Quilting Motifs.......While Traveling

Autumn in Idaho

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Once in awhile Brad manages to get the camera out of my hands.

He took this incredible photo in Idaho last fall.

He prefers to be behind the wheel when we travel,

so this is what I do:

Practice Quilting Motifs at 55 mph

Just lift up the plastic to erase,

then keep drawing more...

Drawing out your quilting motifs like this really helps.

It mentally prepares you, so that when you get on the sewing machine your brain and your hands are ready to work together.

Give it a Try !

CLICK HERE to view Thread Tips

CLICK HERE to view the Thread Shed

CLICK HERE to view Shaving Cream Quilts

May Your Bobbin Always Be Full,

LuAnn

Quilting Stormy...

I am working on Stormy today.

Let's see where the day takes us...

Click Images to Enlarge:

Stormy

I chose a medium brown batik for the inner border

Auditioning Final Border Fabrics:

I pulled a variety of light, medium & dark fabrics and arranged them around the edges.

Medium Browns are yummy...

Dark Fabrics...

Dark/Textured Fabrics...

Light Fabrics...

Medium Browns are too blendy with the inner border

Dark Fabrics are well......too dark

I love this fabric......but it just demands too much attention.

I want the horse to be center stage.

I like the light fabric......but I think I can do better

This fabric is light, but warm........the horse is the main focus.

I think we have a winner !

Basted and ready to go under the needle

Backing Fabric & Bobbin Thread

I chose a medium gray thread to blend into the backing fabric.

I plan to use 2 threads for the quilting on the horse.

There are a lot of different fabrics, and I don't plan on changing threads 30 times!

This medium brown thread will work for all of the lighter areas.

The size 75 needle will work nicely for this tiny 60 wt thread.

I warmed up on a quilt sandwich to get the tension adjusted:

I had to decrease the tension to nearly 1

All of the lighter fabrics have been quilted...

Face........Quilted

I am now ready to quilt the darker areas:

I chose a dark brown thread

All of the dark fabrics have been quilted:

Nose & Mouth........Quilted

I am using an off-white thread for the background behind the horse head:

I shadow stitched mane hair into the background fabric

Ready to Quilt the Border:

This golden yellow thread should work nicely

I want the border to be textured, but I don't want the stitches to be center stage and take away from the central horse image...

Border.......Machine Quilted

Next..... a binding treatment

I am calling it a day...

Here is the view as I push myself away from the sewing machine:

Gunnr & Suzy

The best Quilting Dogs I know

Gunnr 3 year old Boxer

Suzy 15 year old Jack Russell Terrier

CLICK HERE to see the first part of this post

CLICK HERE to see the completed Quilt

CLICK HERE for Machine Quilting Tips

CLICK HERE to view my Art Quilts

CLICK HERE to view Chicken Slideshow

CLICK HERE to view Jello Printing

May Your Bobbin Always Be Full,

LuAnn

Bernina.....Home from the Repair Shop

The Bernina is Back in Action !

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I went into town yesterday and brought Bernie home from the repair shop.

I highly Recommend Rich's Sew & Vac.

I learn something from the technicians every time I go in there.

Your machine is only as good as you are.

This is what I learned:

I use adhesive spray to baste my quilt sandwiches together.

In the last 18 months I have had more than 40 quilts under the needle.

That is a lot of adhesive being pushed down into the bobbin housing.

I also neglected to bring Bernie in for her yearly physical.

So....you could say I brought all this on myself.

No......I don't plan on giving up adhesive sprays.......ever.

Here is the advice the technician shared with me:

Titanium Needles

The adhesive does not stick to them as readily as regular needles.

Therefore, the bobbin housing will remain cleaner.

Every 20 - 40 hours of Machine Quilting...

Take apart the bobbin housing, clean out all the debris and any adhesive, place a drop of oil, then put it back together.

Here is the best part:

Regular Needles cost $1 each

Titanium Needles cost $2 each

Titanium Needles last 5 - 8 times longer.

They are also stronger, and perform better during high speed free motion quilting.

Which means, they create a nicer stitch on the surface of your quilt.

Now that I have Bernie back in my clutches, I am going to set her up in the Thread Shed and let her stretch her legs today...

The Pink Coneflower images are from my trip to Yakima this month.

Please enjoy using them in your personal art work.

I am always happy to share beauty...

CLICK HERE to read the first part of this post

CLICK HERE to view the Cattle

CLICK HERE to view Woven Quilts

CLICK HERE to view Sun Dyeing

May Your Bobbin Never Be Full of Adhesive,

LuAnn

Raffle Quilt......Machine Quilting Started

It is time to get this quilt under the needle.

Let's see where the day takes us...

Click Images to Enlarge:

Bobbin Thread

Bottom Line Yellow #601

Superior Threads Product

It blends in and melts into the backing fabric.

To stitch around all of the applique motifs, I chose Bottom Line very pale gray.

It almost disappears into the fabrics on the top side of the quilt.

Just what we need.

Thread Audition

The Neutral was too boring.

The Blue was not right.

The Green was the best fit.

I keep two lights directly above the sewing machine.

I also have a Bendable Brite Lite mounted on the side of the machine.

I am never at a loss for light.

I can see extremely well with this set up.

I never have trouble with eye strain.

Thread Stand

The Thread Stand is mounted on the back of the machine.

It feeds crosswound thread from off the top of the spool.

It feeds stacked threads from the side of the spool.

It also holds large cones still, no wobble.

Since getting the stand a few years ago, I never have issues with the threads feeding improperly......thread delivery goes smoothly.

The Thread Stand also makes a great place to stash bobbins.

Dyna Disc

I tried this disc in a class, one of my students offered to allow me to try hers.

They are wonderful!

It takes all the pressure off your lower back.

I can quilt for hours and never have any pain.

I purchased this at my local Quilt Shop:

JanniLou Creations

Philomath, Oregon

Size 60 Needles

Because the Bottom Line Thread is so fine, I am using a 60 needle, which I prefer anyway, because it makes such a tiny hole in the quilt.

I generally lower my top tension when Free Motion Quilting

Practice Sandwich

I warm up on a practice sandwich to check my thread tension and see if I like the quilting motif.

The background quilting is a feather variation.

You can see the stitching much better when I turned off the overhead lighting.

4 hours of Free Motion Machine Quilting so far...

I am about half way done...

Hoping to finish this tomorrow~

I am working with a deadline on this quilt, so I had to be disciplined and stay indoors and quilt today...

But this view out in the yard, made it very difficult...

Pacific Sunset Red Maple Tree

I love the way the light illuminates the leaves.

Gorgeous!

CLICK HERE to view the previous post on this Raffle Quilt

CLICK HERE to view Thread Information

CLICK HERE to view Needle Information

May Your Bobbin Always Be Full,

LuAnn