The Story of Penny’s Quilt

Back in the mid 1990′s I started quilting and it didn’t take long before I fell in love with machine quilting. I machine quilted for Trish Stuart, who had just made the transition from making patterns to making self-published books. We made a great team! I went to Quilt Market a few times with Trish and meanwhile my friend Penny had started quilting – and Penny does everything GUNG HO!

Penny and I decided to go to spring Quilt Market to help Trish launch her new book “Color Art” in 2002. The first day was a blast but that night in the hotel room Penny was sick. So sick that we had to take her to the hospital – and there she stayed for 3 weeks. It was incredible trauma for us all and for Penny, who is NEVER sick!

Trish made this quilt for Penny and I promised to quilt it for her but I’ve run into difficulty (as have Trish and Penny) over the past years – and with moving, giving the quilt back to her, moving again, getting it back and re-promising to quilt it, I am thrilled to say that Penny’s Quilt is quilted!

I made two videos to go along with it – the first one tells the story of Penny’s Quilt. It’s an important story to three people – me, Penny and Trish. Probably not too interesting to anyone else, but I wanted to make the video. The lighting isn’t good – I’m still learning how to judge lighting.

The second video is me doing the quilting. I use three different stipple techniques on Penny’s Quilt and I show each of them on the video. I just can’t tell you how wonderful it was to give Penny her quilt yesterday. We sat and talked for hours. She lives about 200 miles from me now and we don’t get to see each other much – but distance doesn’t alter friendship and Penny is a lifelong friend, one of my very best friends. She’s into beading now, as well as quilting, and she’s poking through her bead stash looking for a few sparklies to embellish her quilt with.

Here’s Penny’s Quilt Story:

Here’s how I quilted it:

Sashing Your Squares

Hi Quilters! I get a few emails every now and then about the sashing on our quilt as you go style of quiltmaking, and I re-read the book (thanks to my friend Phyllis at Patchwork Plus in Virginia!) and I want to clarify something for all of you experienced quilters!

We use a “true” 1/4″ seam or even a FAT quarter inch seam when sewing on our sashing strips! Here’s a short video I made about it, with a little teaser at the end

Now, the reason I said “experienced quilters” is because of the precise piecing requirement of a scant 1/4″ seam that much of traditional quilt piecing uses. Beginners don’t know about this and they never have a problem, but experienced quilters will often use a scant 1/4″ seam out of habit, and then they are disappointed with how the sashing finishes up.

Of course, being experienced quilters, they quickly realize that a fast pass, with a wider seam, fixes everything and they keep quilting right along! Many, many thanks to Phyllis at Patchwork Plus for helping me see that this could be explained better!

I made another video :)

This one is a basic chain piecing demo with some pressing information (which I learned the hard way!)

Margaret has a new table!

Here’s her note to me:

“I had a table and used the Sam’s table to extend my space. It is so great and spacious. I am marking a quilt now to begin stitching. I am so excited that this set-up will control a lot of problems I was having, i.e. the weight of the quilt pulling against the needle, jerky movement of the quilt…..well these and other difficulties are now in the past. I just can’t thank you enough.”

I talked her into sending me a pic – isn’t it great!

3 Steps to Sewing in Comfort

Do you ever get up from sewing and quilting and stretch, creak and groan, feeling uncomfortable and tired? It’s very possible that it isn’t from your project, it’s your sewing table and chair!

Being comfortable while sewing and quilting is more important than your sewing machine, tools, fabrics or threads because you can have the best equipment in the world but if you are in pain or straining when using them you won’t be able to sew or quilt for very long! Your body may be sending messages to your brain saying “no more sewing” because of that strain and yet you want to sew!

Ergonomic comfort is often completely overlooked, especially when we don’t have a dedicated sewing area. I often hear or read about a quilter “taking over the dining room table” and it makes *my* back hurt just reading those words!

The important ergonomic factors of sewing in comfort are:

1. Height of your sewing table. A dining room table average height is 29-30 inches high, which by itself is too high for comfortable sewing, and when you add the base of the sewing machine, about another 3 inches (bringing the height up to 33″) , the proportions are totally wrong. Just that small bit of difference can create strain and pain throughout your body. Here’s what OSHA (US Gov’t Occupational Safety & Health Administration) has to say about Sewing Stations.

2. Notice that number one on their list is height of the chair. I put it at number two because it can be easier to change than table height. An adjustable chair is a must for sewing! Here’s what the Center for Disease Control has to say about chairs:

“Contrary to popular belief, sitting, which most people believe is relaxing, is hard on the back.”

3. Position of the sewing machine. Many sewing cabinets (if your machine is in one) position the machine too close to the body, and the sewing head is “off center” to your body, putting shoulders and arm muscles in a strained and awkward position.

More about Ergonomics from Wiki …

SOLUTIONS!

Table height: I do not advocate cutting the legs off your dining room table (unless you want to) but I do strongly advocate getting or using any other table than your dining room table for sewing. Some quilters turn a small bedroom closet into a sewing area, with a board or shelf inserted to serve as the sewing machine support. I use portable tables that have height adjustable legs ($42). Certainly an investment in your comfort is worth it! Make sure that when your machine is set up that you have a 90 degree or slightly greater angle at your elbow. You should not be “reaching up” to sew. My sewing machine bed is 27″ high and I am 5’6″ tall. Petite women are especially vulnerable to the agonies of mis-proportion for their sewing machines.

Your chair is your best friend when sewing! More than your seam ripper! Okay, a seam ripper is nobody’s best friend but you know what I mean. A height adjustable chair is the best investment you can make (the kind for office work). Your feet should be flat on the floor but if you cannot manage this please put something on the floor for your feet and foot pedal to sit on. A strong cardboard box, a plastic bin, a small step stool or a crate, anything to take the pressure off the backs of your legs. I also like a square of gripper mat under the foot pedal to keep it from “creeping” away while I sew.

Position yourself with the needle lined up with the center of your body so that neither arm needs to strain to reach the sewing area you are using. Now push your machine away from you until your arms are at little more than a 90 degree angle, but your shoulders aren’t straining to reach the needle.

I like a totally flat surface around my sewing machine and I’ve written more about that in my Cheap Sewing & Quilting Table posts and my videos on YouTube. Before I discovered the foam board, I was using a really strong cardboard to create a flat surface around the machine. There are also manufacturers of custom tables which accomplish this. Check your local sewing machine dealer for more information on them.

Be inventive! If you can afford custom cabinetry, have your sewing components made to fit you and don’t be afraid to modify them until they do! (You should see how many cabinets I’ve taken a jigsaw to!) If you cannot afford custom cabinetry, make or adapt your own with materials you can afford like I did But either way, please make sure that you are comfortable when you are sewing and quilting and this goes for pressing and cutting too. When you are comfortable your sewing projects will really become your “Zen” haven of peace and happiness for your body and your creative soul.

If you found this helpful, would you consider sharing the information with your sewing and quilting friends, in person and online? I am on a mission to make sewing comfortable for all – please join me and spread the word! You can share this Tiny URL: http://tinyurl.com/dfw89q

Check out this adaptation of my "cheap table"

Barbara Fons used my foam insulation and clear vinyl ideas to make a “Faux Longarm” as she calls it – I might have to give this a try!

Machine Quilting – How to Stitch in the Ditch

Here they are! I went with the two-part format because I felt that there was just too much information that I had to cut in order to meet the 10 minute limit for YouTube (not criticizing, just explaining) so:

Part One – - -

I would love to know what you think!! So far I have only remembered one thing that I should have said – and that is “don’t buy cheap pins”. I did this once and totally regret it, it was a waste of time and money because I had to go BACK to the store and buy the good (expensive) ones just to get them to go through 2 layers of fabric and a needled batting. Better to just buy the good ones up front and avoid the frustration and waste of having a bag full of useless pins.

Please let me know what you think of the videos and of quilting a large quilt at home on your sewing machine. Do you stitch-in-the-ditch? Do you do things differently than me?

If you found this useful, please share it with your friends

Funky Fuzzy Shortcut Quilt is DONE !

I just love that word – DONE! Whoooo Hoooo! This will be another donation quilt, even though I love it with all my heart, the thought that it might make a person happy and benefit a child is also one of the reasons I love it.

BUT, until the CASA auction it is going to hang in Seams Like Home Quilt Shoppe in Anchorage! Yay!!

I can’t wait to make another one! LOL

BTW, I had a really cool webcam chat with Linda last night. She was working on her binding and we chatted a bit about technique. Tonight, as I was working on one of the corners of this quilt’s binding, I took a short video on how I like to make the corners. It is uploading to YouTube now. It says it’s for Linda but you can peek too if you want

Stitch in the Ditch Video Dilema

I started quilting a 90″ x 90″quilt on my home sewing machine, and doing a “tutorial documentary” on it. Now I am stuck!

I am a long winded teacher (and writer – you have probably noticed) and YouTube, my host of choice for now, allows 10 minute video length. You would think I could get the basics down into 10 minutes…. but no ………. I yap on too long and personally, I don’t like to watch videos (or TV shows) where the speaker talks too fast – -it frustrates me – and I am a naturally slow talker.

So, do I break the video into two parts? Or cut out stuff that I think needs to be said? Meh!! I don’t really know what to do. I think that people don’t really like watching videos in two parts – -but then again, on my “build a cheap sewing or quilting table” I was playing around and made it in two parts and each one has about 7,000 views now. So maybe it’s okay?

I was really hoping to get this all on one 10 minute video! I edited it hard (more than I wanted to) and still have 14 minutes. What do you think? Take more out or make it “part 1″ and “part 2″? Oh, here’s the quilt – isn’t it wild? I just love it!

Funky Fuzzy Shortcut Quilt

I took a video of me doing the stitching – - couching down the yarn:

Next Page »