Visit www.QUILTsocial.com to download a PDF version of this issue. Seer ers * PLUS * Carefree Quilt Laughing Flowers Wall Hanging French Press Cozy Wonky Squares Quiltkao A r t 1 v | Perfection starts here” evolution Bt Noe URSc lo ore) Te] er a cot mena of the PFAFF® brand's advanced Peete MEE cau eon superior precision and control. PFAFF® Precision Portfolio contre in each ond every sich Absolutely even fabric led ftom bot the op endhe bata (Only frm he PFAFF® brand ing feature ry design excel where you vii Exclusive Stitch Creator” feature or edi builtin ones wih Combine decorative stchesc design elements istry 6 crete nique borders and designs fl oe Orta ego ce Die BRD VE y al wow. pfaff.com/en-CA At participating Canadian dealers 06° guecreative sensation” pro || Bireccbeo.Hf you've been following me on Sunday QUILTing. a segment on QUILTsocial blog, you'll remember | started making quits with mom earlier this year. We dacidad to get together every Sunday (hence the name.” in the aftemoon, tea Included, We have oinad forces for many reasons. one was to spend more quality time together, and since we would soon be done with light chit chat we thought it might be fun to make things together. Mom has been sewing clothes for over 50 years and has dabbled in quilting for the last seven years. This was my opportunity to get on with the projects in my stash, As | mentioned in my frst post, 4 wai busy lifestyle, it's a lot easier when you team up with a quilting friend, you share the work and it keeps you on a meeting schedule, like church. Here's our frst quilt, completed in the spring called | Love to Knit. The fabric print, with sheep that knit and knitting jargon all over it, was absolutely Impossible to resist as | happen to ‘own a knitting obsession as well. The top and backing are both pieced as | wanted to make it reversible and Use up all the fabric. | love everything about it, the way it was pieced and the way it was quilted ~ what a team! Since | bought this fabric. it has taken me a long time to cut it up, so we kept the pieces wide and long enough Not to lose the funny knitting sheep and long script, We added fabric with text and flowers, and | just had to embroider the quilt label by hand. You can see and read more about this quilt, and the other two baby quilts we made in the suramer, in the subsequent Sunday QUILTing posts. hope you will nd the technical articles and purposeful projects in this, issue of QUILTsocial very helpful in Cheertully, follow HUE QL BSQU] LTacciat ae pineguttocaler .com ome for those who gather with thread and fabric to | ycimewnscabntronenntnerne ‘eat, sleep, quilt, repeat’. | temmemt Potonsojeanborlcon dene en ultyjoren ranepahakenancye bloypetcom ‘eA Canoniea ‘lop Guta eom \WEISITE 106: tp /OUE act com de Facebook QU cla Felew ron cer UIT ‘Uitacols > qusteyeMlagine uted by A Nese ipsa om | ptember med ese ste ner {plese leno ec senresyee | Batiivaarntaericutc wince 1 QueTsHors 1 cimebeasincuyeg oc muro ae | MieSeandots cain whe en eon | eee ce e016 CULT Alighieri #7 159N2368 5913 Nopart otis pubestonmay be repradied iho wit person om ne pusher Ades pts so iforationn hi mags efor ‘ersomnel stony and se copyaed mattis owes daily blog weekly giveaways ALL monthly newsletter '55 ANeedle Pulling Thread Magazine e ow v & g, v quarterly magazine ! ey, Facebook page 51 Coats Pinterest page e 64 Giltermann Creativ : 7 Northcott ALL of the above! Ae 60 QUILTsocia SIGN UP today at www.QUILTsocial.com and receive a free ebook Elaine’s Quilting Tech Tips! 4 QU ciate | iseQU] LTeoeiae, &-O-hi-t-e-i-f-s 42 44 52: 56 Hooked on Books Summer Berries Table Runner Summer Apron with a 10° Twist Laughing Flowers Wall Quilt The Wonky Squares Quilt Carefree Quilt French Press Cozy 2 reasons to use the Dual Feed Foot 2 ways to machine stitch a binding Tips for sewing Y seams Tips for using the Free Motion Foot QULTbceiatn | issu6 Scraps, Inc. (vol.2) 18 Soap-pleced Designs forthe Mode Quiter Compied by Suzanne Hoods Seep nev) Most quilters present thei ished quits softs to ends and loved-ones, but ‘ten these poject lave esta abe trapa that gultnakar cat baw tjst {trow away.Srap~based quting ies ae conssterty best-sellers as quits, a vay locking fr new and anovste patter to festte these eure’ Fabrice Moat often, there xe the quite that get kept by ther rake asa fender fallofthe other quits they have gifted over the ear Scrap qullscan be {eeky to desan ce tothe vary af clr challenges that random saps an Intodice, fu these pattern ave those sues throu lal trate cD chemates, 12 Pages SBN 978-1-24065-19-2 chy Sooo! warhol ca ‘Sewing Pretty Can Sewing Pretty Bags Dera eencad Cheyanne tenia Sewing sisters Debra and Cheyanne present 12 quick an easy project for Ssening boutique andbacs shopping totes pouches, and mare Wh step-by- Sep nstucions ad fresh modern desis, they show how tomake beautul Ibajefor both ashen anunetiona wes. ‘Ge nspited to express your unique personality withthe stunning pins and {alors of tociy’s contemporary fares You ok stylsh caving your one ‘f-a-ind accessory, peteonaoed wit fancy tims pockets ese ower oF femtvoiseny 1 3Pages, SBN 978-1-S228-951-7 FoxchopelPubing vmwnibomasatence hooked on books - Quitting Basics Mel Capito Have you eve thought abous creating a patchwork qull but decided [would take fo long or be oa dificuso, Quiing Sass your erect troduction this popular raft Begining withthe "eting Stated sector qullingwacher Mcrae Caputo wi sow the tls nd {egulpment, an demonstrate the sewing Sls you vl eed, plus the bases ‘feansucting our quit Section te isa seresalI2 workshops each Intdcng you to new sls wih project tthe end whch enables you {0 practice what you have at lamned—o great way get oe wits ‘hetheory AS you frogs: hough the worshops, you ea Pot jlo pre-cut squares, ashing plecng and paper piecing, using tempted the Gert types of applique. 1a Pages aN 973 1-ras- 30849 senntomasallence SEWING @ ESSENTIALS Sewing Essentials Seger Tectgues Pamela Leggett Lea to operate your eer ike a pro. Popular instrutor and seing expert, Parela Legge demysties the serger and rakes ust fun wth her ‘valuable guidance Through th detated guidebook and OVD workshop Youwil get to know you sergerinsde ad out Master once->> >>> >>> BA = Ka) quilting fun withPPP>DP>PP>DPP>P DDD let's malee the nnnnEtilted : ; Now that you have everthing cut out let's strt making the quilt blocks ted quit locks forthe WontySaustes uit sing the coat | Soho Esc pels Clonee 4 uve sold ear tes go with Soho round a center square or etangl Sew the Fst stp tothe center square using a partial seam, Press seam toward stip, fabric panels Jean Boyd Sew the next strip on the let side of the block Press seam toward strip. Tim ‘excess fabric. Sew the next strip across the top of the block. Press seam toward stip. Trim excess fabric. Sew the last strip across the bottom,Finish sewing the partial seam on the fist strip. Press the block carefully. Trim excess fabric Trimming the Block Place a 716" plastic ruler square or a 7/5" square of template plastic on the right side (of the block, lining up the center with the center of the fabric square. Place the ruler on an angle, iting to the right. IFyou'r using a plastic ruler square as shown in the picture above, you can rotary-cut around all4 sides to make a 744" block. Using 2 revolving cutting mat is helpful IF you'r using a square of template plastic, Use a fabric marking pencil to trace around the plastic Then rotary-cut on the drawn lines to make a 744" block Handle carefully because all the outside edges are on the bias. Make 11 more 71" blocks like this. The ruler can be placed ata different angle on each square to give more variety to the blocks, You can also tit the ruler to the left on 6 of the squares for even more visual appeal. You may have to cut a few more 3°75" strips to complete all the blocks Next, we need to put these titled quit blocks together to make the Wonky Squares quilt top. *squareof template plastic on the block en an angle FRotayrcut the block Hance careuly to ovoid sretching te ouside bas, edges. QUILTbeciatas | iss 31SEWING THe tilted quilt blocks | Now it's time to start sewing the tted quilt blocks and sashing, At this stage of construction it’s a good idea to place the blocks on a design wall or on the floor, so you can arrange them to create {good color balance For the sashing, | used another of the ColorWorks Concepts coordinates. This Jean Boyd print is little more neutral sit tones down the bright colors in the blocks You Rm villneed 20° ofabric ag MAT GM 1 Curt strips 2"x 714’ on the lengthwise Sv eT a tev . arinottne abr: the edges ofthe poe wine. Blocks are allon the bias, so cutting the el sat” aT sashing on the lengthwise (less stretchy) a Ty 4A Y arainwillhelp to stabilize the blocks. Vow Aw Age Y 17 Place the sashing sips between the Pe my EV m BM y Becks onyourdesign wal Vag ye XL VPM 4 ut 20-2 squares from scrapsofthe ¥ solids for the sashing squares. Place avn, ah ave 19 Sat ep theman yourdesign wal along wth agg MAT GPE ID therestotthe quit pleces arranging the PV py ATF cobisasdesied » » a4” ae Vv M@ Sewthe3 blocks and 4 sashing strips, a4yAty read, fon Fw topeteBethis Pes LW ywAy was ae seams toward sashing, mee yt av. - —- wv ColorWorks Concepts fabric forthe sashing x lw i 5 a ‘a Place ashing tps and 2 squares on the desqnvwat “Arrange the block s ndiagram Sew the remaining 3 rows of blocks and sashing in the same way. Sen Blocks and sashing sp together Sew 4—2" squares and three sashing strips together like this, Press sears toward sashing strips, Make a total of 5 sashing rows. Sew the sashing strips with squares to the completed rows. = = 2 a “Senvthesoshing strips with squares to the completed rons Now that you've finished sewing the tilted quilt blocks and the sashing, it’s time to add the border. Il be using the leftover solids from the ColorWorks Premium solids collect olorWerks Premium Solids 32 QULbeiat= [issue 7A CLEVER WAY TO MAKEA MORE INTERESTING QUILT BORDER From each solid color, cut 1 or 2~ 51s" strips on the lengthwise grain. My strips measure between 10° and 14” in length, It makes a mare interesting border f the strips are different lengths. Putthe completed blocks on a design wall or the floor. Start placing the strips around the outside of the blocks Until you have an arrangement you like. You may have to cuta few extra 514" trips. You need to have 2 side borders that measure about 43" and top and bottom borders that measure about 34" Sew the border strips together, end to end, to make the length you need for each side. Press searns open, Sew on the first side border with a partial seam. The bottom of the border should be even with the bottom of the quilt. Press seam toward border. Sew on the bottom border next. Press sear toward border Trim excess fabric Sew on the next 2 borders, trimming excess fabric as needed. Then complete the seam in the first border. ‘After making the borders, you'll probably have enough solid color fabrics left to make a pieced backing. Another ‘opportunity to get creative! Press the quilt top carefully and you'e all ready for quilting! hope you enjoyed making the borders this way, it cuts from the monotony. Sew the ist sie border ith portal seam, Bordersare sewn on QULTbceiat | iss 33s Fars Fars fas Far fad & Carefree Quilt 4 tips for keeping your quilt pieces in order The new layout laid cuton the design wal Jennifer Houlden You might recall that in Issue 6 of QUILTsocial Istarted a piece that had lots of 44" squares with % circles added to them, | was having fun playing with the Carefree Curves circle templates, Now i's time to put these squares together but keeping track of them could be a challenge, So here are 4 tips for keeping your quilt pieces in order as you sew them together ~ no reverse sewing today! When | pulled out the project to continue working on it realized still had a lot of work todo. My original layout has gone andi! have come up with a new layout that | like better and it uses up more of the shapes | made last month. tend to like symmetry in my designs and this one will be no exception, First things frst Ineed to finish putting bias strips around all ofthe Yé circles beforel can sew the squares together. Here the bias strips are all sew in place. Doesn't that Sulhy rayon thread just shine on the dark teal fabric? 'm very happy wi the light thread contrasts with the dark fabric. TIP 1 —Design Wall Lay outall the pieces on a design wall Working off a design wall means that you ‘an work on sections ata time but still ee the whole project and keep track of where everything goes At one time l used a bed ta lay everything out (on butit’s hard to see the whole picture on a bed. The design wall that you stand back from and look at from a distance works a whole lot better fo see the whole picture at once. TWP 2-Camera Take a picture. A picture is worth a thousand words and it tells you where each piece is suppose to be when you can't remember, ‘More times than nat Lhave mixed up the pieces and since [took picture it was easy to see what had done wrong so the foc was quick Without a picture it takes alot longer to see where the plece was turned the wrong way. 34 QUILTacciate | issuLabel your pieces, Use numbers, letters ora combination of each, Use small sticky labels to write the row number and position letter on. Masking tape works but | found that if ironed too much tt’ hard to peel off the fabric and leaves a sticky residue whereas the sticky labels don't, Or use flow. «with numbers and letters written on in marker. You can also purchase already numbered pins from your LOS =| unfortunately, da not have any sol made my own Lay out the block you're working on in order by your sewing machine when sewing it together, this will ensure that each piece is placed in the appropriate spot when sewn together, well unless the little gremlins who hide in the closet come and mess them up when you arer‘t looking, Note | have sticky notes on mine as well tend to use all 4 methods to keep track of my pieces that way I shouldnt have to do any reverse sewing because nothing gets mixed up. All those 416" squares are sewn into either 9 patch or 12 patch blocks waiting for the center to be decided upon. Im going to put one of the wagon wheel designs in the center, But oh no, | ran out of the pre-made fusible tape that goes with the Clover fusible bias tape maker. What to do? No worries, Ill use the bias tape maker to press the strip of fabric into the right shape and size. Then cuta piece of ‘and iron it to the back side ofthe bias tape. Itwerkedlike acharm and imbackin business ‘The center of this quilts done and isn't the symmetry of the design wonderful. As you can see | added the circles which are going to flow into the border but thar’ for tomorrow along with some tips on quilting, IIhad an easy time sewing all the 415" squares together with no reverse sewing and no mix ups thanks to using those 4 tips for keeping your quilt pieces in order HeainBond stip se ack of bs ope QULTicciatn | isst 357 NYT NYT NST NST NYS Jennifer Houlden 7 critical questions before quilting a quilt I kept track of everything and was able to put all those squares together without any reverse sewing thanks to those great ‘organization tips | used. They sure made life much easier. I've put the borders on and naw i's time to think about quitting this masterpiece. There are 7 questions Borderson the quit -just need to outine the circles indo teal When frst decided to outline the pieces with the dark teal bas tape I wasn't so sure about it and really wasn't sure ‘would lke it but love it It adds to the quilt and makes the fabrics and shapes pop. Now just to add tt the circes in the border ‘As you can see | have an uneven border. Ive always wanted to make an uneven quilt but this one is still symmetrical. It could result in issues with binding but Ill leave that conundrum for another day. Now its time to get on with the quitting and answer those 7 questions. Question 1 -Will the quilt be washed? IF the quittis an art quit then more than likely it will never see the inside ‘of awashing machine butifit's a kid's quilt then it may see the inside of the washing machine many, many times. If the fabrics were not pre-washed then it's 2 really good idea to add a dye catcher to the first couple of washes to catch any excess dyes and prevent dye running into lighter colored fabrics, have had great success with the Dylon Dye Capture sheets which | picked up at my LOS. Here's one that has turned pink as it aught the red dye circulating through the wash water Also if you're going to be washin: uilt this will determine the amount of uilting being done on the piece. For overall even shrinkage you don't want the quilting lines to be any further apart than 6" ~ 10" This is also dependent on the type of batting being used. tend to stick with closer quilting ines when | know it's going to be washed. ‘Question 2 - What type of thread? Cotton, rayon, polyester? Thread that matches or contrasts? I tend to use a variety of threads. For this piece | picked out a few spools in teals and browns, cotton and rayon. ‘Array of Suk tread cottonand jon I decided to use one ofthe lighter brown Gitermann rayon threads in 30 wt as I want the background to lighten up slightly asl find it very dark By using a lighter colored thread Il get a high contrast which wil ake away from the dark background and show off the quilting ines. The rayon thread will add a shine tothe background as well Anreat way totes the color onthe fabric cther than just ying apiece on the quits toputa litle sandwich together and sew 2 few lines. This will give you an idea of whether you ike itor not and whether it provides the contrast you're lacking for. My favorites are the two datkest, And here I thought | was going to go witha lighter thread for contrast. Now Ill have torrethink what look | want, ‘Auaivoning threads on the brown fabric The bobbin thread | tend to match to the top thread ~ it may or may not match the backing fabric. | also tend to use a 50 wi cotton thread such as the bobbin no matter what is on top. like to use backing that goes with the front of the quilt and the thread may ‘or may not blend in with the backing. Ifa busy background is used then the stitches on the back of the quilt will blend in with the fabric more. fa plain backing is used the stitches will stand ‘out more. Itall depends on the look you want and whether you want to hide your stitching. 36 QUinciatm [issuNVI NV ZI NYT NYS NVI NN, Question 3 - What type of batting? There are many different battings on the market. There are cotton, blends of cotton with either bamboo, polyester ‘or wool, pure wool (one of my favorite), bamboo, sik and polyester to name a few, Batting is very much a personal preference and can be project specific. For this project 'm using 2 100% cotton because I don't want itto have much loft. IF] wanted loft | could use one that isa blend 80% cotton and 20% polyester. Lofts puffiness. Children’s quilts look. ‘great with some loft as do bed quits. Wall hangings and art quilts tend tolook best with a very low loft or thin batting such as cotton, sik or bamboo, Question 4 — How should it be basted? Basting isa very personal thing, There are 3 different ways to baste a quilt safety pins, 505 adhesive spray or stitched with a basting stitch, My favorite i safety pins. The key with all three is to make sure the quilt layers are not going to move when quilted. There is nothing worse than finding puckers and folds in the backing after going to all that hard work cof quilting a quit, Follow the directions on the spray adhesive ~ some need to be ironed to set the layers while others don't. And some don't work very well with polyester fabrics such as Minkee fabric. With pins, my rule of thumb isto have them afist width apart. This ensures nothing moves as it gets sewn and ‘manipulated through the sewing machine. Quit sandwich basted with pins Question 5 - Walking foot or free motion quilting? This depends on what you're most comfortable with, what the quilts for and what most suits the quilt design. Forth piece tm going to do echo quilting with the walking foot to filin the large open spaces. | could do the echo quiting with the free motion foot but | have much more control with the walking foot and the stitches remain perfect and even. With echo quiting i's important to have control in maintaining even spacing fr the result to look good Quiting feet Question 6 - What marking tool to use? Oh there are so many different marking tools on the market. My favorite are 3 from Clover. The Clover Chaco Liner which comes in several different colors and has 3 ‘wheel that dispenses a chalk line as it moves along the fabric. The chalk usually disappears when sewn over butifnot it can be wiped away with your hand. The Clover White Marking Pen whichis awesome on dark fabrics. Just remember that ittakes time for it to show up after you draw the line. To get rid ofthe line just iron over it.Ths will work perfect on the dark brown background fabric. The Clover Blue Water Erasable works on medium and light fabrics and can be erased with the eraser pen or with water. Itsimportant that all marking tools be tested on a scrap piece of fabric to ensure that they/ll come off once the lines are no longer needed especially on. the lighter colored fabrics. Assortment of marking pens Question 7 ~Is there going to be ‘embellishing? Embellshing should be added after the quilting is done its in the form of buttons or beads as they are hard to quilt ‘around. Ifthe embellishing is in the form ‘of couching then it may be part of the quilting and can be added along with the other quilting, 've got some cording ‘and yarn that may do the trick haven't decided il will embellish this piece or not. see that Itook out part of the design from my new layout yesterday which I wish I had kept in the ‘open areas between the comers and the wagon wheel center sol may put some ccouching or applique in there once the Piece is quited, ‘Assortment of ems 0us8 as lemblinments QUiLTooniat [iss 7How to face a QUILT in 12 CASY STOPS series Once the quiting is done the next step isto irish the edges. | could use the traditional method of binding a quit to finish this piece but l have run out of the brown fabric. | could use one of the printed fabrics but Idont really want to frame the piece, |just want itto runoff the page so to say and it needs either brown binding to do that or anther method of finishing, Instead of binding tim going to face my quit which wil give ime that runoff the page look | want. And the other reason tm facing this quilt is because | have jut outs’ on the border. I couldn't ust do the quilt with simple straight borders, oh no they had to be fancy and artistic. Makes life interesting. IF iid want to bind this quilt! would definitely have to use bias binding to get around all the comers. For the purpose of this post 'm facing small piece so you can see the steps and finished project easily. This piece vas originally on a frame which | took it off of and now need to finish the edges. ‘Aren't the colors wonderful - spring has sprung in my studio! Facing compete on pink daha quit ~a dash of. sing color Facing a quilt Ido suggest using a fabric close to the ‘same color as the edge of the quilt so that the facing blends in with the front of the quilt. usualy try and have a backing that matches the front as well but not this time, Step 1 Squate offal edges of excess batting and backing ‘Step 2 Measureaall the vertical sides of the quilt. Cuteach piece 4" by the vertical measurement. A | A ‘Measuring the vertical edge before cating, ‘Step 3 Measure all the horizontal sides ‘ofthe quilt. Cut each piece 4" by the horzontal measurement plus 3*The reason this piece scut longer is because the ends are tucked under forthe final finishing and stitching on the back Press nh wrongsidestogether Facing pieces pinned to onto quit Step 4 Fold all pieces in half with the wrong sides together and press | use steam when pressing these pieces to get annice crisp fold line. By the way, this mini travel GO ION is deceivingly powerfull Facing pices attached with a" sear in ‘matching thread ‘Step 5 Pace the vertical pieces along the vertical edges ofthe front side of the quilt with the raw edges meeting. | pin these in place with flower head pins, Step 6 Sew the stips in place with a 14" seam allowance. Make sure to use ‘matching thread to the fabric in the top {and bobbin. You'll see why in Step 8. 38 QUiLieiat= [issue 7Step 7 Press the facing strips towards the ledge of the quilt so that they hang over Step 8 Tum the quilt over and from the back sew an" seam between the edge of the quilt and the 14" seam just sev Thisis the stay stitching and will help, create an edge to the quilt as the facing is pressed to the back of the quilt.The stitching will be seen on the back of the itso this is why you want the match the fabric Step 9 Press the facing to the back of the quilt. Use a hot steam iron for a nic smooth edge. Her Step 10 Hand sew the facing to the back of the quilt. The vertical facing needs to bbe sewn down prior to the horizontal facing being attached. Step 11 Repeat steps 5 - 9 for the horizontal facing strips. Make sure to center the facing strip on the horizontal edges 50 there is equal amounts hanging over each end. Step 12 Hand sew the facing in place and fold the extra fabric under to create a finished edge with no raw edges showing. IF the piece is small! dontt sew ths folded edge to the quit rather! leave itopen so I can put a hanging rod in through the Sewing the staystch opening, Butts larger quilt Il put 2 proper hanging sleeve on with a pleat nd sewfacing to back of quilt [My piece is going to take a litle bit longer to do the facing than this one did because | have a few more edges with all the jut outs but at least those jut out pieces are small so won't take long to sew inpplace. All in al, my piece will have 10, vertical facings and 10 horizontal facings. his piece will definitely need a hanging sleeve Ifit's to goon a wall. think it would make a nice table cloth, here you have it facing a quilt in 12 easy steps which is just as easy as binding bbut the facing gives the piece a totally different finish and look Pressfacing 1 backaf Facing sewn in place on QULTbceiatn |iFABRIC FUN MARKERS improve your 5 quilt label essentials Jennifer Houlden Your quilt has been bound and now i's time finishing to hand vaitten, some are embroidered, some are computer generated but they all have something in common and that's the 5 essential details to include on every label feced, quilted and dd the ome labels are Its important for all quilts to be labeled so that future generations can see where these pieces of art came from, who they were made by and when. As well as what they were made for. Ive decided to use one of my left over circle blocks for my label for the quilt I've been working on earlier this week Although there might be specifics about the size of a quilt label when a quilts entered in a juried show, there's no rule as to what size the label has to be or should be for personal quilts My label is going to be 12"x 12" and I'm going to hand write the details gto this quit in marker. | ‘of Fabric Fun fabric pat my LOS and fo use them. | iting my markers ick have just been itchi suspect they'll be S essential details. First [had best read the instructions on what I need to do to use the markers ~ if there's any special prep for the fabric ‘or not. These markers are non-toxic, odorless and permanent. There's no special prep for the fabric but | ironed a piece of freezer paper to e back of my block just toadd some stabilty to the fabric for writing on i. The markers have 2 a fine tip. 'm using t project, ipsa thick tip and ne fine tip for this Everything is ready and Ive picked the ink color to use on the label.| tested each color on a piece of scrap before making my choice.1. the title of the work or name of the quilt mine is Wagon Wheel 2. pieced, designed and quilted by ~ my piece is quilted and pieced by me as well as.an original design 3. date made ~ | put the date finished as sometimes the piece can take several ‘months to make 4, where was the quilt made — name of studio, town and province or state can ‘even put in country ifyou wish who was the quit mace foc or what was the quit made for- mine was made for QULTso > > a aaa Dead DDR eRe aD eR ee Re ReStart and stop on each of the four sides of the bottom of the cube cushion and then repeat with the last block for the top of the cushion. This time, you're {going to sew one complete side and then two half seams leaving halfof the top open so you can insert the foam. leavehatofthetepcpenso youcan ser hefoam. You can now turn the cushion inside ‘out and admire those Y sears from the ‘outside. There's no need to push them ‘out too far. There's alot of bulk at the ‘comer and these are fun cushions, They don't need to he perfect. Cubecushionisalmost finshed Its time to insert the foam. | happened to have 2" thick foam that was going to use for another project that never happened. Itjust so happened that had already cut it into 12" squares so I decided to use the foam to fil the ‘cube cushions | had enough foam for 2 ‘cushions. Then I found foam ata mattress store that was 6" thick. They cut the foam for me and | only needed two pieces that measured 12"x 12" x6" | used the 6" foam (on the remaining three cushions. Ifyou buy the 2" slab of foam, you can Use an electric knife to cut it, Works like Foam eut and ready forserting into the cushion form Iwas easy to get the first 5 pieces ‘of the 2" thick foam into the cushion form, Notice that | started by filing the “bottom” or the sewn part of the cushion, knew that last piece was going to be tricky as the foam wasn't going to slide very well on itself Inserting the 2"pleces of foam I decided to try my rotary cutting rulers to help slide that last piece of foam into the cushion and they worked like a charm, |ended up using two tulers so the piece of foam that | was inserting wouldn't touch the foam already inside the cushion and | had no problem to get that last piece in the cushion Useyourrotaycuting rulers to alow the foam to si intothe cushion | used the same process with the thicker pieces of foar. | placed the fist piece in the cushion. Then | placed the rulers on top of that foam piece so | could slide the second piece of 6" foam into the Cushion. | pulled the rulers out and the foam was in the cushion, Last step was to hand stitch the opening closed. Hand teh the opening tocomplete the cushion You could use any fabric to make the cubes. Why not use a children’s fabric book, photos that have been transferred to fabric, embroidery images or anything that works for you. You just have to adjust the sizes accordingly. Despite the fact that al the seams were Y seams, these cube cushions were a snap to sew together. And let me say that we've been having a blast playing with them in the office The features of the Husqvarna Viking Sapphire 9600 and the Quilter’s 4° Piecing Foot made it so easy to sew them together. | couldn't stop with just one! 54 QU1LTacciaten | issuGet more quilting fun i AyhiEE OLE PULLING THREADTips for using the fre@ motion foot We start a new project It's a rag quilt anda perfect opportunity to practice free motion quilting. Here are tips for Using the free motion fact you don't want to miss, The Husqvazna Viking Sapphire S600 isa fabulous sewing machine for free motion quilting I you want to learn more about this sewing machine, you ‘can checkout this QUILTsocial post When | fist introduced the Sapphire 9600. ‘sara Viking Sophie 9600 Supplies for the rag quilt You can make the rag quilt as big or as small as you'd lke, Imade mine 7x9 blocks fora total of 63 blocks, Foreach block, you need a7" square of backing, a 7" square of fabric forthe front and a6 square of batting | used flannel for my backing and my top. Flannel is very forgiving when it ‘comes to free motion, The nap and the slightly extra thickness help to conceal a multitude of sins. ‘Supoliesor one bocko' the rog quit - backing renter blockand batting This is a great project to use up scraps.1 used upa lot of batting scraps by joining them together. If you'd like to learn how to do that, you can check out this QUILTsocial post. I did't have enough of the backing fabric to make complete squares, so I pieced some of them, Same thing for some of the squares for the top ~ simply pieced a couple of pieces together and then trimmed to the correct size. No one will care and no one wil ikely notice either! Backing squresandbating squares werejoned when necessary Setting up the Sapphire 9600 for free motion There are a number of features on the Sapphires 8600 that will make fee ‘motion quiting very easy and it only takes a minute or two to sett up. To set the sewing machine for free motion quilting | simply touch the Free Motion Technique icon (the bottom left button with the squiggly ine). ‘A pop-up screen apieas allowing you to choose between Free Motion Floating and Free Motion Spring Action. 've explained the difference between these two inthis QUILTocal post I chose the Free Motion Spring Action mode because the thread thatl'm using Is heavier and the spring action works best for that kind of thread. The feed dogs are lowered automatically. love that! Free Motion Floating Free Motion Spring Action (Choose the Fre Motion Spring Action forheaver hued This is how the screen looks once you have chosen the Free Motion Technique. ‘The presser foot diagram changes and. the Free Motion Technique icon is highlighted in green. The tension is also ‘automaticaly adjusted and the stitch length remains atthe default setting of 25 because once the feed teeth are dropped, the stitch length hasno bearing on the actual stitch length, Potable Tel 56 QUilciatm [issueStitch length is determined by how fast you move your piece of fabric and how fast the sewing machine is sewing, Settings orth le Maton Spring Acton rechngue The Free Motion Technique remains selected even when you turn the sewing machine off and back on again. The Sapphire $609 will remain in this mode Luntil you turn the Free Motion Technique feature off which is easy to do, just hit the Free Motion Technique icon and deselect the free motion techniques. Machine set for Free Motion. i Popup message toremind you the Sapphire 950018 set fr ree motion Taking as many variables out of the picture as possible is one way to achieve great success with free motion quilting. The next variable we're going to remove is speed. Adjust the speed of the Sapphire 9609 so when you start quiting, the sewing machine will only go as fast as you have set it for. I's ‘2 Good idea to mess around with the ‘speed to find one that you'te the most ‘comfortable with, It’s amazing how many people are afraid to mess around with their sewing machines. Even worse is they ‘think they should know all this stuff. The more | play with different techniques, the more Iearn and |can use that knowledge base to take things to the next step. |just recently read somewhere that ifyou don’t make mistakes and try new things, youre net learning, So get, some scrap fabric and batting and check ‘out the various speeds. Which one do. you lke best? : Adjust the pees Another good tip isto always use your Needle Stop Up/Down feature. Ifyou need to stop for whatever reason, the ‘needle will stop in your quilt sandwich ‘which prevents it ftom moving when you take your hands off and you won't end up with aig giant stitch Can Needle Stop Up/Down function is NOT selected (ontheright) ~~ Needle Stop LpyDown function selected (on theright) You also want to make sure that you attach the Free Motion Spring Foot to the sewing machine. | prefer the one with the wide open toe so | see my work clearly Choosing Thread (One of the things ! ove about the Sapphire 9600 is that no matter what thread | put on it, got excellent tension and very nicely formed stitches. can't stress how important this is, While you can mess with the tension control on all sewing machines, | would much prefer tonot haveto. | usually choose thread based on the Color, not on the weight or the brand, In this case, all my backing fabric was the same, so | used the same 50 weight thread in the bobbin for the entire project. That's the thread on the lef. Then I chose heavier weight threads for the top - but only because that was what thread I had in the colors | wanted Two different weght threads were used forthe bobbin and the top | decided to be very adventuresome and use the same bobbin thread forall the blocks, but changed the top thread depending on the color of my top fabric Lused three different brands of thread on the top with three different thread weights: 2 30 weight, 2 35 weight and 2.40 weight. Only one ofthe threads required that make a slight adjustment to the tension which Il show you in a minute QULibeciat | issue 7Being able to use this variety of thread brand and thread weight is very exciting and so stress-free. The less Ihave to mess ‘around with tension, the more quilting | do and the happier lam! nea” i ¥ \ =~ SO waht head wos used consistent he tet top teadsvared frm a0"o weg Top threads wereallused in the horizontal postion Ialso love the fact that the stitches are very nicely formed and well defined. That makes the project look awesome even if the stitches aren't super consistent We really need to get over that fear that ‘everything has to be perfect! Let's have a quick peek at that slight tension issue that had. Itoccurred when {was using the yellow thread on the top Keep in mind thatin this ample below, Lused PINK thread in the bobbin. | don't see ary pink thread ~ do you? Thisis the sign ofan excellent sewing machine that isable to handle diferent weight threads (@5 weightin the top and 50 weight in the bobbin for this example) and gave me absolutely no thread pops on top. Nosignofthepink bobbin thread In the example below, you can see that some ofthe yellow thread came through tothe back ofthe blocks. Mostly when | went around the corners. | could probably have left like that ait only Cccuttedin one or two spots, but knew that | could make a slightadjustment and get the tension correct in this case, | tightened the top tension slightly and it worked lke a charm, CConectad by sight tightening the top tension Starting and stopping When you start free motion quilting, you must bring up that bobbin thread to the top of your work. IFnot, you're going to «get a mess on the underside that is nasty to get rid of If you have no idea how 10 bing up that bobbin thread to the top Of the work, check out this QUILTsocial ppost where I've explained it, ‘ays ing the bobbin thread tthe op ofthe work I'm using the Open Toe Free Motion Spring Action Foot so I can easly tuck those two threads to the back of my work = ils ll {Woe Needle Stop Un/Down and tuck he threads tothe bock ofyour work ‘Aneven ugler tread nest 58 QUiLisiatm [issue 7Start by anchoring the beginning of the line of stitching with a few very tiny stitches. Ths is very easy to do since you're completely in control over the lenath of the stitch, Slovdy start the sewing machine and mave your fabric slightly while you take a couple of stitches (Once you have your anchoring stitches, you can bring the machine up to the speed you'e comfortable with and stitch tothe end, Just before you get to the end of your line of stitching, slow the sewing machine down and take a couple of small stitches to anchor the end of the line of stitching, Then use manual scissors to clip the top and bottom threads. Scissors can be used on the sewing machine, but | really like to control the length of those threads and fill always have a long tail on the bobbin to bring to the top if cut those threads manually. Theendof the line of sitchin s anchored witha couple of smal sites What to do when the bobbin runs out Youknowit's going to happen. The bobbin wil run outat some point and it ‘won't be atthe end of aline of stitching, ‘The question is "What to do?! The first step to clipall the loose thread lends on the top and bobbin of your ‘work as you don't want to have loose threads that cause unsightly messes. Tim anyloasesttchesen the top and bobbins After filing the bobbin and placing it back in the bobbin case, lagain bring that bobbin thread up to the top (sometimes this is hard if you've cut the bobbin thread short when inserting it into the bobbin case). often leave that bobbin thread long so I'm in control of the length at all times. Istart about ¥" over the previous stitches. take one or two tiny stitches toanchor the end, then go into my previous stitches to secure the beginning of the newline. This s best done manually to get the new stitches to follow the same stitch length as the old stitches. hen finish the line of stitching, Restarting ater the bobbin cn out ‘One last piece of advice To quilt the rag quilt squares | started at the outside of blocks and worked my way to the center in a squarish/ roundish spiral depending on how! felt. Notwo blocks look alike = the more ‘consistently inconsistent you are with your quilting, no one can tell which one isthe right one!You'l see the quilting motif tomorrow. Since there wasn't a lot ‘to hold onto, | did pivot my block for the first row. Normally this s a NO-NO when free motion quilting, but these blocks are small enough that its OK to pivot ‘and easier to maneuver also used the ‘guidelines on the stitch plate to keep the lines of stitching the same distance from the edge of the block Use the Needle Stop Un/Down 0 pivot onthe ‘use srching ne for these smal blocks Using the Needle Stop Up/Down, the needle would stop in the fabric block at ‘each corner, making it very easy to pivot (Once! had that first row of stitching, | just moved the block around without pivoting to get the quilting design. That's2 lot of information to digest, bbut the bottom line is that using the Husqvarna Viking Sapphire 960Q to quilt these rag quilt blocks was so easy that | was kind of disappointed when Iran out of squares. Not to worry as | have a couple of other pprojectsin the wings that | can pull out. But quiting these small squares isa great way to try anew design or perfect your stitch length and it's a rag quilt These quilts are meant to be loved, used as a Car quilt, used for the dog. It's a super quilt to practice on and uses up a lot of scraps. Have a great day! Clao! Elaine Therault QUilTacciatm | issue 7 59(FSS SS See Ss Seo Ss Se SS Se don't miss these ee & tutorials online! essential steps for sewing borders with setting triangles making a THANKSGIVING how to make needle turn table runner applique easier and there's so much more! 60 QU cian | iseQUILTsocial bloggers Jennifer Houlden quiltsbyjen.ca Jennifer runs Quilts by Jen, a fantastic educational resource for quilters with many great free tutorials ranging from how to choose fabrics, understanding the value of fabrics, pressing, building Bargello runs, pinning, binding, sandwiching, couching, quilting, and much more. Check them out! Elaine Theriault, crazyquilteronabike.blogspot.ca Elaine made her first quilt at the tender age of 13. The urge to quilt resurfaced when her daughter moved from a crib. The rest is history ~ she now teaches several days a week, makes quilts on commission and quilts for others on the long-arm. Nancy Devine nancywhiskeynancyo.blagspat.com Nancy Devine is a devoted user and collector of remnants, scraps, and vintage buttons. She lives in ‘Aurora, Ontario, and can often be found working on her latest project, and playing around with her vintage (and much loved) Bernina machine. Find more of her work and musings on herblog, Jean Boyd patternsbyjeanboyd.com Jean has been designing and publishing patterns since 1997, Her work has been published in several magazines across North America. Jean holds a Fiber Arts Certificate in quilting and has taught extensively throughout Canada, including six national Quilt Canada conferences. She was named "Canadian Teacher of the Year" in 2003 by the Canadian Quilters Association and has won numerous awards for her quilts. QUiliieatm [issue 7 61BUSINESS DIRECTORY ‘otistyourbusiness in this space please call 1.866.969.2678. Art of Fabric 1955 Brock Re Unit 18, Pickering, ON LW 2x9 3905.420.101 “8 artoffabric.co se shopeartoffabricca ‘creative shop offering quality fabrics, specializing In Ganadian designed batts, Large selection of art supplies for textilearts &the latest notions. ‘Authorized Bernina dealer providing quality serviceSsupport. 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Create your own magnetic, quilted tic-tac-toe board like the one featured here. See how at Visit brother.ca/findadealer to find your closest authorized Brother dealer. ugs00 Stylist -Q-Series sewing & uiting machin. Fallin love withthe large workspace and wide table = scans and cuts applique, {abvicpleces and quit blocks with ease brother.ca/inspiration Sarees nae eee Se Ue at your side ‘rer an loo aes of eterna is Jipen Al pete sen a rage wth on © 206 he rematnsl Caren (Cane) 63Afine, strong, high quality sewing thread for hand or machine sewing, no matter the stitch type or fabric. Giitermann 50 wt. Cotton Quilting thread is made of long staple 100% Egyptian mercerized cotton; it's versatile and gives seams a natural character. + Suitable for hand or machine sewing; the perfect thread for your quilting projects + Larger cone sizes are excellent for long arm quilting machines Available in 100m, 250m, 400m, 800m, 3000m, and 5000m spool lengths +186 stunning solid and variegated shades Ideal for ornamental stitches, decorative seams and embroidery + Soft and supple with tear and abrasion resistance + Colorfast: fade resistant to UV rays and multiple washings