Tips on Tuesdays! -> Quilting

Welcome to Tips on Tuesdays!!  This week, the theme is quilting: the actually stitches you do through all layers of the quilt.  Please leave any tips that come to mind in the comments sections for everyone to read!  This post is meant for sharing & teaching.  Please note that this post topic is for machine and hand quilting alike.  You can grab a linky from the left column if you like.  The more the merrier!

I will start out with my couple of tips, and you add to the list.

Tip #1 - After pin basting, I stitch-in-the-ditch between all blocks.  Stitch-in-the-ditch refers to stitching into the seams so that the stitches are sunken.  Then I remove the pins and move forward with the more decorative quilting, whether it is free motion or straight line top stitching.  I really prefer having all those pins out of the way so I can go for it. 

Tip #2 - I have a ditch quilting foot, but I don't like it because it isn't an even feed foot.  (They do make those too!)  There's nothing worse than getting to the end of a line of quilting to find that all the layers have shifted.  So, I stick with my trusty accufeed foot.  On occasion the needle ends up popping out of the ditch.  I used to seam rip it all out and start again until I learned this cool trick from Pokey on a Quilting Arts video.  Check it out:

now you see it

now you don't!

Pretty crafty I think.  I love sharpies.  : )

What tips would you like to share about quilting?  Leave them in the comments!
Thank you so much,
~Monika

Postcard Fun!

I saw a post on Facebook that Quilting Arts Magazine out of the states is celebrating their 10th birthday. 

 

So they are having a postcard party!  The call is out to send fibre postcards to them by 10/10/2010.  The postcards MUST prominently display the number ten.  Ooooh I couldn't resist!  My kids had a playdate at the zoo, to which we arrived an hour late.  I spent three hours on this!  The "ten" of course is the needle and threadspool.  : )

Cute hey!??  I love the border, and really enjoyed adding the glass beads and metaillic stitches.  The white fabric is rumpled cotton stitched down flat.  The spool is some faux suede that I machine appliqued.  The border is a decorative yarn that has been couched down with a decorative stitch and variegated thread.

I'm pretty proud of this needle & thread too.  : )  The needle was triple-straight stitched with my silver rayon thread.  The red thread on the post card is a metallic cord that I stitched through and then glued down. 

I had to get it out right away with the next postal truck since we only have 10 days to get it all the way to the states.  That's cutting it close, but I had to jump in.  

Then tonight, as I was tidying up my sewing mess, I came across this fabric from a castle wall I made for my oldest son's quilt.  And I got the funniest idea!  I couldn't resist.  I HAD to...

HA!  I'm still laughing.  lol  The X is the roman numeral for ten.  I made a stencil and then sponged on some red acrylic paint.  The bricks are stitched out with silver rayon.  hehehe!  That was made in 20 minutes and popped it into the neighborhood mail box.  lol  I'm STILL laughing about it!  : )  I was half way to the mailbox with my daughter when I realized I hadn't taken a photo!  So we ran back.  Whew - lots of exercise!  I even managed a run before anyone in the house had woken up.  Tomorrow - yoga outside. ; )  No more cardio!  lol

 ps- Call Sew & Home in Saskatoon to sign up for the Fabric Postcard Workshop, and you can try all these techniques out for yourself!  ; )

~Monika