Wednesday, December 1, 2010

A Stitching Marathon

... and the Bayou quilt is finished.  The quilting was indeed a marathon effort and thankfully it was all smooth sailing.  Six hours of frenetic stitching (and also a little mind numbing) and just over two large bobbins of  thread were used to get through all that stitching.


But I think it was well worth the effort.  The quilting has added a whole lot of character to this quilt not to mention a beautiful texture ~ I can't stop myself from touching the rippled and squishy quilt.  To keep the lines running fairly straight I have had to mark every second line, lining up my ruler with preceding stitch lines at the same time ensuring that the line is marked at a 90 degree angle with seam lines.


The back of the quilt features minimal piecing using some of the left over fabric strips as well as a few extras that were used when auditioning different colors.


Sewing long strips of fabric together is not always an easy task and I do have a few simple tips:
  • when cutting strips of fabric from edge to edge, fold fabric along the length, selvages together (although the selvages may not be perfectly aligned)
  • line up the bottom edge of your ruler along the fold of the fabric ensuring it is straight and square up the edges of the fabric.
  • be sure to take your time to rotary cut accurate strips
  • reduce stitch length
  • allow your sewing machine to feed the fabric through, don't pull or tug at the fabric.  Use dual feed on your sewing machine if available.
  • Sew strips into pairs first, then sew together pairs, and then sew together pairs of four strips etc.
  • Alternate sewing the strips from top to bottom and vice versa.
  • If the fabric you are cutting has a really loose weave use a little spray starch (available from most grocery stores) to stabilize the fabric (it wasn't required for the fabrics used for this quilt).
  • Press seams by allowing the weight and heat of the iron to do the work while you lower and raise the iron.  I do use steam when pressing.


For binding fabric I've used Amy Butler Full Moon Polka Dot - a much loved fabric - which frames this quilt with a zing.


As usual I have updated my Etsy Store and listed this quilt for sale ~ you will find the listing here. SOLD




Thank you for stopping by and happy stitching!

Rita

26 comments:

  1. I just love marathon sewing!! This was a good one too!! Beautiful finish. One other tip for sewing long strips is to press the seams open. If you do this they tend not to warp and lay quite flat. A dry iron too. All the tips you gave, I also use. They work!!

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  2. You certainly are talented!! You made some simple strips look amazing!

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  3. I love the 'bayou' quilt. The quilting is beautiful. Thank you for all the helpful tips on how to achieve this look!

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  4. The lines on that quilt are sheer perfection, I am so impressed, that type of quilting is ripe with opportunities for puckering! Your tips are definitely very helpful and insightful. I also love the polkadot binding, it really give the quilt a bit of punch :) I can't wait to see what C will be!

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  5. Wow! Super gorgeous. I love the colors, the simplicity, and the quilting.

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  6. What a beautiful quilt - I love the simplicity and colours. Less is more!!

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  7. Solids with polka dot punch on the edges. Really beautiful! Helpful hints too!

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  8. Oh, my! You are right -- sooooooo worth the effort! Gorgeous!

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  9. That's a beautiful quilt. I love how it turned out. The stitching was a great touch to such a simple idea :).

    BTW - what machine do you use?

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  10. The quilt is FABULOUS! Thanks for the tips on sewing those long strips. Can you tell me what kind of thread you use and what stitch length you are using for your quilting (tension too)?? I have a Bernina 440 and just recently have been having trouble getting a great looking stitch.

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  11. Wow is all I can say! People sometimes don't realize how hard it really is to do a 'straight' line.

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  12. Fantastic! I am hugely impressed by your perfection. It is magic what quilting can dramatically change a simple stripy quilt. I love it. And thank you so much for sharing the tips and advice. For abeginner like me this is gold worth. Love it! PS, tried out the hera marker - what a great little tool! :D

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  13. Thanks for the tips. The marathon was worth it - a stunning quilt!

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  14. Your quilting is perfection
    x

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  15. I am in awe! That quilt, Bayou, is so straight and perfect! Do you wash your quilt before sending it off? I am about to finish my first quilt, and I am deathly afraid of washing it and having it fall apart! Any suggestions?

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  16. It looks fab! I wasn't sure it was my cup of tea when it was first pieced, but the quilting has completely changed the look of the thing.

    Really must master straight line quilting - I don't think my basting is up to it, and my last attempt was spectacularly wonky.

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  17. It's beautiful!! I love it. I agree, the vertical stitching gives it a little something extra.

    Thank you for the tips on sewing long strips together. There's a couple things on there that I haven't been doing, and after reading the tips I think it might be a bit easier to get my project finished!

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  18. Those are great tips, thank you. Sometimes, my work seems to get a little sideways, if that makes sense, but I think your sewing two pieces and then adding them (rather than adding once piece at a time) is the ticket.

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  19. I did one of those marathon quilting days last week to finish a quilt for a good friend of mine. She's celebrating her 50th birthday today!

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  20. I love the solids! They look spectacular. You were spot on with the quilting method too, looks great!

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  21. NICE! Quilting makes the quilt.

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  22. I must find out how you quilt such accurate straight lines, do you use a quilt guide? or a fabric pen? and do you use a walking foot? I dont seem to get a very good result using the pen, perhaps I go to fast but my lines are never perfectly straight danaandlee@hotmail.co.uk

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  23. I love the colors and design of this quilt. Thanks for the tips. I really want to make one now. (and I've never quilted)

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  24. Aw man that Tesselation was a really cute quilt! No wonder it sold so fast!

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  25. All I can say is WOW!! You are my hero!

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