Teal Quilt Update

Remember my teal quilt? The top has been pieced for a while, and since I'm keeping this one, I had to get backing, batting, and thread for it. So it was on hold for a while for other priorities, until its turn on the long arm came up. Here it is before I fixed the upside-down bottom border. It's fixed now. 

Finally everything came together: top, backing, batting, thread, and long arm time slot. I got everything loaded and stitched the first pass of freehand meandering. Advanced the quilt and stitched another pass. 

Then I checked out the back where I could see it around the roller. Oh, no. Disaster. 

Eyelashes everywhere. 

Some background: 

 - This machine was new in March 2025 and was professionally installed. 

 - It's shared by 78+ PebbleCreek Quilters who have been trained and certified by our Long Arm Committee to use it. 

 - Only the approved thread can be used, in order to not have to adjust the tension. 

 - We used to use Superior 50 wt. So Fine thread but due to numerous thread breaks, the Committee recently switched to 40 wt. Omni.

 - Due to the change in thread type, the Committee has only stocked basic colors. If they don't have the color you need, you have to buy it yourself. I bought a 6000 yard cone of the approved 40 wt. Omni in a teal color. 

 - Very strict rule for all users using the long arm: NEVER TOUCH THE TENSION.

There is an instruction book for all long arm users to refer to, which includes trouble shooting. 

 - I made sure the machine was loaded correctly. It was. 

 - I checked that the machine was threaded correctly. It was. 

 - I checked the bobbin tension and found it to be good. 

 - Made sure the machine, including the bobbin case area, was free of lint. In addition to being a heavier weight, the Omni thread is much hairier and fuzzier than So Fine. I brushed it out before starting and after each pass. 

When these steps fail, the procedure is to send a group text to the 5 members of the Long Arm Committee. Whoever can respond will text Got It to all and then reply to the user. 

Okay, I was already frustrated, and I'm old, I'm not much of a phone person. I've never started a group text before. I could have cried. It took me a while to figure out that I need to put all the names and numbers into my contacts first, then start the text. Finally I was able to send a photo and a request for help to the Committee. 

One of them got right back to me and half an hour later she arrived at the Fiber Arts Room to help. Together we spent about an hour trouble shooting. She found that the tension, although it looked like the correct setting, was actually one whole revolution too tight. That only partially fixed the problem. We fiddled and tested, fiddled and tested, again and again and again, for about an hour and could not get a satisfactory result. Still getting eyelashes on the back, but not quite as bad. 

Finally we tried another cone of thread, white. Perfect stitching. We tried black and the stitching was acceptable, not perfect but much better than the teal thread. Since the machine was stitching beautifully with white thread, there was nothing more we could do, but I couldn't use the teal thread to quilt my quilt. 

So here's where I'm at today: 

 - I have a top I spent 9 months designing and piecing, that I love. 

 - I have the perfect backing for it, 

 - I bought batting. 

 - I bought expensive thread that now I can't use.

 - I have to rip out two passes of very bad quilting plus numerous test patches in the margins. I don't have and cannot get any more of this backing fabric, so I have to rip out every stitch. 

 - I must use only Omni thread on the club's machine; Omni thread in my color didn't work, so now I don't know how I'll get this quilt quilted. It's too big for me to quilt on my domestic machine. 

 - I don't want to pay to send it out for quilting because this quilt is just a vanity project for me. It doesn't have a purpose and doesn't coordinate with any rooms in my house, so it will probably just sit in a closet. 

I'm beyond frustrated. 

PCQ has a Long Arm Users group that meets once a month under the direction of the Committee. Tomorrow is the December meeting. I plan to take this project and the teal thread to the meeting. Maybe one of the other Committee members will have a suggestion. If nothing else, I can start ripping out the bad quilting. 

Sigh. 

Link Ups: Small Quilts and Doll Quilts 12/15;  Alycia Quilts 12/19

Positively Scrappy

 A few months ago I was working on another scrappy Pinterest-inspired project, but I put it on hold to work on my Crossroads Wheel blocks instead. Here's the original inspiration photo, credit StitchMischief Dec. 2020. 

When last visited, I had all the blocks made and sewn into columns. I took them to Social Sewing this week and got them sewn together. Now it's a finished top:

Easy-peasy Plus blocks, black or charcoal prints against colorful low volumes. Sometimes these kinds of light prints can be hard to use so this was a good use for them, light but colorful, contrasted with the black. I like that the half drop layout prevents the blocks from looking like a big grid. 

The blocks finish at 8" so the quilt will measure 56 by 72", a good throw size. Since the colors and fabrics are gender neutral, this quilt can go to whichever of PCQ's charities needs it. 

Linking up with Alycia Quilts 12/12

The Scrappy Pinterest Project

 A little over a year ago, I saw something inspiring on Pinterest (no attribution that I could find) and thought it would make a good charity quilt project for several reasons. 
 - I could cut and partially assemble it in strips to make it easier.
 - It would use up a lot of random scraps that might not go together so well in a curated palette. 
 - I could work on it at social sewing by kitting it up and having all the parts ready to go in a project box. 

I printed out the Pinterest image and added pattern notes. If anyone knows the source of the original Pinterest image please leave a comment. I would like to credit the source if possible. 
Update: I'm told the pattern is called Three Patch. It's in a Kim Brackett book called Scrap-Basket Knockouts. Please refer to the book if you want to make this pattern, rather than my notes, in order to give credit to the original designer. 

At the time I started it, one of PCQ's charities needed twin bed size quilts, but now that organization has enough for several months at least, so we're focusing on throw size quilts now. I had planned to add additional rows of blocks to make the top longer, then add borders to bring it up to twin size. Not needed, so I just made it the size shown, 54 x 66". 

Now, 13 months later, it's a finished quilt. 

I cut a lot of strips with my 2" die cutter. I joined light and dark strips and sub cut them into twosies, and packed them up in my project box. That way, I could just pull random pieces and lay out four blocks at a time at social sewing. I have to admit, I got pieces turned the wrong direction many times so my seam ripper got a workout with this project. I attribute that to the social distractions....

After starting this project it occurred to me that it would look good with a red and cream color palette, a little less chaotic. So I dropped this multi-color version and jumped into what became Cherry Jubilee. 

Anyway, back to the scrappy version - It's finished and donated. Being gender-neutral and suitable for anyone, it can go to whichever agency our charity committee leaders want to give it to. 

I like how the little bits of extra-bright turquoise pop; it keeps it from looking dull and boring. I have no idea how many different fabrics are in there. Most came from scraps from both my own stash and PCQ's. Some were cut from FQs and from backing off-cuts. When the top was finished, there were still enough twosies in the project box for another top. One of the other girls on the charity committee expressed an interest, so I gave them to her along with the pattern. 

I showed Kevin the Quilter my red version, and he wanted the instructions also. Scrappy piecing is so his thing, so it wouldn't surprise me if in a few months he sends me a photo of his version. 

Linking up with Alycia Quilts 12/5,  Small Quilts and Doll Quilts 12/8

November Stash Report and Goals Update

It seems like all I worked on this month was making Crossroads Wheel blocks. At least, that's pretty much all I blogged about. I did post about my Almost Postage Stamp quilt, which was finished and donated this month. The fabrics used were counted in my October stash report. 

My stash report took a hit this month. 8 yards of it is two 4-yard cuts for future charity quilt backings, from the PCQ Trash-to-Treasures sale. The rest was quarter yard and half yard pieces for Crossroads Wheel. It's so disappointing when you order fabric online and when it comes in it doesn't look right. I should have learned this lesson by now, don't order fabrics online. 

November Stash Report: 

IN this month: 19 yards (9 yards from PCQ sale.  2-1/4 yards from Ritter. 2-1/2 yards from Connecting Threads. 3-3/4 yards from Mulqueen's. 1-1/2 yards from 35th Ave.)
OUT this month: 0

IN YTD: 79-3/4 yards

OUT YTD: 121-3/8 yards
YTD Net Change: 41-5/8 yards out

Still down for the year, and I have all those fresh new fabrics and scraps leftover from making Crossroads Wheel blocks to do something with next year. 

Goals Update: 

November Goals: 

1. Bind the postage stamp quilt. Done and donated. 

2. Prep batting and quilt the teal quilt. No; quilted something else instead. 

3. Continue piecing Crossroads Wheel blocks. YES! All 36 blocks are done. 

4. Make a mug rug for the PCQ Holiday Luncheon exchange. Done.

5. Design and cut out Cannon's new video game-inspired quilt. Done. 

Mug Rug 7 x 10" 
Mini Scrappy Serendipity Blocks

December Goals: 

1. Piece Cannon's birthday quilt top. 

2. Shop for fleece backing and lightweight batting for it. 

3. Shop for sashing and cornerstone fabric for Crossroads Wheel. 

4. Shop for teal thread of the approved brand and size to quilt the teal quilt. 

5. Quilt, bind, and finish the teal quilt. 

6. Bind and finish the scrappy Pinterest-inspired quilt. 

That looks like more shopping than sewing for December's goals, but the next steps in all these projects can't proceed until I have the materials needed. The birthday quilt must be shipped out before the end of January; my January time slot on the long arm is the 8th, so everything must be ready to quilt by then. 

I had hoped to quilt the teal quilt in November. However, due to issues with thread breakage, the Long Arm Committee changed the type of thread exclusively being used on our new Innova machine from 50 wt. So Fine to 40 wt. Omni. By keeping the thread type consistent for all users, the machine tension should never need to be changed, and we have 80+ users. Only a few basic colors have been stocked in the Omni thread, no teal or turquoise, so I will have to buy my own thread. I have a time slot on the long arm on December 11, so I need the thread by then. 

The scrappy Pinterest inspired quilt has been in work for over a year. It was my social sewing project, only worked on a few times a month. Since I couldn't quilt the teal quilt, I quilted this one in my November time slot. I'll post about it separately when it's finished. 

Aside from quilting projects, December has a lot of events on the calendar, so I'm keeping the goal list minimal and manageable this month. If I can squeeze in something extra, it may be adding the sashing to the Crossroads Wheel project. We'll see how much I can get done.

All the Crossroads Wheel Blocks

Here are 36 blocks on the wall. I actually made 38-ish plus parts but some didn't make the cut. 

I don't know if this is the final layout or not. When moving blocks around, these are my considerations: 

- No arms of the same color next to each other
- No blades of the same color next to each other
- No backgrounds of the same hue next to each other except neutrals. There are several pink/peach tinted backgrounds, several yellow, and a couple green, and I don't want them side-by-side.
 - Least favorite blocks go on the far right where they won't be visible on the bed from most of the room. 

With sashing, this quilt will finish 98" square for a queen size bed with an extra deep mattress. The sides and bottom row of blocks will hang down. 

In the photo above, the block at the lower left looks like the background is too dark. I didn't notice this in real life. I'll look again and if it bothers me IRL, I'll replace the background with something lighter. 

Here are the last two blocks I made and one I revised to improve the fussy cut centers. Just by coincidence they all happened to be green arms/coral blades, so they're widely scattered in the layout. 

36 blocks, six fabrics each, no repeats. I even replaced two center squares where I had used a fabric then decided later to use it for arms. My buddy Kevin the Quilter challenged me to use no repeats, and I can say, I did it, 216 different prints. 

When you look at the grouping as a whole, there's a certain sort of messy cohesiveness to it. While no individual fabric is repeated, there is repetition of orange/coral/soft reds and teal/turquoise/cool greens. (Sorry, everything looks dark in the photos.) I worked at avoiding Matchy-Matchy blocks, instead pushing for some clashiness. I figured out a way to achieve clashiness that worked for me, and I'll explain it in another blog post. 

Next up, finding fabric for sashing. That will have to wait until I get a deadline project done, so these blocks will have to sit in time out for a month while I work on the priority project. 

Link ups: Small Quilts and Doll Quilts 12/1

More Crossroads Wheel Blocks

Some new fabrics have recently come my way, and they've made it into these latest blocks. My friend shopped for me at retreat, and I shopped online and at a couple of local quilt shops. Even with buying only quarter yard or half yard cuts, my stash report will take a hit this month. It's okay. 

Here's a closer look. I'm fussy cutting wherever it makes sense. 

A bit of Kaffe

Do you see propellers? 

Another cactus print

I need three more blocks, and I've selected fabrics for them. Plus, I have one existing block I want to replace entirely, and another I want to revise. 

I really need to set this project aside and work on my grandson's b-day quilt. I have fabrics for it, but I'm still playing with design options in EQ. I need to have the quilt finished before February. My scheduled time on the long arm in January is the 8th, so I must have the top done, and backing and batting in hand by then. Since Jo-Ann's closed, I guess I'll have to search online for video game themed fleece for the back. Or solid grey would work. 

Link ups: Alycia Quilts 11/21,  Small Quilts and Doll Quilts 11/24

Almost Postage Stamp

I started this project more than a year ago, but apparently, I didn't post about it until this post in April. It started as an attempt to use this border fabric and my extensive yellow-green and olive stash. 9 yards of this fabric were purchased in 2010 for backing for a green quilt, but the shade of green turned out to be wrong.* So the yardage has been languishing in my backing stash ever since, taking up space I could use for other fabrics. 

I also had an overflowing bin of yellow-green and olive fabrics. My plan was to use them with neutrals in a checkerboard design. Along the way I added some greener greens and some accents of purple and orange. 

I die-cut 2" strips from all the dark fabrics, and from as many low volumes as I could pull together, both white-based and ivory-based. As usual, I cut way too many strips. 

I made strata alternating light and dark strips; cross cut the strata; and assembled checkerboard blocks. Each block has 64 squares and finished at 12". 

The squares finish at 1-1/2 inches, so not truly a Postage Stamp quilt. But almost! 

This was started back when PCQ was making twin bed size quilts for one of the charities we support. Since we don't need twin size now, I set aside six of the blocks and made the quilt a large throw size. It will comfortably cover a grown man, 68 by 80". And the masculine colors make it suitable for a man or possibly an older teen boy. 

I used up a lot of that print for the backing and used the backing offcuts for the binding. I still have some left, so it will go back in the stash until I can find another use for it. 

The six unused blocks will go into another charity quilt, probably to be assembled at a future retreat. And the leftover strata are also being used for another charity quilt, in WIP status now, which I may work on at social sewing after the new year. Die cutting is always helpful, but in my case, I always cut too much! 

*Expensive lesson learned: Always take swatches of the fabrics used on the front of the quilt when shopping for backing. 

Link ups: My Quilt Infatuation 11/13,  Alycia Quilts 11/14,  Small Quilts and Doll Quilts 11/17