Stash Report and Stitching Time 11/13/2022

The past week of quilting started out with the emphasis on catching up with some free-motion quilting (FMQ) lessons. One of the final projects for the online class I've been taking is a sampler quilt made up of solid squares that each get quilted with a different motif. I made the pieced quilt top a couple months ago (see it HERE), and this week I pieced the back, plus made a little mini quilt with the same fabrics for testing out my tension and stitching designs.

The backing fabric is an old Jinny Beyer fabric. I love that it has feather designs, very much like some of the quilting motifs we are learning in class.

Above is my little mini version of the sampler quilt, complete with stitching samples. It measures around 18" square. All of the stitching near the center was done as a review of the motifs before I started quilting on the actual quilt. I'm using the same medium grey thread on all the different fabrics. After doing the test stitching, I quilted the first two blocks in the sampler quilt, and was very excited to have made a start. 

Unfortunately, the next day when I sat down to continue quilting, I discovered that my tension looked horrible on the back side of the quilt, with loops from the top thread pulling through to the back. It seemed as though there was no top tension on the machine. It is especially visible in the loop-de-loop near the center, the wavy line just above that, and even in the straight-stitch lines at the bottom. Click on the photo to zoom in.

I did everything I knew to make it better--rethreaded the machine multiple times, changed bobbins, new needle, etc. Nothing helped. The machine has electronic controls, and even when I had the top tension at the highest possible setting, it still looked like this. After two days of frustration, messing with the machine, searching online for suggestions, and phone calls to my dealer, nothing has gotten better. I'm hoping for a phone call from a Juki technician on Monday. 

Enough of my tale of woe, this is supposed to be a stash report. I used 3 yards for the sampler quilt backing plus 3/4 yard for the mini sampler quilt. 

2022 STASH TOTALS

Used last week:              3.75 yards

Used year to date:     126.125 yards

Added last week:              0.0 yards

Added year to date:     118.25 yards

Net used in 2022       7.875 yards

Kate's 15 Minutes to Stitch Challenge at Life in Pieces has us tracking how many days each week we get in at least 15 minutes of stitching time. Prepping my FMQ sampler quilt for quilting dominated the early part of the week, followed by days of frustration as I tried to figure out my tension problems. By Saturday I had given up and switched over to piecing on a different machine.

15 Minute Challenge for 2022: 

11/6 - 11/12            7 of 7 days

2022 Total        309 of 316 days

Check out more stash reports at quiltpaintcreate and join the 15 Minutes to Stitch Challenge at Life in Pieces. 

Happy quilting everyone!

Julie in GA

Stash Report and Stitching Time 9/11/2022

The usage numbers on the stash report continue to increase, with 2.5 yards used last week and no new fabric added to the stash. I pulled out all of my turquoise/aqua/teal solid fabrics and cut 9.5" squares. They were supposed to be 10", but 9.5 was the biggest I could get from some of my fabrics. The squares were pieced together into this simple quilt top.

This quilt top is for an online free-motion quilting class that I am taking. As one of the final projects, each square in this quilt will be quilted with a different motif, ending up as a sampler of all the different quilting motifs we learn in the class. 

2022 STASH TOTALS

Used last week:              2.50 yards

Used year to date:       93.875 yards

Added last week:              0.0 yards

Added year to date:       86.25 yards

Net used in 2022       7.625 yards

Kate's 15 Minutes to Stitch Challenge at Life in Pieces has us tracking how many days each week we get in at least 15 minutes of stitching time. Kate hasn't been able to blog lately because of computer issues, but I'm going to continue posting my numbers here. I've continued doing a little of everything throughout the week--some piecing, some quilting, and even the binding on a baby quilt, which will be shared soon.

15 Minute Challenge for 2022: 

9/4 - 9/10             7 of 7 days

2022 Total      248 of 253 days

Check out more stash reports at quiltpaintcreate and join the 15 Minutes to Stitch challenge at Life in Pieces. 

Happy quilting everyone!

Julie in GA

One Monthly Goal--August 2022

It has been a few months since I posted a One Monthly Goal, and I think it's time to set a new one. Rather than the usual project goal (like finish putting a group of blocks together into a top), I'm going with more of a process goal this time around.

I bought a Juki J-150QVP machine a couple months ago, and I am determined to spend more time getting comfortable with free-motion quilting on it. My One Monthly goal for August is to spend at least 15 minutes every single day doing some free-motion quilting. If I miss a day, I will need to make up that time within the next three days (my personal challenge, my rules!)

I've gotten off to a good start toward my goal by finishing up the quilting on a baby quilt that had been partially quilted for several months. This is my Rainbow LeMoyne Row Quilt. You can read more about it and see plenty of photos in yesterday's post.

For now, it's time for me to see what other quilt tops and backs are ready to get layered, then get back to the quilting machine! I'm linking up with the One Monthly Goal party at Elm Street Quilts.

Happy quilting!

Julie in GA