggled. As with the pantograph the adjustment is multifaceted...I struggled to 'work out' the involvement of my whole body, seem to have two left hands and also struggled with the speed settings. The machine glides so easily that it often just glides away with me. Nevertheless, I decided to just do one of the charity quilts with a simple meander as I could do that really well.

So off I went and muddled my way through that. Struggled a bit with working out when to advance at times, misjudged my available space a couple of times and did a somewhat untidy baste job around the top and the sides. But it got done! Stitched with a thread that blended in on the quilt top but contrasted on the beige backing. Bold choice, but I wanted to see the stitch quality on the back at the speed I was going.

The finished quilt

Close Up

Great...stitching hardly visible

The back

Not too bad...every now and then you can see that I tried to fit more shapes in my available space elongating them a bit to make them fit. Found it very tricky at times to judge what distance I had both on top and at the bottom of my available space.

Overall, not a bad job...maybe a bit more untidy to what I would have produced on the sitdown, but I was quite happy with that...the shapes looked smooth, had no puckers or folds and the quality of the stitching was perfect. Apart from that, it went really quite fast helped by the fact that I had loaded the quilt sideways to make the seam that ran through the backing load up on the horizontal.

Since then I have honed in on more dense designs that I often do in Manual mode. I do find Manual mode a bit harder on the frame as I have not worked out a comfortable speed for me.

This photo is several days ahead and I felt that I had a bit better control. Practising another pantograph (need that one for a baby quilt I am making)...still a killer to produce nicely flowing lines, but getting better. Had the ruler kit by then and made myself a little border. The feather might look ok from afar but is pretty haphazard...tried my darnest to do some of that in Manual Mode but also did some with stitch regulation. Then the pebbles...again, very hard to do but I think I have worked out a comfortable speed on those in Manual Mode. Swirls, strangely enough work well for me on the frame as does Ribbon Candy.

Did some ruler work, more pebbles and so it goes on. Every day a little bit to gain some control. 

Next on the list is another charity quilt where I will try out stitching in the ditch. Let's see how that goes.

Overall impression:

This will take some months to master. Went to one of the stores here and bought a bolt of inexpensive batting to use for practising. The charity quilts will be good to further get my head around loading and advancing quilts. While this is not difficult it is just different and at times confusing to the brain, ie. a few times now I have forgotten to baste the sides as I am used to that being done already by the time I get to the actual quilting. So, lots of re-training necessary and of course...practice, practice and more practice.

Karin

One Last Time E2E On The Sitdown

It's been a few months again, but this time I have got a good excuse. Our grand daughter made her grand arrival at the end of August.  At the same time, ie. within days my younger daughter moved out into her own apartment. So for the last few months we have been extremely busy with providing support for both of my daughters which has involved a lot of running around, practical help, organising things and also some baby sitting. 

Very little quilting was done, in fact no quilting was done at all and it was only the other day that I pulled out one of the charity quilts. A fairly old-fashioned little quilt with almost too much of a good thing going on in terms of busy-ness.

Decided to do an edge-to-edge design over it using my trusted Golden Threads paper again. I sped this up a bit this time and traced and stitched two rows in one hit which did affect accuracy a bit but on the busy quilt that was not even noticeable at all. 

Why, you asked... for the last time! Well, after much research and soul searching I have decided to put my machine on the frame (which will arrive in a couple of weeks). It all started about a year ago when I thought about computerised quilting. I know people have various opinions on that but it appeals to me as it combines my love of quilting with my passion for design work on the computer. I started looking at this for a while, however decided against it in the end as the Bernina Q-matic is just too expensive to justify getting it for just a bit of fun. So I concentrated on what I saw as the benefits of a frame and added a Pantograph kit to my order as the next best option. I can't tell you how many YouTube videos I watched quilting on the frame over the last year...learned lots about loading and how it all works and then went through an extended period of indecision and I think that I am still a bit unsure about it all as I simply do not know how long it will take me before I make the transition to moving the machine rather than my hands and whether I will like that change or not. Over here there are actually no opportunities to try in all seriousness before you buy. My closest shop only has the Moxie from HQ set up and quilting on that does not compare to a Bernina. I have tried the Bernina Q20 on a frame for a little moment at the last show and also had a look at another quilter's set up but that's about it! However, I do know that I need to change things up a bit...I need extension, more of a challenge and some renewed learning. The last two intense projects I did left me feeling very bored and confused as to what direction to take. In the end I decided to take the plunge. I will keep my table, just in case, so that I will have the option to revert back to sitdown quilting if I absolutely hate it. This should be very interesting, to say the least.

So, anyway, here is the charity quilt that I just finished on the sitdown with an edge-to-edge design called Lorien's Festival from Hermione Agee.

Told you it's a bit overwhelming...just a tad too busy for me. Photo also not that great...also trialling a new photo editor 😣

The back though looks stunning

Loved doing this pantograph and am hoping that it will not take too long before I can figure out the pantograph kit on the frame. That does look like a lot of fun to me and should speed things up enormously.

Will post again when the frame is here.

Karin

More Baby Quilts

The cute little Teddy Bear Baby Quilt is finished

This is so very cute! I used the Handiquilter Multi Clamshell tool to quilt the 4in clamshells over it. Works every time and looks great on baby quilts.

Also finished my special baby quilt ready for the new arrival

The fabrics in this one are just gorgeous...soft and playful in apricot/pink tones. You probably cannot see this but the fabric has a bit of a cottage/farm theme. Really pretty. It is from Art Gallery Fabrics...a selection of 'Cottage Grove' fabrics. The pattern will be available in my Etsy shop within the month. I have done all the photos, now it is just a matter of putting the pattern together which should not take too long.

Also made a little fabric book

Got a panel with the pages from the last quilt show. Easy enough to do in terms of putting this together however, this was digitally printed fabric which I did not realise when I bought it. Had to be really careful with the stitching as it leaves little white runs as soon as a needle pierces it. Dislike that as it makes the job unnecessarily harder. 

So, what's next? I had a fair amount of fabric left over from the Art Gallery Fabrics 'Cottage Grove' Fat 

Quarter bundle. Have cut that all up into squares and will be starting to put that together soon for a very simple baby quilt to be hopefully sold (on Etsy). Actually seen some new rulers by Amanda Murphy called the Apples and Oranges rulers which would make for a perfect design on a simple squares quilt. Mind you I have to find the rulers first...always takes a bit longer before things come to Australia.

Happy Quilting!

Karin

Cute Baby Quilt

Must be the baby season! Had to quickly finish another baby quilt for a friend of my daughter's. Chose this cute teddy bear panel from Devonstone Collection (design #DV6130) to quickly quilt a clamshell design over it. Then had to hunt around for a suitable backing...as the colours are somewhat washed out I thought that this would be challenging but found something straight away which fitted it perfectly.

Too cute! quilted it with my trusted Aurifil thread 50/2 in a soft yellow colour. Was lucky as I also found a solid in the same colour as the narrow inner border. Currently finishing off sewing the binding to the back and then this can be gifted.

Happy quilting!

Karin

More Ruler Work and Two More Finishes

Its been a productive couple of weeks...managed to finish all of the charity quilts ready to be delivered next week.

Had a lovely 'I Spy' quilt to finish. Given its colourful fabric I just meandered over it. Still find that the most effective and fast ways to finish some of the more scrappy type quilts.

Nearly got side tracked again in going through my stash to find similar fabric that could be used for an 'I Spy' quilt. Such a good isea and a fun project! Restrained myself though and kept going with the next charity project.

Now this one took a bit longer as I had to ditch the seams first but then I got going with some simple curves in the blocks. What started out as just wanting to do a motif in the larger yellow squares turned to an allover design. Really enjoy using Lisa Calle's Pro Echo rulers!

Put a piano key border around it as well using a blend in purple colour. Came out great and finished it off nicely.

Next will be another baby quilt panel that I will quilt up for one of my daughter's friends who is expecting and then my machine will go in for a spa day. I had some issues with my stitch regulator...minor, and maybe related to the particular project I was working on. Experienced some racing of the needle at odd times. This has since stopped and could very well be attributable to the sliding mat I have around my needle plate...not sure. I thought that maybe the edges of that might have been catching the fabric, so I have now taped this down a bit better and have not experienced this again. But in speaking to the dealer we decided that we may as well have a bit of a look and while at the shop the machine might as well get cleaned and oiled on the inside. Not strictly speaking necessary, but can't hurt...I have had this machine now for over four years and while Bernina talks about it only having to go for service at 30 million stitches I have since heard different viewpoints. In the end I contacted Bernina some time back asking around service and they had said that it was recommended to have your machine looked at every couple of years to make sure everything runs fine. As I am thinking about putting my machine on the frame at some stage later this year I thought it might be a good idea to get the machine running as best as it can. (assuming that I will have a horrendous adjustment period).

That's all from me today...have a nice quilty weekend!

Karin

Some Ruler Work

Here is the finished Ballerina quilt from a few weeks ago. Again forgot to post the finish here as I had posted it on my facebook page and IG and then moved straight on.

The outer border is done with the HQ 4" Swag set...finally used it! The 4" swags fitted nicely around the long edge of the border, however I had to problem solve a bit for the top and bottom because I needed to elongate my swags by 1/4in to make it fit. Found that I had an oval corner shape that just fitted that width (and height) and which was only ever so slightly different (tiny bit slimmer on the top). I used this as sliding the HQ 4" swag along to make it a bit wider produced some wonky shapes. Worked really well.

Really enjoying the ruler work at the moment so I moved straight on to the next charity quilt. A striking little number

Used my favoutite curve set for this...the Lisa Calle Pro Echo rulers and chose the 7" curve. By the way, Lisa Calle is doing little workshops on ruler quilting on FB every Monday and I think you can get a bit of a discount on her rulers this month. Watched the first one last week on using straight rulers. Very enjoyable.

The ditching was a bit of a hassle and to save time I just ditched in a grid around the blocks and left the diagonal untouched.

Really liked how this turned out as the unditched areas tended to puff out a bit more and really made the curves stand out. Mind you, my stitch regulator was a bit unhappy at times...the backing was very thin and in the white areas I had some racing at times. Not quite sure why...maybe the thinner fabric both from the backing but also in the top or the puffiness. Definitely something noticable as I approached the seams at times. Experimented on some scraps that I had and had no problem at all, so hopefully it had to do with the fabrics in this quilt.

Well, I am already on to the next quilt which I will just meander over as I have got another one to go after that. You probably wonder at my sudden surge of activity...we are expecting our first grandchild in August and I do want these charity quilts to be delivered before this. While I will take a few additional ones after this there no doubt will be a few months of very limited quilting activity. Somehow it seemed quite far away and all of a sudden it is so very close. My daughter is huge by now and I would not be surprised if this baby makes her entrance a little bit earlier. We shall see. Still need to handstitch the binding of that special baby down. Also need to prepare for a workshop which has now moved to November, write up a pattern etc...all before the end of August! As always in life lots of other things going on...

But, hey, we work best under pressure!

Karin

Baptist Fan Charity Quilt

Quick update on the finished Baptist fan charity quilt.

Turned out great, looking fairly accurate on the top edge

Love the consistency and the 1in spacing between the fans

...and another close up

That's it...already onto the next charity quilt, currently ditching which will take a little moment. Planning a little bit of ruler work but we shall see as to whether I have got any energy left after I finished the ditching.

Happy quilting!

Karin