WIP Wednesdays... Pucker Up!!!

Hate to share my misfortunes, but I just finished quilting my Mother's quilt and when I was done all I could say was "Mother Pucker!!!" I need to write this post so that I can learn from my mistakes. It helps me to "ingrain in the membrane" and work it all out.

Ok, I haven't binded/bound it yet, but here are the pics (laid on a King size bed, but the quilt is Queen):

Puckering below (if you can see it) and some stitches ripped out :(

Binding below. And a kitty that likes to play with it :)

I need to figure out what caused all the puckering. I have some ideas:

1. Trying to baste (spray) on a design wall that is not suited for a quilt of this size.
2. Not spraying it thoroughly because of the size and the design wall limitations.
3. Not checking underneath while free motion quilting to make sure there were no problems (especially since I was breaking thread between every loopy flower design).
4. The quilt was so big and my sewing table so small, there was a ton of adjusting and a ton of overhang causing the baste to lose its hold.
5. Quit trying to rush things and looking for instant gratification.

I could go on and on I am sure. But, I think next time I will just be extra careful to check the back more often. I might even pin some of the outer areas (this is where most of the problems occurred). A nice solution would be to just buy a long arm :) Would probably make a Queen much easier to deal with! I know I was flattening and spreading, but I just did not feel the puckers with my gloves on! And, it happened in about 15 places!!!!!

Anyway, thought I would share. My mind is fluttering with tons of other ideas for fixing or for what went wrong, but feel free to share your thoughts!

I'm linking up at Freshly Pieced WIP Wednesdays!



I also wanted to mention that I have linked up at the "new bloggers" link party. If I reach 50 followers, I'm having a giveaway!

Until next time,

Mike.

My second quilt is finished.

This is actually the first quilt project I ever started, but it was the second project I ever finished. I posted about this quilt originally here. I think I am getting better at the free motion quilting. This one definitely seemed to go much smoother than the first. I learned a few things and tried some new things.

This was the first time I used gloves. I purchased Fons & Porter Machine Quilting Grip Gloves and I have to say they work wonderfully and gloves made a huge difference! I continued to use the Sullivans Silicone Sewing Spray (which I do not think I mentioned before), but I have discovered that it helps initially, but eventually it needs reapplied and for me that is really a ton of hassle. After I finished this project I ordered a Supreme Slider (recommended by Leah Day). We'll see how that goes. I am getting some ugly stitches (which I leave in because I do not have the patience to be pulling them out and it adds character). The main reason for the ugliness is two things:

1. Even in the needle down position, when I stop to adjust (or whatever) I let go of the quilt a tad too soon before the needle is finally down and the quilt shifts. I think this could be my machine's fault, because it pauses right before it "remembers" that it is supposed to end in the down position.

2. I find myself pulling with my fingertips while in the middle of quilting and when whatever is hanging me up lets loose my hands jerk the quilt quickly in the wrong direction.

So, I've learned to wait until the needle is in the down position before I let go of the quilt. I have also been a ton more diligent about making sure the quilt is not draping or hanging over anything. This is the main cause of the dragging and jerking. Although, I could learn to stop more when I feel this drag coming on. I just hate to stop in an area that is going to obviously reflect that I stopped and restarted. Even though the ugly stitches don't bother me in the overall scheme, I still try to minimize them.

 I free motion quilted the blocks. I used mostly fat quarters with colors that would remind you of the Wizard of Oz. (I have a room that is mostly decorated this way, not the room in picture.)

 I straight line (curve) stitched the borders. I used a rainbow colored thread, but you really don't see it too much unless you are up close. I did not use a walking foot because my machine has a built-in feed system that works fine when activated for getting the sandwich to move through. Although, I've decided that I don't like doing it, because I get much more puckering than I do with FMQ because the foot is pressing down on the quilt top.

Since the theme of the front was sort of Wizard of Oz, I used some fabrics on the back that are related.



I have to say I was really impressed with the overall look and feel of the quilt. As soon as it was finished, I already had the material ready for the next quilt.

I get the feeling that no one is reading this blog (except me), but talk to you later anyway!

Mike.

Update: Up Close Picture of the Rainbow thread: