Fresh

On the way back from picking up D’s 6-speed 2-seater (about 100 miles away from our house – and on a weeknight!) I “splurged” and stopped at a fruit and vegetable market I had seen on one of our earlier car-shopping excursions - Joe Randazzo’s in Dearborn Heights.


Fourteen “items” for $11.27! I had to keep reminding myself of how much available refrigerator/freezer space I had available. Items I didn’t purchase but was very tempted by included bulk portabella mushrooms for $2.99 a pound, bean sprouts at $0.49 a pound, etc.


Best deals I did buy were seedless grapes (I forgot to include them in the photo) for $0.89 a pound, strawberries for $0.99 a container (after getting home I realize they are from Plant City, Florida where a blogger had a great time at the Strawberry Festival), parsley only $0.34 a bunch, and so on – look at that receipt!

Having been influenced by others’ blogs I couldn’t resist buying a yucca root for $0.69 per pound (had no idea if that was a good price or not) – we enjoyed it with stuffed green peppers (made 8, ate 3, 5 in the freezer for another day) for supper this evening. Even D agreed we should have these baked fries again.

I need to check out some of the markets in west T-town. Hopefully they can match those prices! ~~K

Steep Learning Curve

Free Motion Quilting Part 3 of ?

My current machine quilting is free motion only in the sense that the feed dogs are down – I’ve resorted to drawing on the fabric before sewing! I had a “design” in my head I could follow on small practice sandwiches, but now that I’m on a child size quilt I find myself getting lost.
Thanks to a new flow point on my wood-burning tool I was able to burn a puzzle-like stippling continuous line on an overhead transparency (another use for silicone baking mats). I then traced the pattern lightly onto the quilt back with a pencil, but found it too light to follow successfully. It is a soft lead so I’m going back over it in smaller sections just prior to quilting. That’s more work than I anticipated; especially since I originally thought I wouldn’t even have to “draw” a quilting line.
After finally getting a “pattern” technique developed, my next frustration is pulling the bobbin thread up to get started. I divided the quilt into 10 sections, hoping I would only have to do this ten times, but I realize now how much thread this project is taking as I frequently run out of bobbin thread. At least I preloaded the four empty ones I had available.

I started the quilting with curved safety pins for basting. After I carefully examined my first section, I’ve included many straight pins between the safety pins and just remove them upon the needle’s approach. That first section had a few puckers that I think will just have to remain as evidence of my beginner’s status.
Due to poor tension in an area that I could “hear” almost as soon as I started a section, I stopped, ripped it out and restarted. I missed an area and went back and quilted in a closed “puzzle piece”. There were also a few “puffy” areas where I left too much of a space between the quilted “lines”. That “school of hard knocks” is quite a task master!

It surprised me how difficult it is to maneuver the fabric and not let it move where it wants to go due to the small surface and the quilt’s weight. Ugly rubber coated work gloves I had never used have proven to be an invaluable help. Who needs special quilting gloves? –Not me!

On the positive side, I’m proud of my stitch length so far – if anything the majority of my stitches are probably too close together. There are a few quarter-inch gaps that have snuck in – but very few.
This quilt still needs several sessions to complete – I find I need to work in short spurts with breaks in between. I’ll keep plugging along – I have another “Quilt for Kids” top pieced and waiting. ~~K

Getting Closer

Free Motion Quilting Part 2 of ?

Having completed 20 paper “quilts” I wanted to try my hand with real quilting on a sandwich. This photo is my first attempt (back side):

I think I’m ready to tackle a “Quilt for Kids” with free motion machine quilting. According to an email I received, my kit should arrive Tuesday. In the mean time I’ve used some scraps and “Goodwill” fabrics to create an “Arthur” quilt top for the charity.

About 3 hours are invested in this so far (including cutting the fabric). I don’t have a backing yet – hopefully I’ll get lucky at a thrift store sometime over the next several weeks.

Back to practice! ~~K

Free Motion Machine Quilting – Part 1 of ?

First Practice –about 30 minutes before school (reading instructions, setting up machine, etc)

I was eager to start so I took an 8.5 x 11” piece of paper and “quilted” it without thread – just to see if I could get a feel for pressing consistently with my foot on the speed pedal and moving the “fabric” so I had acceptable stitch length. I only did one sheet of paper – see photo. Obviously I have a lot to work on – my goal is to keep stitches short (no longer than if I was hand quilting).

I then took a small “sandwich” that I had never completed hand quilting, and again without thread, I attempted free motion quilting on it to get a feel for moving the fabric. I couldn’t see my “stitches” but I think I should do this some more to be able to control the fabric – I think I need to get better at keeping the fabric “square” as in don’t rotate it (I wouldn’t be able to rotate a large piece of quilt) – just move it around – practicing more on paper will probably help me there.

To save money I’ll do some more practice quilting on both paper and “sandwiches” without thread. I know the paper sewing will dull the needle and perhaps get more “dust” in the bobbin area, but I planned on buying new needles anyway and a good cleaning of the machine should take place frequently. FYI I’m using my Jeans Machine by White that has served my sewing/upholstery needs well over the last few decades – when looking in my instruction manual I saw I purchased this new in 1991 – my previous two sewing machines were used Singers.

I think with some daily practice (10 minutes?) for a week I can get a handle on the technique, but I’m going to need more guidance on how to move for an acceptable “pattern” (I’m used to hand quilting over pre-drawn guide lines). I think I’ll next try some freehand drawing on paper – maybe waves.

A nearby quilt shop is offering a 2-hour evening machine quilting class May 6. It mentions using a walking (or even feed) foot – I used a darning foot for my practice. I need to contact them for more information to see if I have what I need to be accepted into the class and if it's “free motion” or straight lines. A quilt shop I visited in Michigan last week also offers a class, but I’m not sure I want to drive over 2 hours each way for a 5-hour class that might not meet my needs.

Back to practice – hopefully part 2 will show some improvement! Any tips would be appreciated. ~~K