Fine Tuning Fabric Art: Applique Styles

Posted on October 23, 2020October 24, 2020 by Betty Jo's Blog / Posted in A Little How-To, Applique, Art Quilt Techniques, Deep space quilts, Design Work, Fine Tuning Series

Hi all y’all. Do you enjoy applique or do you only use it when there is absolutely no other way to get the look you want? I was surprised several years ago when I attended a major quilter’s class and she introduced me as an applique-er. After thinking about it, I think she is mostly right. I thoroughly enjoy applique of several artistic techniques. I select the technique by their complexity, the kinds of fabrics I am using, and the style I want to show. These include:=

fused or glued stitched raw edge
placed and held in place by veiling and then free motion stitched down.
turned edge glued and blind stitched by machine
applipieced/pieceliqued
In-the-hoop applique

For complex edges, especially, my favorite technique is stitched raw edge applique. This is where I fuse it down and stitch along the edge using either a narrow vari-overlock stitch (like a hem stitch but it has fewer stitches between the zig-zag stitch) with a Superior monopoly thread or a 100 weight polyester or silk matching thread so it basically disappears. Narrow blanket stitch also works well. I don’t particularly like zig zag for this, but I know some who do. I also found I cannot get a good result for complex appliques without some kind of adhesive use along the edges.

The Announcer, the Horse, and Bird appliques From Canterbury Knight are all stitched fused edge appliques hand painted by me.

To show off the edges I very much like the blanket stitch using decorative thread picked to show. I don’t see a difference when doing this using raw edge or turned edge appliques, because the edge is covered with the thread. The blanket stitch may be either a double blanket stitch if you REALLY want to see it, or a single using a heavier 12 weight thread so it highlights the edges. This is a particularly good approach if you are having problems with your applique not showing up well because you chose to use fabrics that are close in value or color. Sometimes I have found it very difficult to carry out the design I have in my head with a clear value difference between the applique and the background. I also can fix this problem with a hidden edge applique technique combined with a straight stitch outline stitched along the edge in a contrasting color decorative thread.

Dad’s House Plan. The house and roof of this quilt were turned edge machine stitched appliqued in most places.

For less complex shapes, I have found the turned edge with the vari-overlock narrow stitch with monopoly or matching 100 weight thread looks very close to turned edge hand stitched applique. In my case, the machine stitched looks much better. haha. If you don’t have a vari-overlock stitch on your machine, it is very similar to the blind hem stitch that nearly all today’s machines have in their utility stitch set, it just has more straight stitches between the zigs or zags, so making the stitches shorter overcomes that problem. I start by turning the edges around either a piece of lightweight interfacing that is going to stay in place, or a freezer paper shape ironed to the back. I usually find that just grocery store starch I paint on with a small stencil brush works well to hold the turn in place, and then remove the freezer paper before gluing it in place to the background. One can glue it however, with washable glue sticks, and a lot of applique-ers do that.

Here we have a complex edge that I have starched the turn over with starch onto freezer paper. The next step would be to remove the freezer paper, turn it over and stitch it in place onto the background fabric. You might want to iron the turn down a little more after removing the paper.

When I am making one of my deep space quilts, I make the “gas cloud” that surrounds and plays throughout a galaxy from hot fix angelina fibers. These fibers only stick to themselves and flatten out into a sort of fabric so they don’t stick to the background fabric. You can’t use a fusible web with it because it shows, nor can you use glue because even if it dries clear you can still see it through the clouds. So I cover it with black nylon veil and just free motion stitch it into place. I may pin it a few times, but I don’t even like to do that, because the holes remain if you happen to hit it just wrong. So I just have to hold it in place and stabilize it with a little of the stitching before I do the free motion embroidery-like quilting. I think this method would work well for a net or lacy applique also.

Sky Horse photographed by Ken Tatum

And then for piecing together areas like adding mountains or suns or other large parts of a pictorial quilt, there is applipiece (Caryl Bryer Fallert-Gentry’s term) or piecelique (Sharon Schamber’s term) where the piecing is done using turned edge applque stitched (as described above under “less complex shapes”) from the top by machine usually using monopoly or very light weight thread and the vari-overlock or blanket stitch and then cutting the area joined from the back down to a little less than a quarter inch seam. The complex edges require snipping into the edge periodically to facilitate the turning around the shapes). This is one of my favorite methods when creating a pictorial or other free style design background.

The Storyteller, a Hoffman Challenge piece where the entire background was applipieced/pieceliqued together.

In the hoop applique requires “a whole nother” set of activities and skills beginning with digitizing your design in software or purchasing a commercial embroidery design. I use this occasionally, but not often. It usually uses satin edge stitch to sew down the appliques, though it sometimes uses blanket stitch. If I am going to use satin edge I try to do this in the hoop because the satin stitch can then be digitized to have beautiful miters and properly angled stitching, which is really difficult just using the satin stitch outside the hoop. It is possible to get a nice satin stitched edge for simple shapes with care in regular nonhoop stitching though. Then you can add additional decorative stitching in-the-hoop for nice results.

5″ x 5″ fabric greeting card or mug rug in the hoop

You can read more about this method in my book Twelve Skill-Building Projects for Bernina V8.

That pretty much covers the methods I use for applique. I am using stitched raw edge applique that has been attached with Steam-a-Seam 2 for my wool applique by machine. First I am stitching it down with monopoly and then I am doing the decorative stitching around the edges and inside the appliques. This means I can use the decorative stitches to make the look I want without worrying about whether or not the stitch catches the edge of the wool applique, which I find a big advantage.

Detail showing some of the stitching on my practice wool piece

Sew happy everyone! Put on some good music or an audiobook and start with a small applique project. It is fun, but it does require some time to get it right. Still, by machine is faster, or at least less problematic for arthritic hands than by hand, however beautiful it is.

Interfacings or Stabilizers?

Posted on August 14, 2020September 26, 2020 by Betty Jo's Blog / Posted in A Little How-To, Art Quilt Techniques, Fabrics, Fine Tuning Series, Food for Thought, My Studio, Project Management, Reviews / 2 Comments

So recently a friend of mine asked me about the use of interfacings and stabilizers and what was the difference. I consider interfacings and stabilizers both indispensable in fabric art creating of various types. They make the difference between a successful project and a lackluster or even failed piece. Understanding them is one of the basic skills for everything from fashion sewing to quilted art. I can fully understand her need to know more about them.

The Byzantine world of stabilizers and interfacings can be very confusing, because there are so many of them and they all have different uses. Adding to the confusion is all the different brands that are out there and may call them something different and what do they mean by “lightweight” anyway?

The Back Wall of Home Dec Fabrics at G Street Fabrics

First of all, let’s discuss her question of what is the difference between interfacing and stabilizer.

Well, for one thing, stabilizers do not always stay in the project, but sometimes they can. They are largely designed to assist in making machine embroidery work both in the hoop and free motion thread painting. They are also useful for decorative machine stitching.
What makes this confusing is that interfacings can also serve as stabilizers but they are designed to remain in the project and interfacings often look like stabilizers.
You may need both or even two or more for specific projects.
You can even use spray starch or other spray products to work as stabilizers.
And then there are those clear plastic looking stabilizers of varying weights made with corn starch or similar ingredient that washes away. They have a variety of interesting and helpful uses in the fabric artist’s studio.
Interfacings provide stability for fabrics that have a tendency to disintigrate, spread the stitching, or simply need a heavier hand for the project you are making. They help to properly shape clothing, and is particularly required for any high-end sewing like fine couture sewing, tailored garments, wedding dresses, simple dressmaker jackets or vests, and shirts with buttons and collars. I use interfacings extensively in both my clothes making and art quilting to make my wide selection of fabrics work together.

Sew I am focusing this discussion by using popular brand names just because it is easy to identify and I know from using them they are a good product, but there are other brands that are also fine and some that are just terrible (shrinking, bubbling, wadding up with use). Buy a good grade of these products so your project will be successful.

Interfacings

I have a handful of stabilizers that I keep stocked in the studio so I have them when the need to sew or quilt hits me in the middle of the night and it also helps to save lots of time. Also by stocking, I can save a lot of money by buying them when a good sale goes by. There are a large number of Pellon interfacings, but I try to keep at least three yards available of these four weights of interfacings. I buy the first two of these by the bolt when they are on sale because I use a lot of them. They are usually much cheaper–three or four times cheaper–by the bolt, and even more if you hit a good sale.

For stabilizing (there’s that word that helps make this all so confusing when talking about interfacings) such fabrics as silks, very light weight cottons, dupioni and satin polyesters, specialty fabrics, and to use for some wool or wool like tailoring fabrics, I stock a woven fusible lightweight interfacing like SF101 Shape Flex by Pellon This nice woven interfacing does not have much affect on the hand of the fabric and, if quilted, it causes the fabric to drape better and to be smoother and more attractive. It can be used for shirt making also, but you may want to use a heavier weight for more tailored shirts. I would not use this as a rule on good quality quilting cotton unless you are making a shirt or dress out of it.
For an even lighter hand (fabric drape and feel) backing up fabrics that need a little help, such as high quality silk dupioni or cotton lawn I like one of the nearly sheer nonwovens, such as Pellon 906F sheerweight. This particular interfacing is scarce right now because it is one of the choice interfacings for making masks more effective. So I linked to a pretty good price for the bolt.

For a little heavier interfacing that you might want to use for crisper collars in tailored shirts, or costumes, for instance, I like Pellon 931td Some people are using this for mask making also, making it a little scarce, but I think it is just too heavy to comfortably breath through for me.
For bag making or some such with leather (artificial or otherwise) or heavy upholstery fabrics when you want to quilt it I use Pellon’s naked foam. I thank Nina McVeigh for alerting me to this product on her fascinating The Quilt Show show (if you aren’t a member, you are missing a lot). I layer it with the leather or heavier upholstery fabrics and add a cotton backing fabric. This is approaching a batting discussion that will be a future blog post, but I felt it also fits well in the interfacing discussion too.
For high-end tailoring, especially with wool projects like coats and jackets I usually, but not always, move away from Pellon and use mostly Hymo. Note that I have already run a few blogs about tailoring coats, and plan on making a wool slacks suit and a raw silk tailored jacket for this fall and winter and will blog the making of those, since I have some beautiful fabrics on hand that I should use before they age out. You can easily obtain high quality and varying weights of these from tailoring supply houses online. I generally buy these by the project. So you will want to first consult your pattern or a tailoring book to get the right thing. Here is a link to A group of Hymo tailoring interfacings especially good for wools from B. Black and Sons a wonderfully supplied company where I buy my tailoring supplies: Hymo
And B. Black also has these lovely canvas/cotton interfacings that I have used with success for non-wool or light summer tailoring: Canvas/cotton.

Stabilizers

I use several different stabilizers for my fabric art projects and even for embellished clothes, but I only stock a few of them because they could take over my storage space otherwise.

The primary stabilizer I use for my in-the-hoop embroidery and free motion thread painting for my quilted art pieces is either OESD’s Ultra Clean and Tear Fusible or Madeira Cotton Stable, which I have a slight preference for but it is increasingly hard to find and has gone up in price. Both of these stabilizers give the fabric enough stability to take a higher amount of stitches than most of the stabilizers will do and they both tear away easily after stitching while remaining in place when you are stitching.
A heavier film wash away stabilizer, such as OESD’s Badgemaster, and a slightly lighter film stabilizer Madeira Avalon is especially useful in the studio. I use both Madeira and OESD film stabilizers. Washing it away can be interesting. It’s like a science fiction slime creature at first…hahaha. I just soak it in clear cold water and then rinse it well in running water.

I really like OESD’s Aqua Mesh Washaway, that looks like an interfacing, works well for marking designs on, and easy to use for stitching a free-standing thread motif, applique, or free standing lace. In such cases I will almost always add a layer of black or white nylon tulle on top and a double layer of Aqua Mesh Washaway. Then when you rinse it away, your piece will hang together and you just cut closely around the veiling, which basically disappears to your eyes on the fabric you applique it on to. Black veiling or matched to the background veiling works well for this. It is especially useful when you are embroidering or even free motion couching cords and yarns to build a heavy design to make them free from the main project and applique them on. It helps deal with the pull and keeps your main project nice and flat.

I embroidered this freestanding lace star on blue nylon veiling with a double layer of wash away stabilizers and then appliqued it on.

Fusibles can act as a stabilizer/interfacing

And don’r forget that when you are making a fused on applique for a wall project, for instance, you may wish to keep the fusible whole rather than windowpane it if you are going to do a lot of heavy stitching on it later. Then it acts just like a combination interfacing and stabilizer that does not get removed from your project. So you have to give some thought to how you are going to complete the project and how it is going to be used to decide whether to windowpane (cutting out most of the middle of the fusible leaving just the edges) to maintain a soft drape or is it a good idea to use the fusible whole.

There are several high quality fusibles on the market and everyone seems to have their own preferences. I personally prefer steam-a-seam 2 with the two sides of paper. One side has one inch squares on it and that’s the side that you draw your design on, cut roughly around the design about 1/4 inch away, peal off the plain side, stick the side with the grid and the drawing onto the back of your fabric, and cut it out. After that you remove the paper and you have an applique with a lightly sticky side that you can move around until you have it just right before hitting it with a steam iron that glues it in place ready to stitch.

Sew happy everyone! This blog took me too long to write because I was trying to identify what I felt were the best links to online resources. If, however, you are fortunate enough to have an open fabric store that carries these good products near you, then bless them with your purchases there. Blessings to everyone. Have a wonderful time in your studios! Feel free to ask questions. I might know the answer.

I Figured Out Custom Backgrounds on Bernina V8 design software

Posted on July 12, 2020July 12, 2020 by Betty Jo's Blog / Posted in A Little How-To, Books, Design as you go, Embroidery

Hi there. I have been working out how to get embroidery designs placed properly for my summer clothing efforts using my Bernina V8 software. I could not find this anywhere in the help or manual, so I wrote it up and put it into the following PDF file for those of you who have the software.

Making a Custom Background Design Template for Clothing in Bernina V8

Here is a picture of the Jeans Vest Jacket back I managed to make the template for and then I discovered how to put it into the software so I can change the color and size.

I started with the line drawing in the pattern that I scanned into my computer and took it from there following the directions in my pdf file. So fun. Now I can place the embroidery onto the garment and know how large to make it and where it needs to go. I wonder what else I can use this for?

If you have the Bernina V8 software and have problems with it, I wrote a book last year that you may find useful if you don’t have it already. I wish I had discovered this before I published it or I would have included it into the book.

Sew happy everyone! Stay healthy and happy.

What I Do to Make Threads Behave Better, Part Two

Posted on July 3, 2020July 3, 2020 by Betty Jo's Blog / Posted in A Little How-To, Embroidery, Fine Tuning Series, Food for Thought, High-Tech Studio, Machines, Project Management, Threads

Picking up where I left off on my last blog post, I want to address the problems of dealing with various threads when sewing and embroidery as opposed to free motion quilting.

I have had an interest in threads for a very long time and have been fascinated to see the development of threads over the past few decades. Threads I use today are clearly considerably better than those I used decades ago when I had my fashion design and tailoring business in Ithaca, NY in the mid 70s to mid 80s. Even the threads I used then of the same brands have seemingly improved in their tencil strength and reduction of lint. Even then though I used what I determined were the best thread brands available. So I suggest not using older threads from your great aunt’s basket, but any of the threads in your stash of a good brand are probably ok even if they are a decade old.

These are pretty, but best to place old threads in decorative jar or bowl and use more contemporary thread. If you want to use one just for memories, just stitch a few inches somewhere it won’t be getting any stress.

One of the chief things is to keep your machine clean and oiled, your thread properly threaded (pulling off the top if it is cross wound, and from the side if it is stack wound). Almost all the machines today have a method for both threadings. Check your manual. My Bernina 880 plus has a little metal eyelet hole to send the stack wound through before threading it. I am not sure that is obvious, so check your manual.

Thread path for stack wound spool on the 880 plus pulling sideways as needed for this wind.

First of all, I suggest you go back and read my last blog that was centered around thread management in free motion quilting. Even so, though there are many things there that are the same for sewing and embroidery.

For the most part, when sewing clothes and accessories on the sewing machine, the tension goal is the same as for quilting..a balance between the top and the bottom, but tension settings sometimes have a different goal especially for decorative stitching and embroidery where the tension may be best when pulling to the back more than the front. My Berninas automatically adjust that when I switch to decorative stitching and I never really have to think about it. But if you are having trouble with your threads breaking or somehow misformed stitches, then it is likely some adjustment to the tension needs to be made.

Yes, you can change the bobbin tension!!!! I have heard so many people say they were told not to change the bobbin tension, and that limits you to the standard thread weights and cuts out some wonderful specialty thread work you could do. But you may want to have a separate bobbin case if your bobbin works that way to use for specialty bobbin work or changing the tension to accommodate a specialty thread. My Bernina 880 Plus has a tension adjustment method built in using that little multi-purpose tool. Check your manual.

8 series multi-function tool.

Having the proper foundation for your sewing or embroidery project can make a huge difference in the behavior of your thread as you work. For the most part, when quilting, the batting and backing fabric provides sufficient foundation for even rather intensely quilted projects, but if you are doing fancy stitching with specialty threads on your sewing machine for say, your new summer dressy top, you will really need to add interfacings and/or stabilizers (tear away or wash away is best). I think I will write a separate blog on that subject because it is important and there is much to say about that. But getting it wrong can make you think there is something wrong with your machine or make your threads break and misbehave and your project get all bumpy and pully. So pay attention to the foundation.

Just like when you are quilting, you need to test things before you begin a project and periodically at certain phases of your project to make sure you have things working right before you stitch on your expensive fabrics. Make a test piece and take notes as you go If your machine saves personalized settings then use that function to save time.

I realized I wrote a post that addresses a lot of thread decisions already and it belongs with these two blogs.

Fine Tuning Quilted Art Projects: Thread Decisions

Here is page 18 from my Bernina 880 plus manual. It has a great explanation of needles and what they are used for. I thought you would like to see it:

Sew after you read that blog and my last blog and this blog, (and your manual) do you have any questions I may be able to help answer in thread management? Please let me know. I want to help people enjoy their sewing and quilting with little frustration and a lot of fun.

Sew happy everyone. Take time to test and read your manuals as part of your project time especially if you have a deadline. Unsewing is no fun at all. Try out some of the wonderful specialty threads available. Cheers everyone.

What I Do to Make Thread Behave Better, Part 1

Posted on June 27, 2020June 2, 2022 by Betty Jo's Blog / Posted in A Little How-To, High-Tech Studio, Machines, Threads / 14 Comments

I just saw it again on social media from a quilter that has had a high end machine for two years that should bring them a lot of happiness but they cannot get the thread to stop breaking and therefore don’t use it much. Often it is thread nests, or thread shredding. Sew I decided to talk about this a little bit. In my humble opinion, most machines, and particularly high end machines, should be able to use nearly any type of quality thread designed for machine stitching. Note I did not say any brand, but rather any type. The owner should not have to find the thread that works for the machine, but the machine should work with the thread. I think there is much that can be done to make this happen.

Sew today we have a range of really fine threads to go with our really fine machines accompanied by really fine needles. Sew what’s the problem? This is what I think and have experienced in my own studio. I have a Bernina Q20 longarm set up as a sitdown, a Bernina 880 plus, and a little Bernina 350 (plus an older BabyLock serger and a vintage White that I am not including in this discussion today). So I will be talking about these, since that is what I have, but I suspect there is a correllating set of steps and considerations for your own machines that you can take. Your manual and YouTube videos can be very helpful for those, especially if you know what you are looking for.

One of my chief points I like to make is that it is important to test. Test your setup before starting a project. Make a sample sandwich from more or less the same fabrics and battings. or prepare a test piece of fabric you are using for sewing or embroidery, and test everything first. Then keep it close to periodically test if things go awry. This can be a very important tool for you. If you serge, or otherwise finish the edge, and put a large ring in the corner, you can hang this up or keep them together. Be sure to make notes of settings and products you used right on the fabric for future reference.

Before you begin any project, you should pay attention to matching the needles with the threads and the tensions with the thread types. Most of the better thread manufacturers have advice either right on the spools or on their websites as to what needles work best. It’s a good place to start, but may not always be the answer for what you are working on. Usually it is, however.

One thing to remember is that there are a lot of variables that can negatively affect our sewing that we may not think about on a daily basis and have nothing to do with the overall quality of our machines. These may include

humidity and heat,
batting types,
adhesives, interfacings, stabilizers,
lint caught in the thread path or the bobbin holder that may not be apparent when we do a standard clean and oil,
a faulty needle,
a little bur or damage on the foot,
a damaged/bent bobbin
a well used bobbin brake spring that just needs to be replaced,
the tension settings for both the top and the bobbin not set correctly for the thread,
a bad spool or cone of thread even from a reputable dealer (it happens and usually they will replace it if you let them know),
and our own mood or health at the time.

I’m sure there are things I havent thought of in this list, but you see there are a lot of things that can make us have a frustrating sewing or quilting day.

Let’s take a look the Q20 sitdown longarm for starters.

Preparing to practice some ruler work on Fritz, my Bernina Q20

I have heard that some dealers appear to mistakenly tell their customers that they should never ever in any circumstancs change the bobbon tension from the recommended 220 for the Qs. My own dealer is wonderful and does not do this. This is decidedly poor advice, especially for a longarm such as the Bernina Q20 sitdown, especially if we use any kind of bobbin thread other than 50 weight cotton. For the most part, I have found over the past four years of working with my machine that 220 is USUALLY too tight. Here is a little chart I worked out that works for my machine.

Here’s my chart. You should make your own that works for you, but you might want to start here.

If you conduct your own testing that will let you know if it works for your setup. Sometimes adjustments need to be made to this chart depending on the weather, the batting and other variables. Making notes is really helpful.

Thread Management in the Q20

I keep on hand the following things to assist with thread management:

thread nets for cones. I didn’t originally use these, but recently I find I have much fewer problems if I use a thread net. I do note that Wonderfil threads have an alternative wrap for their cones that I have not yet tried.
the horizontal spool holder to allow for use of stacked thread spools (when the spool is wound so it is evenly stacked rather than cross wound).

horizontal spool holder is usually an additional attachment you have to purchase.

Here is the spoolholder installed
the pink liquid for the little applicator sponge in the threading path originally intended for metallic threads. I find it also helps if I am having problems with thread shredding of, for instance, rayons.

This little bottle is usually included in the purchase of your machine. It is a silicone thread lubricant and is tiny but goes a long ways.

thread lubrication path on my Bernina Q20.
Dritz sewer’s aid. It’s probably the same thing as the pink liquid, since it is a silicone thread lubricant, but it can be used more generously directly on a spool or cone without sendng the thread through the applicator sponge thread path. I don’t use it in my machine’s little sponge just because it may be a slightly different weight or something.
A package of M sized bobbin genies. This is really helpful if you are having problems with thread nests on the back due to static electricity. I originally learned about this from Sharon Schamber.
I like to keep a spare bobbin brake spring I order through my dealer, a spare bobbin case, and a spare threader replacement head all on hand. Maybe there are other parts I should have but I don’t know about. I have had my machine for four years of heavy use and these are the only parts I have had a problem with so far other than having to have my BSR laser sensors replaced early on.
And a selection of the following needles:
- Topstitch titanium needles (I prefer Superior brand, but Schmetz and Bernina are also ok) sizes 70/10, 80/12,90/14, 100/16
- universal 70/10 and 80/12
- Quilting needle 80/12, and 90/14.
- I also have a collection of specialty needles, like leather needles or double needles in different widths for playful quilting fun. Note that you must have the double needle throat plate to use the double needles.
  
  Twin needle stitch plate
A can of compressed air to blow clean the bobbin area and the brush. The top area should be cleaned with a brush according to Bernina, but the bobbin area is ok to use the compressed air and it makes a big difference.
Bernina machine oil
I also have the multifunction tool that came with my Bernina 830 that I traded in for my 880 plus, which has another one, because I particularly like the way it helps me hold the needle in place while I screw it in. You can buy this tool at the dealers, or here online, and there are other generic tools on the market that perform this function (a threader gadget has a needle holder end to it

8 series multi-function tool..handy for more than the 8s
The bobbin tension gauge (it’s made by Towa). If you don’t have this, you should have received it with your machine, so go to your dealer and ask for it. Here’s a little video link to help you use it correctly, although Nina McVeigh, whom I admire very much, is saying the tension should be 220 always. I hate to disagree with the extremely talented Nina, but trust me, the tension needs to play with your thread types. Using the gauge

As you look at this list, you may figure out that when things go awry (and yes, they do for me too from time to time, but far less often than they did at first) that I have a selection of things to try beyond changing the needle and cleaning and oiling the machine. I usually manage to quilt a full quilt now with no thread issues).

Steps to Take When You Are Having Problems

Unthread the machine and check the spool/cone to see if by chance the thread is catching on the spool itself or there is a flawed area in the winding of the thread you can see.
If it is a cone, make sure it has a net.
If it is metallic, run it through the lubrication path after adding a drop of lubricant on the sponge.
If it is monopoly run it through the lubrication path to help control this lively thread.
It’s really important that the top tension and bobbin tension match the threads you are using. The neat thing about the q20 machine is that it has a set of four programs where you can store your settings for the different types of threads for the top.
Check the needle. Is it the right one for your thread? If you run your fingers down the needle and across the tip carefully, you can sometimes detect that there is a bur or bend on the needle. But this is not a guarantee you will find it if there is some kind of flaw. You may need to change your needle even if it is new. Replace the needle using a needle holder to help assure it is fully up in place. Just holding it with your fingers can sometimes not get it quite fully engaged upward.
Remove the bobbin and blow out the bobbin area, then oil the machine carefully. Double check especially if you have been using monopoly recently. It can tangle around things like it is alive sometimes and you can’t see it without a magnifier and flashlight!
Run a needle around the workings of the bobbin case to see if there is a wad of lint caught in the case…I have had that happen and it can bring things to a frustrating point.
Check your bobbin case brake spring. Is it in the proper place? Is it upside down? Is it wearing out (flattening or with a bur). I had a very difficult to diagnose problem happen about a month ago with terrible thread nests on the back. I finally replaced the brake spring and it has been working wonderfully ever since. I never did see what was wrong with it.
Examine your bobbin to see if it is bent or damaged in anyway. This is especially important if you are a klutz like myself and drop your bobbins on the floor or if you have had it for years and used it for many miles of stitching.
Run your bobbin through the tension guage to make sure it is still set correctly for your thread weight. It can change over time, especially if you do hours of quilting and everything heats up.
Replace your bobbin.
Check both the front and the back of your piece to make sure the tension is ok on both sides. It’s a good test to put a different color in the bobbon of the same type of thread you will be using and test it to see if you have any tension problems showing up or down that don’t show when your threads are the same color. Note that I have surrendered to the metallic threads. I put a matching thread color (some polyesters look metallic) in the bobbin. I have sometimes been totally unable to get the tensions set with a metallic so there are no little dots showing on the back. I have also been successful from time to time with getting it right. I have to think it might be a batting issue. It doesn’t stop me from using metallics, however. I may even put a metallic in the bobbin, which works fine.
Run a length of tooth floss through the upper thread path slowly and carefully to pull out anything that doesn’t belong you don’t find with just brushing it out.
Check your foot for damages. I one time had constant breakages and then tried a different foot. They stopped. Upon close examination, I found the foot that has had many many miles of use had a bur on it. I sanded it with an emory board and it works fine now.
Remember to have the foot up when rethreading…a real necessity to make it all seat into the thread path correctly.
Put it all back together and do some test stitching. Make notes of any setting changes you had to do to get things right.

I realize this is really a long post and I still haven’t discussed working with my sewing machines. Although a lot of the same things apply, I wanted to get more specific for them. So I will break this blog into two parts. Next week I will talk about solving thread problems in sewing machines.

Fine Tuning Quilted Art Projects: Achieving a Straight Unwavy Quilt

Posted on June 18, 2020June 18, 2020 by Betty Jo's Blog / Posted in A Little How-To, Fine Tuning Series, Quilt Journal, quilt shows, Show Quilts, Techniques

When I started making quilts to hang on the wall, I was working with smaller quilts that didn’t seem to present problems of waves and unevenness. I had a quilt in the 2013 Quilt Odyssey show and I attended the show. When I saw the quilt hanging there, I was a little horrified at the wave I saw and how it looked a little crooked. It also seemed a little wiggly at the top. There it was, hanging in a prestigious show (it has since decided to close the Quilt Odyssey shows) with all those amazing quilts.

Perspective in Threads completed in 2012 before I fixed the binding and after I fixed the rod pocket.

I wanted to grab it and run! LOL I couldn’t understand it. When it was home and on the table it was flat and I guess maybe not as square as I originally thought, but certainly not so wiggly/wavy. When I got it home I took a hard look at it, did some measuring, square measuring, etc. I realized a couple of things attributed to the wiggles and waves and most of them had to do with the rod pocket! Here is my analysis of that little quilt.

The rod pocket was slightly too narrow and so it had been scrunched a little on their rod. It was sewn so there was no extra space on the back to prevent the rod from poking the top out.
The rod pocket was not level in relation to the quilt itself.
The binding wasn’t done very well.
It measured correctly with even sides and top and bottom though there was a very slight difference between the top and the bottom length. It was relatively square and there really wasn’t much I could do about any minor unsquareness because of the way I had used the printed border. I don’t think that is a problem.
It is basically a whole cloth quilt with a border and quilted well and evenly, so it didn’t pull it out of whack even though I “quilted it to death”.

So there you go. The primary problems were the binding that could have been better and the poorly done rod pocket. I have since replaced both on that quilt, but it has not shown since.

After that, I started carefully measuring the rod pocket when I cut it out and when I applied it so it is even from the top. Instead of 4 inches I make a 5 inch or even more pocket, making sure that it is put on in such a way that there is more fabric on the back in order to make the quilt hang straighter on the top and the rod to be at the back, and although I still struggle with getting a really good binding on a quilt, I am enormously better than I was in 2012 with that. I ewill take the binding off and redo it now if need be.

I bought a laser square and am really particular about the squareness of a quilt now from start to finish. My quilts that go to shows now are seldom, if at all, out of square.

Sew happy everyone! Stay calm and carry on…carry on with quilting, sewing, family, friends, home, and pray a lot. Make something for yourself or your favorite person. This plan will likely give you a lot of peace.

Fine Tuning Quilted Art Projects: Thread Decisions

Posted on May 2, 2020May 3, 2020 by Betty Jo's Blog / Posted in A Little How-To, Design as you go, Embellishment, Fine Tuning Series, My micro-business, Threads / 2 Comments

I don’t know about you, but my thread stash has grown to equal or beyond my fabric stash over the past few years. I think this is caused by my many ideas for quilted art. I have learned that the different weights and types of threads can make a huge difference in the success of the finished project. Additionally, a lot of my quilted art projects have a lot of thread art that livens them up.

Sew I am currently trying hard to finish up the quilt I am making in my Mom’s memory using those beautiful 10 inch crocheted lace blocks as the center. I just changed threads from a beautiful blue Superior 40 weight Magnifico, which is a polyester thread with a lovely sheen that matches my border fabric, to a Superior monopoly, which I truly have a very hard time seeing. I am using Monopoly in the central pentagon where the five chrocheted blocks are.

This small quilt sampler has seven different thread types.

Now my Bernina machines sew well with this thread, but it took me a while to learn how to get that to happen. After much trying and crying, I finally found that it works best with an 80/14 Universal needle. If I use the top stitch needles I normally use for quilting, the needle will eventually “step on” the thread and break it. It also requires the significant lowering of the upper thread tension and I use it with a 60 weight polyester bobbin thread (Superior Bottom Line). This thread is a very lively thread and requires threading to control it as much as possible. I use the thread paths that cross the little pad with the pink silicone liquid, otherwise known as the thread lubrication unit. This also adds a little tension to the top thread, and requires and additional little bit of tension lowering, but it holds it in the thread path really well and I am able to use it with hardly a bother. I do this for both my Bernina 880 plus and my sitdown longarm Bernina Q20.

thread lubrication path on my Bernina Q20.

Thread Lubrication Unit on my Bernina 880 plus.

Thread lubrication path on another Bernina. They look a little different for each of the Bernina machines that has one.

For my little B350, my travel machine, it doesn’t seem to need as much control, but the thread path isn’t as long, and I figure that is why. Happily these adjustments also work well with any 100 weight thread I use (I use both polyester and silk for various things).

My Bernina B350 named Edith Claire (E.Claire) after Edith Head. Even for this more simple machine, I do samplers before beginning to stitch a project. Circles make nice samples.

Deciding what threads to use on a project requires, once again, some testing and practice. This is one of the big reasons I always make a practice quilted piece before I actually begin my main project. The questions to ask that can only be answered with a little testing include:

Do I want the stitching to take a front place in the overall design? If so, use a heavier contrasting thread, even if the contrast is only one or two steps away from the fabric. If not, use a lighter thread that matches as closely as possible the fabric, or even use a monopoly if I am stitching over a variety of fabrics in a small area (or, in this case, over hand crocheted lace).
Is the stitching going to hide down in the seam or along the edge of an applique in stitch-in-the-ditch. Or is the stitching echoing along the edge to highlight the applique or some element in the fabric, for instance. Sometimes, like a halo, I might want the thread to be slightly or even strongly contrasting for this purpose. The only way to tell is give it a try.
What type of fabric is the stitching going on?
- Right now, I am planning a substantial wool applique project that will include the writing of a large chapter in a book (or breaking into its own book), and will result in several samplers, the book project, and a separate show quilt. This project requires decorative threads. I am planning to use a variety of threads…primarily 12 weight wool/acrylic blend thread by Aurifil with a 50 weight cotton in the bobbin for most of the stitching at default tension settings with a longer stitch length, but also 40 weight Magnifico and Isacord embroidery threads, and metallic threads for some places. These are all hopefully going to enhance and showcase the project.
- For most of my cotton quilted projects I use the combination of 100 weight threads to sink into the background, and 40 weight embroidery threads to show the stitching. But sometimes, I need additional types for a special thing. I sometimes use 12 weight cotton thread by Sulky, which I have found runs smoother through the 100 weight top stitch needle with less mess on the back than other brands. I tried a lot of brands before I settled on this one. I have a lot of Superior 12 weight cottons that I sometimes use, but only my Bernina 880 plus and my little B350 seem to be ok with that. My Q20 makes knots on the back with it no matter how I set the tensions and so forth. It might be the way I stitch. Who knows. Anyway, I usually use the Bottom Line with that in the bobbin and set the top tension just a little looser than normal to accommodate the width of the thread passing through the tension discs.

So you see, there are lots of considerations that make the thread choices successful. Batting types and fabric densities, and yes, even the weather have an impact on these decisions. That is why one really does need to make a small test piece, using the same fabrics, battings, needles, and so forth to practice on before stitching on your main project. I write them down in my book I keep on projects, so I can return to these settings when needed. It is truly helpful. Also, be patient with the thread changes if you are stitching your masterpiece quilted art project especially. They make a big difference.

Drawing Nigh, completed 4/17/2016. This quilt had 32 thread changes in the sky alone.

Sew happy everyone! Stay healthy and have some fun in your studio while we are all still under ~~house arrest~~ quarentine. And even after we are able to get out and move around, I hope you don’t abandon your studio. Hugs!

Fine Tuning Quilted Art Projects: Part 4 Trees

Posted on April 10, 2020April 10, 2020 by Betty Jo's Blog / Posted in A Little How-To, Applique, Art Quilt Techniques, Design as you go, Embellishment, Embroidery, Food for Thought, High-Tech Studio, Machines, Techniques, Threads / 2 Comments

The flowers and new spring growth are everywhere. I love this area at this time of year. I processed this picture of a nearby redbud (I think that’s what it is) as a “dreamscape”. Not sure I caught the feeling right, but still…it’s pretty.

I am thinking my dear readers are possibly at the stage of thinking “will this never end” concerning our stay-at-home orders. At first we were kind of shocked, then a bit scared, then ready to gung ho make face masks or whatever we could do, then start learning things, and now, after all of that, we are still here. Still at home. Still going to be at home for weeks yet. Sigh. Oh, my, will this never end! Well, yes, it most certainly will. Then we will have to pick up our alternative busy life styles where we will wish to goodness we had a little more time to quilt or sew. Well, I won’t because I am retired and blessed to be working in my studio full time now anyway. But I will have things to do outside of my studio and things that pull against my getting projects done.

Sew now that you have made your face masks or are coming to the end of that project, what are you working on or planning on working on? (As an aside: Quilted Art for me includes art quilts, traditional and contemporary quilts, quilted clothing, and quilted bags and other three dimensional items.) If you are like me, you have more than one project going, or at least going on in your head. Do they include trees? I love making trees.

Trees for your quilted art

I love adding trees to my pictorial quilted art pieces, but I’m thinking that trees can be a really neat thing to add to lots of types of quilted art such as a jacket or skirt. I didn’t realize until recently that I have learned or even developed many ways to come up with trees over the years, mostly made as embellishment items using thread painting, yarn couching, and applique and I thought I would share some of them with you. The really neat thing about making trees for fabric art is they are so forgiving. They don’t require precision, but they do require looking at real trees and seeing what you can learn from them using your imagination. Are they straight? Are they interestingly textured? Are they spooky? Are they happy little trees? Do the leaves read as a a bunch or individually or both? What is the color of the trunk? Try drawing the tree out first.

Machine Embroidering Trees or Parts of Trees

This tree is the stitchout from an olive tree I digitized in my Bernina software on wash-away stabilizer. I placed a tree photo in the art side and traced it by hand digitizing it in the embroidery side of the software (for further information on how to do this kind of digitizing, see my book Twelve Skill-Building Projects for Bernina V8). The same could possibly be done by drawing it onto a piece of wash-away stabilizer and free motion embroidering it. I have done that too, but could not find a good picture. In both cases I would advise using a layer of black nylon veiling under the stitching to hold everything together off the quilt and then appliqueing it on. One of the cool things about digitizing it this way, is that you can get the coloring very close to the photograph, the texture of the tree trunk close to how it really should look. I used this tree on several Nativity quilts I have made. That’s the other thing, if you digitize it in your design software, you can restitch it for another project later on.

Here is the first tree trunk I ever digitized and embroidered out. It required a double hooping and I missed the connection just barely, so I free motion zig zagged the connecting place and you can’t see where it was. In fact, I have even forgotten where it is and cannot figure it out even with close examination. So even if you make a mistake like that, you can sometimes fix it on the spot without having to redo the whole thing. I stitched it out with a variegated thread. Here is the whole quilt “The Storyteller”.

But even though in this quilt, the tree trunk makes a happy tree, when you look at the stitchout design by itself you can probably readily see that the same trunk would make a really fun spooky tree where you could place a raven or an owl for Halloween. So working out these things in digizing software gives you lots of additional options that can save you a lot of time on other projects.

Trees without the use of digitizing software and embroidery module

So sometimes I want to just applique my trees down. In this case, I usually use steam-a-seam 2 and free cut out with scissors the tree trunks and limbs and even leafy sections without a pattern. Then I iron them on the top and use a single narrow blanket stitch with a close matching thread color to permanently attach them. It’s so much fun!!!!

Here’s a quilt where all the trees are made that way. The texture of the trees is added when quilting. This was really fun to make.

Summer Melody, 2016, 33 x 29 inches.

And sometimes you can make a rather cool evergreen tree freehand with a combination of yarn couching the trunk with Superior monopoly thread and heavy 12 weight wool/acrylic Aurifil thread free motion embroidery for the tree’s needles. Here is the one I made on my failed Bob Ross contest quilt. I made this quilt while my wonderful old Bernina830, which I did a great deal of heavy work on for 8 plus years, was failing, and so many things went wrong in my studio during that time. I am not surprised it did not make the contest, but I still love the tree I made for it here, which I made entirely freehand on my Bernina Q20 as kind of a reprieve from my B830 problems. I now have a new Bernina 880 plus to take the 830s place and I love it. So production in my studio is at full speed lately. I suggest if you want to make such a tree that you make a practice first. It requires a fairly substantial stabilizer under the tree area of the top because all that stitching draws it in and makes a problem without it. I used Madeira Cotton Stable that I get from Nancy’s Notions on the whole quilt top. It tears away later, and, since it is cotton, it will soften when washed. I marked only one line representing the main trunk to keep it tilted just as I wanted. It hardly matters what you mark it with because the mark is completely buried with yarn. I did all of this before sandwiching the quilt.

Happy little tree

and then you can combine applique and free motion yarn couching and other thread work to come up with some rather dramatic trees. In this case, I appliqued the big cyprus trunks and then did a lot of shading using fabric paints to give the tree trunks the right round shape. The tree limbs were couched on with wool yarn, and the spanish moss was free motion stitched using 12 wt Aurifil wool/acrylic thread. I premarked straight lines down for the spanish moss with chalk before stitching, because it takes a fair amount of concentration to keep it from drifting sideways in an unatural way.

Night on the Bayou, 2018

Up close

And lastly, I was just playing around one day and here you see the resulting winter scene with the trees using both couching for some, 12 weight thread for others, 40 weight polyester, and even 40 wt metallic for others. It is the kind of practice piece I suggest you try if you are new to making trees with free motion fibers. As for all these quilts with heavy amounts of stitching, be sure to back it with a heavy stabilizer that either tears off or washes off to help with the draw in of the stitching. I recently finished this as a little quilt sampler, but don’t have a picture of it yet but you can see the thread work here.

Sew happy everyone! God bless you in this holy week and have fun in your studio while you await the end of the quarantine. Have a blessed and happy Easter Sunday.

Fine Tuning Quilted Art Projects: Part Two, Collecting the Parts

Posted on March 3, 2020March 4, 2020 by Betty Jo's Blog / Posted in A Little How-To, Fabrics, Food for Thought, Project Management, Studio maintenance, Techniques, Threads / 4 Comments

Sew I got some interesting feedback from some of you on my last post where I discussed obtaining or creating the design and pattern, and thinking through the instructions. Several of my quilty friends…some of them prize wining quilters and teachers…just dive right in and go. So I want you to know that this series of blogs is primarily designed to lead people like me who need a plan to work from through building a good fabric art/quilting project.

Personally, I like to work with a plan. Very often, however, I make so many changes along the way the end result is unrecognizable from the beginning. But it helps me to approach a new project with a plan in mind. I will say though that sometimes I get kind of stuck on the pattern making part and in this case I may just go with a loose sketch and not a fully drawn pattern. I know what I want to do in my head, but getting it down into a pattern or plan is often kind of difficult for me, but I like it when I can. I have friends who can just draw it out on their background fabric and start, or even just cut a bunch of fabric and start. That would be amazing to have such a skill, but that is not me. LOL

Sew once you have a project in mind, how do you pick your fabrics? Do you buy a bundle from a particular fabric line? Do you shop your own stash? Do you just go to the store and buy a new set of fabrics?

I have an extensive stash that I have organized more or less by color and fabric type. So I generally take my pattern I struggled to make, lay it out on my table, and start pulling fabrics from my stash that I think will fit into the quilt. This is quite a messy process. I end up with a pile of fabrics on my table, floor, and chair that might work. Once I get to that insane place, I do a second pull of fabrics. Then I put away the ones I decide definately won’t work and lay out what I have to work with. From there I may eliminate a few more.

My idea is to put together my own kit for the project. Here I will find if I need to buy additional pieces to pull it all together, which is usually the case. I will say, however, that I frequently do not need additional fabrics. I almost always need additional notions like stabilizers for embroidered embellishments, or more spray starch, a certain paint color, or a specific kind of cording or yarn to couch on the quilt. It all depends on my project, but after all these years of collecting and trying to keep things organized I can usually make a nice quilt without buying a lot. I will occassionally make a comfort quilt just to use up some of my stash and then I have a quilt to snuggle in or give away. I think the hardest thing for me to keep in stock is the right battings, because I don’t have a lot of storage space for battings and I like different ones for different projects.

Sew here are the steps I take:

Referencing the pattern or drawing I pull from my stash the fabrics that seem to me might work. If you are new to this or don’t keep a stash, this would be done in the fabric store making a stack on the cutting table and asking them to let it stay there for a bit.
Then I arrange the fabrics in a stack according to color or part of the quilt. Here is where those small pieces leftover from some great piece of hand dyed fabrics come into play if I only need a small piece to make that flower petal, piece of armour, or leather saddle (yes, I do use leather for leather saddles on my horses).
This arranging with the pattern in hand enables me to remove the fabrics that don’t work either because the color is jarring, the print is simply not right for the quilt, the value change is either too much or not enough, or I don’t like the whole set of fabrics so I put them back and start over. Yes, I have done that. Sometimes this fabric selection part can take a considerable amount of tme.
If I’m shopping from my home stash I can determine at this point if I need to purchase more fabric. If you are at the store, you may find you need to pull another piece and put back a bunch. Sometimes you can get a lot of what you need in a bundle of precuts and save a lot of money.
Sew now I put away all the fabrics I will not be using and usually spray starch and iron the ones I will be using. I prewash all my fabrics (unless they are not washable for unusual uses) before storing them away, so all I have left is the spray starching and ironing in preparation for use.

Now that I have my fabric bundle/kit put together, it is a good time to pick the threads. Actually, if I’m going to be using a lot of thread changes in my stitching I will just leave the threads in their storage place but check to make sure I have the right ones and that they are sufficient. In my art quilts I use a LOT of threads…different colors, different weights, different types all for different uses, and over the last few years I have built a very nice thread stash, but I use them a lot so sometimes I have to replace a color. It can be very frustrating when I am working hard to finish something and run out of a particular thread at an awkward time. My closest brick and morter fabric store that carries the kinds of threads I like is 45 minutes away, and they may not have the color I want or some such. So I order my threads online and that takes time, especially if I want to wait for a sale. I also purchase threads at quilting and sewing events where they usually have a discount, so I try to keep a list of colors I need in my bag when I go to those. You can save a lot of money on threads if you pay attention to what you use a lot of and what you may need in the future and who is having a sale on those.

The next thing to check for your kit collections is all the additional things that make your project work right…the batting, the stabilizers, the embellishments (paints, cords, beads, and so forth), and things you may not think of like thread nets if you use coned threads, fray check if you use that, interfacing if you are backing your light weight fabrics with a fusible, for instance. I’m probably forgetting something.

So do you have it all together? Are you ready to start the fun part of actually making your project? Do you have the right tools? Oh, I’ll talk about tools in my next blog post.

Sew happy everyone! Enjoy yourselves while you are picking all the pieces for your next project. Petting fabrics and admiring thread colors can be a lot of fun. If you can shop your stash for everything you need on this project you can pretend you aren’t spending anything on it, because once these things are there and settle down into your stash it’s free, right?! LOL

Fine Tuning Quilted Art Projects: Part One, the Design to Pattern

Posted on February 19, 2020February 19, 2020 by Betty Jo's Blog / Posted in A Little How-To, Art Quilt Techniques, Design as you go, Design Work, Food for Thought, Project Management, Quilt Journal / 2 Comments

I realized with some astonishment recently that 2020 is my sixteenth year of making quilted art projects, mostly, but not entirely in the form of wall art quilts. I have been sewing since since I was five, when my mother began teaching me to sew, followed by years of learning and making my own clothes and helping my mother in her own sewing pursuits. I retired from my intensive job with the US Government at the beginning of 2012, but I had already been working toward moving to full-time fabric artist upon retirement for a number of years.

Over the years I have learned a great deal. I have almost always been in a learning mode, because I find it fun. For me, a terrific development has been provided by generous fabric artists, digital artists and sewing technicians through online informative sewing and quilting sites, video classes, The Quilt Show with Alex Anderson and Ricky Tims, and YouTube. This has enabled me to continue my love of learning new techniques and improvement of my skills while hanging out in my own studio and at a very low cost or even free.

What has all this to do with the title of this blog, you may be asking about now. Well, I just wanted you to know that I do have a significantly solid and advanced basis to pull from for this series I will be blogging over the next month or so about building quilted projects for fun and excellence.

Sew approaching a new project should begin with a bit of planning and record keeping. Such projects can be divided several ways, but I like the following 10 steps, each of which will be dealt with in their own blog post:

Designing or Obtaining the Pattern
Collecting the Parts
Checking the Tools
Cutting and Marking
Constructing the Top
Sandwiching Properly
Quilting
Blocking and Squaring
Adding Embellishments
Binding and Finishing.

Designing or Obtaining a Pattern for Your Project

Since I don’t normally use purchased patterns and usually create my own designs, for me that first step of designing frequently takes just under half of the time I spend on a project. I use my computer heavily in this step. Here are the computer apps I currently use for this:

Corel Paint Shop Pro 2020 (for processing photographs)
Corel Draw Graphics Suite 2018 (makes very good vector designs and communicates with Bernina Software. This also helps me create my own pattern, size it, and print it out full size to tape together)
Corel Painter 2020 (for painting. It’s almost like having real paint, brushes, and pencil collections with no mess and the ability to erase or add something in the middle layer. I often start here for concept art)
Bernina Embroidery Software V8.2 (for digitizing or personalizing embroidery designs, and even for some quilting)
Electric Quilt 8 (aids in figuring placements, sizing, yardage, and if I need a traditionally pieced area for my quilt project, this is where I turn).

I won’t cover how to use these drawing packages for this, because I know even if you use digital design programs to help you out, you probably don’t use the same ones I do and they are expensive to gather, take time to learn, and there are lots of really good classes out there on youtube and on the sites where the packages are sold.

Once I have my design, I write out the steps, list the fabrics and threads, list the additional pieces, and think about the tools that will be required. In other words, I create my own pattern with instructions. You may be surprised to learn that I mostly do this the old fashioned way in my planning notebook, where I glue in samples of the fabrics, write out steps, and keep other important notes as I go along. You can read about how I manage these things in my blog Project Management for Fabric Art from a year ago. I still do things this way.

Now I know many of you don’t want to use the computer designing process, and if you want to design them yourself you would greatly prefer using a sketch book or graph paper and doing math to figure out what you need to make your project, or at the very least use Electric Quilt 8, which is an easy way to produce a good traditional quilt pattern. This is a good approach, but I do encourage you to scan in your resulting images/designs, keep a record of your project on your computer, and write out the steps you need to take for your project so you can start with a good pattern with steps to completion already thought through.

Also, there are those who prefer starting with a pattern that has good instructions. That’s probably why you can make a quilt much faster than I can, and I think this is also a good approach if you have different goals from mine. One of the keys to this is to use patterns from reliable designers that provide good instructions.

In other words, whichever your approach, the first step is to obtain or create the design with good instructions and project steps already thought through.

For me, I also want to load up my audible books, music, and podcasts to listen to while I work through the construction phase. My next blog post will discuss building your own kit so you know you have what you need.

Sew happy everyone! I encourage you to use an ordered approach to your quilted projects, however small or large, and you will really enjoy the process and probably come out with a wonderful result.