American Association of Quilt Wrestlers, October Meeting with a November Conclusion

  First I must apologize for the radio silence the last week. A family emergency left me rather blank. Now I am ready to show the finished result of the Fall/Halloween Quilt. First a little summary, I actually started writing this post a week or so ago.
 
All right, so I am trying again to bond with the whole machine quilting process, on a domestic machine. This time I am using my Viking #1+ primarily because it has a speed control and a needle down function. The other machines in the collection do not have these features. One of the deficits on the prior quilt, the turning twenty, involved random high speed sewing spurts and stitch inconsistencies when I stop and start. So here are some process notes: some of this is review, most is new.

 blocks on design wall, joined in rows

 audition sashing strip colors, blue and then the gold. Husband chose gold and I did agree. The blue showed too much contrast with all these different 9 patch blocks.

the gold blends better with all these scrap blocks

Gold sashing applied, the layers are secured with 1000 pins, more or less

secure the easy slider

reminder mark about where to re-start project after taking a break

 Using the Leah Day method of dividing the quilt into four quadrants and stitching each quadrant from the innermost corner out, I am more comfortable with the whole wrestling thing. It actually is less difficult to maneuver.  I use blue painters tape to section off the quadrants. Particularly with so much pattern, I needed to define the boundaries of the section I am going to stitch. The tape sticks, removes easily and does not leave any residue. Just be careful not to stitch into the tape! It is very tricky to remove those little bits of blue tape that have been stitched down when the tape comes off. I use the tape for securing the Easy-Slider under the presser foot as well because it does not stick anymore.

72 x 80 inches, sorry this is rather dark

 1500 yards of mindless, exhausting, boring, repetitive, strength-sapping, neck aching,  carpal tunnel inducing stippling.

Otherwise, no big deal.

 the nine patch blocks are loopie stippled and each one has a heart in one of the blocks. I know, sappy, but Husband thinks it is great.

 The border which is mostly 3 inches all around, trust me by the time I did this, if it was close that was all right with me! I did what a fondly refer to as the fat finger stitch. If you look closely, you will see what I mean. The binding was a pre-made cut from Joann's. Fabric quality is actually good. I decided to round the corners. I had seen some photos of old-style utility quilts and rather liked the look. Since this quilt will be on a twin bed, it hangs to the frame and the rounded corners hang nicely.

Conclusions:

1. Pro-It is done, he is happy, so am I. The next quilt will be one I like. 
2. Con-I will not likely do an all over stipple again on a quilt this size. Yikes. Didn't I say that on the last one. 
3. Pro-As before, the Isacord thread that I purchased from daystyle.com performed very well....except
4. Con-when used with a Klasse needle. Let me explain. I always use Schmentz needles on this machine. Never had a problem. I had a couple Klasse needles as gifts with purchase from Nancy's Notions . When the first one shredded the thread, I thought, what am I doing wrong. Then the needle snapped and broke. So did the second and the third. Well, just how many broken needles do you need before you figure out the needle is the problem????? Apparently, 3. I went back to the Schmentz, no shredding, no broken needles. Lesson learned.
5. Pro-I used the bamboo/cotton batting again because I had it on hand. I know I was not that thrilled the first time because of all the fluff, but it does quilt well. There is fluff, lots of fluff, but the finished product, the hand, the ease of quilting makes it work. 
6. Con-I am still having problems with stitch quality on the bobbin side. To maintain quality, I have to sew very slow and move the fabric very slow. Lots of steady as she goes, so to speak. 
7. Generally, I have learned that I don't like this much color, this much contrast, not my style. I like scrap quilts, but the color families need to be more cohesive. With this one, I will have a headache for at least another month or so.  Secondly, I hate the clutter and mess. I need to come up with a dedicated space, somewhere, before I do another large quilt. Do I move into the barn with the tools and Mice? Do I need to add onto the house? I could use the attic, as long as I never try to stand up. A quandary to ponder another day. 

Have a nice weekend.
Gratuity Moment: the mess is cleaned up, yeah!