Ask Quilting Questions Here

Bleeding fabrics

Shirley — Mon, 13 May 2013 20:48:14 GMT

Is anybody out there an expert on how to rescue a quilt where one of the fabrics has bled? I rescued a block once where some appliqued green leaves bled onto the cream background - soaked it overnight in Clorox 2 and the green went away. But what about when the quilt is already finished? Has anyone come up with an approach that works - or at least doesn't do any damage when you try it? I always prewash fabrics, but occasionally they bleed anyway.

Shirley

what machine do i want?

fabricate — Sat, 18 May 2013 04:22:00 GMT

i've just finished quilting my second quilt and it is very obvious that i need a bigger/better machine to keep up the fun. i'm looking for something that can handle piecing and quilting with a decent amount of space to the right of the needle, but that will fit my modest price range at $1200 or under. any suggestions?

Sewing chair shopping

Mary789 — Fri, 26 Apr 2013 11:31:17 GMT

I am really interested in buying a new sewing chair. I would appreciate any recommendations that you all have tried or heard of that are good for support of lower back and comfort. Have you all seen or tested any at the quilt shows?

Big Stitch Quilting...yay or nay?

Jenia — Thu, 16 May 2013 14:52:52 GMT

It seems like everyone is concentrated on making smaller tinier stitching and then I read about big stitch quilting.

Can this just be a method for those who find it difficult to tiny stitch - I may be in that category, I don't know yet.

The quilts I have done are embroidered so they are not actually "quilted" in the same manner as I am trying to learn now.

From the pictures I have seen, I actually like both, big and little stitching on the quilts. As we have determined its the consistency and uniform stitching that makes all the difference.

But, if I actually like big stitching do I really need to focus on trying to tiny stitch?

How can I figure out what to charge someone for hand quilting?

Decoratenu — Thu, 16 May 2013 17:42:13 GMT

I belong to a hand quilting group & a friend has asked us to hand quilt a quilt for her. This is the first time in 10 years that this has happened, as we normally just go around w/in our own group.

The top, dating from the 1940's, is in pretty good condition (mostly hand-pieced by a deceased relative), and she felt would be more 'authentic' if it was hand quilted. She has provided the backing & batting, but we don't where to begin when it comes to charging her for quilting. The quilting is fairly simple - 2 simple motifs & straight-line near-the ditch. We are tracking how many hours each of us in putting in on it; we meet one day each week. We want to be fair to everyone involved, but are having trouble coming up w/ a fair way to charge her.

Any suggestions? Thanks for any help!

Birthday Present

Melissa Halpain — Tue, 14 May 2013 02:56:04 GMT

My DH want to get me EQ7 for my birthday. For those of you that have this program, is it really worth the purchase? I really, really struggle with the geometric and mathematics of quilting. Will this program help with that? I'm hoping it will help with the next Round Robin I do. Is it helpful with borders also? Thank you in advance any information and help you can give me on this program. Oh yeah, when an upgrade comes out, can you usually get an upgrade easily and for littler cost?

Venetian Dreams Quilt pattern question

Perri — Mon, 13 May 2013 02:20:45 GMT

Hi! I am making a Venetian Dreams pattern quilt. It is so pretty I don't want to distract from its design, but I am getting bored with the blocks. I have 6 & I need at least 12 --- I was thinking of making some unique borders to make it bigger & maybe having 9 blocks instead of 12..... any ideas?

FMQ Question

Melissa Halpain — Tue, 14 May 2013 01:23:12 GMT

I'm sure this question has been asked but I couldn't find it. I just finished quilting the largest quilt I've done so far. It is 65 X 70. I checked the top out very carefully then turned it over I bet you all know what I found. I so diligently basted it but I found a pucker in it about 5 inches long. There are about 2 spots that are pretty deep. How have you all fixed this problem? Should I just take out the area that is puckered and try to fix or do I really have to take all of out. I need some ideas on how to fix it without having to take the whole quilt apart. Thank you to anyone that can help me out.

Searching for iron

ls2116 — Tue, 14 May 2013 04:16:16 GMT

I guess I need a new iron the one i used i had gotten from thrift store and the last time I was sewing i had turned the temperature dohickey down but there was no on off switch just the auto off blinking light. well about five days later went to move it and nearly singedd my fingers. It had been still heating. So if any of you out there can recommend a full size iron with a on off switch let me know which kind?

Can you tell me what to do to keep my thread from breaking when I FMQ on my sewing machine (not longarm)

Debbie-do — Mon, 13 May 2013 18:51:49 GMT

Help! I'm hoping someone can help me out. I finally stopped procrastinating and started quilting my MQ5 this weekend. After pin basting I Stiched in a ditch around each of the 20 blocks with my walking foot... no problem. Then I put on my free motion foot and decided to take it easy on myself (since it's my first big quilt that I've ever done FMQ on ) and just do a roomy stipple on each block. I had cleaned the bobbin area before I started . I practiced on a small sandwich of the same fabric and batting (same thread I had used on the SIAD)... no problem.

Started stippling on the quilt, got through about 1/3 of the first block... funny sound, snagged and broken thread. Frogged it back to a good point and started again... same thing happened.

Ooops, realized feed dogs are up and I forgot my slippery slider. ... That didn't help.

Changed my old topstich 80 needle for a new one. Didn't help.

Changed the upper tension to about 4.5. Didn't help.

Finally after working through 5 blocks this way I finally got a block that the thread didn't break. I had changed to a quilting 90 needle and moved the tension back to automatic. From then on it was every other block that gave me fits. I rethreaded my needle what seems like 100s of times, from the spool on down, replaced the bobbin a couple of times, made sure my needle was in all the way.

At this point I'm pretty frustrated and wonder what else I should try to adjust to keep the thread from breaking as I'm quilting the borders and the sashing. Your suggestions will be well received! Thank you!

chevron baby quilt

cl_ranger@hughes.net — Fri, 26 Apr 2013 20:38:10 GMT

I hope someone can help me? My Grandaughter wants a chevron quilt for her baby due in August. I can't find a pattern on line. Does anyone know where I can get one? She wants it in black and white with pink elephants on it. I think she's going to get pink and white with pink elephant fabric in it. But I need a pattern first.

Thanks everyone.

Cordie

Help needed to keep my quilt mojo going

alane — Sun, 12 May 2013 17:06:22 GMT

Hi!

I just got back into quilting after a long hiatus. Unfortunately, my Bernina sewing machine (which did not sit unused during that time) is giving me issues. It is skipping stitches and I have literally tried everything. I've cleaned and oiled it, threaded and rethreaded, changed the bobbin, rewound the bobbin, changed the needle multiple times, and still it skips stitches. Sometimes just one or two and other times a whole line.

I took it to the dealer where I bought it. After they "cleaned and serviced" it they said it worked fine. Naturally I brought it home and there was no change. I was really disappointed since it's a bit of a drive to the shop and all they wanted to do was get me to upgrade. It is currently at another shop and I'm keeping my fingers crossed that it can be repaired, but it's already taking a lot longer than they thought it would.

I'm really disappointed because I am eager to get going on a project to keep the quilt fire burning :)

So now my thoughts are turning to purchasing a new machine. I was really happy with Bernina and would get another but it would mean going to the same dealer. They are the only one in my area. My other choice would be to visit the Viking dealer that's closer to my home. I have no experience with Vikings. But if I went that route I could take advantage of the classes.

My needs are for piecing and a little machine quilting. I am intrigued by the new machines that have the larger machine quilting areas. But I don't need all the fancy computerized stitches that come with them.

Sigh. I just want to sew!

Ink Sketch Quilts

Christy G. — Sun, 12 May 2013 08:23:42 GMT

Recently I have enjoyed watching a program called Quilting Arts TV. One segment has inspired me to try an ink sketch quilt the artist, Jane Davila uses acrylic inks to paint her quilts with that give them a water color look. I really like it a lot. I can't even draw a stick figure so I am wondering where I might get simple drawings that are ok to copy on to fabric so I can give this technique a go. Any one have any suggestions? Another thing I wonder about is what acrylic inks to buy. Is one name brand better than another? I liked the way Jane Davila used black thread to outline her drawings(free motion quilted). The drawings were not complex but I love the out come and wonder how she might display them when she is done? A hanging sleeve on the back, mounting them onto a canvas stretcher frame(if it is even called that)? I am more of an quilt appreciator than a quilt maker. I can see myself being more of a student of quilting and fibers than a creator and oh how I love so many of the things I see.

Join in the discussion.... :-)

Christy G

Anchorage, Alaska

Happy Mother's Day

Hiding knots

Jenia — Sun, 12 May 2013 23:48:21 GMT

This is probably a basic question, and quite obvious to most of you. I'm curious about hiding knots between layers when hand quilting.

i keep reading pages and something people look at often is hiding knots between fabric layers. How is this done? I am a hand quilter and want to ensure that my knots are secure and strong, but I don't want them showing.

They are quite obvious on my earlier projects, but I want to improve my skills and wondered if there is a specific technique that's used?

I searched this site and funny enough the common topic that came up was hiding fabric from our husband!

I checked this out n YouTube, but wonder about the strength of that knot

http://youtu.be/Bh5Fg_JqJ-A

Is there another common trick that might make me feel that the knot is strong and secure?

Skill builder Practice panel

Judy T-Bellingham — Mon, 29 Apr 2013 21:57:10 GMT

I won a $10 gift certificate through FabShopHop from All About Quilts. I used it to buy a fabric panel for practicing free motion quilting. It just arrived today. It's about a yard square and pre-printed with various feather and pedal designs. I'm anxious to give it a try. I think I will do it in red thread.

Has anyone else used one of these panels? I also got the CD Skillbuilder Mastery but haven't looked at it yet.

10 stitches per inch...really?

Jenia — Sun, 05 May 2013 16:05:36 GMT

After someone here or elsewhere online recommended it,I purchased the book "The Perfect Stitch". This is in regards to hand quilting.

inside there is this quote

"Every quilter sets out to do 10 stitches per inch..."

Really? I'm curious how many of you actually can achieve this. Is it really the norm?

I am then comforted by another comment I saw here today..."There are no quilting police!" Thank goodness! I

I feel that my stitches are nice and neat and others have mentioned this as well. You cannot pull apart my seams very easily, and my quilting looks nice anyway. I never heard of,this rule before, so when I went back to the 2 quilts I have done, my stitches are more Ike 6 per inch maybe 7 . I typically use a back stitch simply because I think it is a stronger stitch. I'm sure this has something to do with my count, but how bad is it to be s far off from what's considered standard? YIKES, should I be ashamed to show my stuff to the people so know the rules?

whats your number? Haha

chain stitching

slbayles — Mon, 06 May 2013 13:02:34 GMT

when chain stitching pieces, how to lock stitches? or do I?

Walking feet????

Frances — Fri, 03 May 2013 18:28:03 GMT

Im probably going to seem really silly asking the question, but what do you use walking feet for. Ive only ever used my piecing foot but ive heard walking feet mentioned just not sure what to use if for.

lots of love

Francesxx

Basket Block construction

Joyce — Fri, 03 May 2013 11:55:13 GMT

I purchased a kit to make a table runner that features 4 basket blocks. I've cut all the pieces and started piecing them together. All was well until I went to attach the base or vase to the flowers. When I stitched those together, my points ended up in the seam line.

So, I increased the size of the two triangles that surrounded the point piece and was able to achieve 1/4 inch of fabric surrounding the point piece. Beautiful.

Now, as I go to add the base, I find that the diagonal length is a full inch short of what is needed to complete the "square."

The instructions state that the finished block is 8-inches. Mine is shaping up to be 9-inches. I've double and triple checked my piece cutting measurements and my 1/4-inch seams.

I'm new to quilting... is this a common dilemma with patterns? Am I okay to keep adjusting? I realize it will change the entire completed project, which is why I'm writing.

art quilts

Leilani Banyai — Fri, 03 May 2013 20:46:35 GMT

I am almost finished another new art quilt. However, this one is a beachside scene. I have never really done a scene with a surf. I would appreciate any tips as regards the multicolours needed to make it appear real and also the possible quilting styles that I could use. Should I use a multicoloured fabric or use multiple strips of various colours. I'm stumped at the mmoment.

Quilting blogs

Janet — Tue, 30 Apr 2013 02:34:42 GMT

Looking for some new quilting blogs to read. What are your favorite blogs and why?

Setting Blocks?

Pat Frontuto — Tue, 15 Jan 2013 01:43:23 GMT

I did look up the term, but I am not sure I get it, I know I am slow, can someone explain this?

rotary cutters

Read or Sew — Wed, 01 May 2013 19:00:19 GMT

I have 2 different brands of rotary cutters but the same problem with both. The nut that holds all the pieces together falls off after using it for several cuts. As it loosens my cutting lines wobble so I know its coming apart. Any suggestions as to this problem.

Shrunken quilt

Ibuiltaquilt — Thu, 02 May 2013 03:51:27 GMT

I made a quilt recently - all fabric was prewashed. I didn't prewash the batting because.. I never heard of doing that. I decided to wash it before I gave it to my sister because she has two young kids and knew she would eventually wash it. It shrunk or bunched up to half it's size! I did a really simple quilting design, outlining blocks stitch in the ditch style. And it's wool batting. It's from a giant roll so there were no directions. I suppose that's why..? I put it on the most gentle cycle and cold water, little detergent, no dryer. It's hanging on the rack now. I'm just so confused and disappointed. The quilt top is in tact. So I'll just have a lot of seam ripping of the quilting to do. Anyone have any ideas of what exactly went wrong or is it not so straight forward. Thanks ahead of time.