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Please don't remind me that I'm poor; I'm having too much fun pretending I'm simply "living green" like everyone else these days.


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Thursday, October 28, 2010

On point quilt part three

This is the blocks I told you I would work on next.  I'm helping a friend and I also went to this area next  because I like to work in the area of the largest amount of fullness first then move to the next largest fullness and so forth.  Nine times out of ten the largest amount is in the border.  That's not the case with this quilt though.  If I work in one area it will compound the issue in other areas.  Hmm.... I'm not explaining this very well.  Ok, when you quilt an area it draws up with the quilting.  There's nothing wrong, it's just the nature of quilting.  If you quilt an area with very little fullness, it compounds the effects on the area that does have lots of fullness.  In order to overcome the effects I quilt the full areas first so they can't be compounded.    Maybe the photos will help me explain a little better.  So here's the block.  I've decided to treat this block as 4 sections instead of one large design. 



I taped off the first area and quilted the design.  I used my hand to smooth and distribute the fullness as evenly as I could.  Notice how the design lines do not cross over themselves?  The lines touch but don't cross.  This prevents tucks.  Look closely to see where the fullness is between the lines of stitching.



I move the tape and quilt the next section.  Notice how I moved the tape so it partially covers the previous stitched design?  That's so the design is closer together when finished. 


I move the tape to the third section and quilt it. 


Here I'm ready to do the last section of this block. 


Here's the finished block.  Sorry about the dark picture.  Batteries were getting low.  If you look closely you will see the extra fullness within the stitching lines but there are no tucks anywhere.  After this quilt is washed a couple of times even the extra fullness will not show anymore.  The fabric threads will relax into the batting.  You see.... I really can "quilt that out" for my customers.  Knock on wood! Someone may be lurking around with an issue quilt waiting to challenge me.  Grin... I can handle it.



For those who work with pantographs instead of freehand.... you can do this too.   I used to do this same technique with pantos before I learned to do freehand.  Choose a panto with no crossing lines.  Treat each large square block as if it's a tiny quilt top.  Don't look at the squares around it.... just focus on the one square.  Get it quilted and move to the next tiny quilt top. 

There was an issue that kept creeping into my eyesight.  Can you see the dark string under the white fabric?  It was bugging the heck out of me. 



Out comes my trusty crochet needle and in a short minute it was out of there.


All gone and now you never know it was ever there. 


The next area I'm quilting is the setting triangles.


2 comments:

jillyヅ said...

How does one get that much fullness in a block??? I'm no perfect "topper" but that was a lot of fabric. You should add miracle worker to your resume;-)

blessings,
jilly

Anita Estes said...

Jilly, the extra fullness is from the stretch of the bias of the blocks. Hmm... how to describe it?

Ok, take a square piece of fabric. Pull slightly on the straight sides with both hands. No stretch. Now turn and pull slightly on two corners with both hands. See the stretch? That's the bias.

When tops are pieced on square there's no stretch as it's put on the quilting machine. When tops are pieced on point there's lots of stretch as it's put on the quilting machine.

People who are new at piecing tops rarely measure carefully. Close enough is what they do when cutting and piecing. Hmm... a lot of veteran toppers say close enough too.

Giggle, they do call me the fairy quilt mother. Customers tell me I wave my magic needle and quilt ANY top with issues.