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Thursday, June 6, 2019

I Have a Loose Screw

I am still waiting to practice on my long arm. Good grief, it is collecting dust. I had some other projects to finish first and it finally occurred to me that I can do my projects on my other sewing machines. The long arm isn't going to practice itself. I really really got side tracked. I got commissioned to make a T-shirt quilt for a paying client. That is good. I need to save money for a replacement car. I am willing to sew things for money that I wouldn't otherwise sew. I think quilts ought to be made from lovely fabric. There is a lot of gorgeous fabric in the world, much of it in my own studio. However, some people love T-shirt quilts and feel very comforted by them. This current project being a prime example.
Here it is before adding borders. Someone else started this quilt. The client is adamant about the baby outfit in the center. OK. I used red scrap strips for sashing , with the idea of pulling everything together. I added 2 narrow borders, first black, then black with red and yellow circles to blend with the other dotted sashes. The back is minky, a very nice Moda Snuggle brand. Super silky and low pile. The client chose red, and I found some on sale on etsy. The outer edge of the back is black minky. See? I am using my long arm. It makes a great design area.
In the middle of quilting this big, heavy quilt,I had to pick out several areas of loopy incorrect tension on the underside. Arg. I was glad I didn't have this quilt on my long arm with tension issues. Then my walking foot came lose. I was afraid I had stripped the threads on the screw. It turned out I had the wrong size screw holding it to the presser foot shaft. Fortunately, the screw is interchangeable with one from my Singer Featherweight. Phew! Works great. During the repair process which was done by Mr. Thimblepie, I had fleeting thoughts of delay getting finished, ordering parts on the internet, trying to find a good repair person in a big city far away, not being able to sew, and ultimately fear of failure and death. Fortunately none of those horrible things happened. I really want to share photos of lovely quilts made from lovely fabric. I want to sew those lovely quilts. So! As soon as I finish attaching the binding, which is chosen and cut, I will switch to a fun "palate cleanser." Stay tuned.

4 comments:

  1. It's always a pain to work on a project that you aren't thrilled about making. You will love the longarm for quilting the T-shirt quilts in the future. I can't imagine doing them on my domestic machine again.

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    1. Yes, I agree that the long arm will be a great support. I have loaded some fabric and batting to start practicing. Practice quilts will be donated to the local animal shelter. I have to nudge myself out of my rut and I am so lucky to have a long arm in my studio.

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  2. Yes, let's make lovely quilts from lovely fabrics. I look forward to seeing them.

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    1. Thanks, Kate. I have a lovely Riley Blake kit, "Farm Sweet Farm." A super fun project. Photos to follow soon!

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