Spinning Spools--ASK QUESTIONS HERE

[Helen W.]

I found this technique by Lori Buhler and am trying it. It is a version of turn technique that looked perfect for this application. It's from her book "Fuss-Free Machine Appliqué: Sew on the Line for Great Results by Lori Buhler," and is described on this site https://blog.shopmartingale.com/quil...ue-by-machine/. It uses Easy Pattern strips with the blades traced on them and a strip of fabric, then you just sew the finished seam lines. You really need to look at the pictures in the article - didn't want to copy/paste for copyright reasons.

Sharon, I agree the the turning interfacing inside out after sewing the sew line is a great way to do turned edge applique.
I have used that even on a wedding ring quilt to do applique arcs instead of pieced. I foundation pieced the arc pieces and then
used the interfacing to turn the seam allowance. You do have to be careful to make sure the interfacing is rolled to the back side.
Sometimes it wants to peek out to the front. I particularly liked the way Lori streamlined the sewing of the arcs by making them
on long strips. Great idea. Thanks for sharing. HelenW

[Sharon M.]

I tried one strip (9blades) and they came out really nice, and you're right HelenW, I was very careful pressing to keep the interfacing nicely on its own side.

[Helen W.]

I decided to make more blocks and enlarge this quilt. But now I need more white... I’m wondering about using bleach solid instead of the white. (Since I do have enough black solid now). Alex, any opinion on what this change means for this quilt??

Becky, I went to my EQ8 and switched out some white arcs with black and added an extra row of blocks around the outside. This is what it looks like. HelenW

[Becky M.]

Wow Helen! I appreciate you taking time to do that!

[Sharon M.]

Black really makes the colors pop. I think it would be great either way or with a mix as HelenW did.

[Louise D.]

I have managed to get all my blades appliquéd on and was checking the size. I need to trim off approx 1/16-1/8 off the edges. Is it ok to trim, esp the dog ears? Thanks

[Helen W.]

Louise, Alex said that she used a 8 and 1/2 inch square up ruler to trim to perfect size. Yes it should be trimmed to 8 1/2 inches.
If the trimming would maker smaller than 8 1/2 don't trim. Just snip the dog ears.If it is smaller than 8 1/2 inches you should draw a template that is 8 inches. That is the finished size. When you sew your blocks together you can sew on the sew line rather than aligning seams. You pin sew line to sew line. The seams would be smaller, but the finished block would be the 8 inches. At least that is what I would do. HelenW

[Mary F.]

Even though Alex’s instructions for the half moons are for finished edge applique, is it possible to use raw edge fusible instead?

[Helen W.]

Mary, Yes. One thing to consider. Will your block colors shadow thru the white arc.If you get any shadowing you might want to use
some fusible interfacing on the back of the white before you put the steam a seam or other fusible drawn arc on the white fabric. You don't need the seam allowance around the arc. You just cut on the line. HelenW

finished edge. HelenW

[Alex A.]

Thank you Helen for taking such good care - we are on the same page. And guess what??? I can now get in -- LOL Feel free to continue on......again thank you to Barbara and you!

[Sue K.]

Is it best to make 4 vertical columns of 5 spinning spools blocks then attach them together?

[Sue K.]

Once you sew a column of vertical column of 5 blocks how do you attach the next row?

[Helen W.]

Thank you Helen for taking such good care - we are on the same page. And guess what??? I can now get in -- LOL Feel free to continue on......again thank you to Barbara and you!

Alex, You give so much of yourself to the quilting community it amazes me how you keep up the pace. Thank you. It is always fun to help quilters that want to learn. HelenW

[Helen W.]

Is it best to make 4 vertical columns of 5 spinning spools blocks then attach them together?

Sue K, A lot of times quilters will sew sets of 2 blocks together, then take the 2's and make them into 4 blocks together. Then rows and sew the rows in 2 rows together. Alex showed in her lesson how to sew two blocks and (2) 2's into four. If you are sewing rows
you should pin each intersection together for the whole row. Then go back in and put a few pins in the straight section between
the intersections. I would do what Alex did with the large basting stitch at each intersection for about 2 inches. Open it up and
look to see if it is acceptable to you. I would do that as I pinned each intersection. That is way easier than finding out after sewing
the whole row that a couple don't look good. If you have not watched the last Alex Live, you should do that before you proceed.
Would love to see a picture of how it comes out. HelenW

[LeeAnna S.]

I finished sewing all my blocks together yesterday and the corners are matching really well. I sewed them in rows of 4 blocks and pressed to one side as Alex was saying in the video. I then joined to 5 rows but how to press those thick seam joining intersections is a questions,. I am thinking of releasing stitching in seam allowance so I can flip seams back and forth across the row to press the seams to the unapplique block. Any suggestions? There is just too thick a seam allowance at the corners to press all to one side.

[Alex A.]

I think that is a wonderful idea - go for it!

[Jane T.]

That is what I did. Makes for a lot less bulk.

[Georgia B.]

First of all, thank you to Alex and all the TQS staff for making these lesson/projects possible! Alex, when the time is appropriate, I would appreciate suggestions about quilting the Spinning Spools quilt. Something similar to Dee's lesson on quilting Long Time Gone would be very helpful.

[Jane T.]

I finished adding my borders on today. I had a question. I had to use Ricky Tims Stable Stuff since I didn't have P&F Lite. I believe this is a bit thicker than the P&F, so I was thinking about stitching around the outside edge, then washing the top right now to get rid of some of the Stable Stuff. Does anyone think that would work to make it easier to quilt? If I don't do that, It's going to be a booger bear to quilt.

[Elaine K.]

You might create a worse job for yourself once it is washed, you may get lots of loose threads to trim. I did an applique quilt with the Stable Stuff and machine quilted it, with no problems.

[Alex A.]

My humble opinion is never wash a quilt when it isn't quilted - but that is just me

[Jane T.]

I see a lot of folks wondering how to attaché all the rows. I laid mine out. I sewed all the blocks in column 1 and 2 together and left them attached. I ended up with pairs of blocks all in order top to bottom. What I decided to do was to stitch the horizontal seams in those pairs first because it was less fabric to manage as I tried to match those seams. I then sewed columns 3 and 4 together in the same manner. So I ended up with 2 halves all stitched together and then just had one seam with those intersections to deal with to finish the center of the quilt. I hope that’s clear. You don’t have as much to wrestle with if you do that.

[Gayle B.]

Borders are on. The points aren't perfect, but good enough for me. Can't wait to start the applique!

[Dianne J.]

What should I used for my bobbin when using mono poly on top?

[Helen W.]

Dianne, You can't go wrong with the 80 wt. that Alex was talking about. I would do a little practice piece to get your tension
set properly. Mono poly usually need to really drop the top tension low. My Husquvara is default at 4.6 and I have to go down
to 2.3 to get a good stitch. And that is what Superior Thread advise on their website. HelenW

[Dianne J.]

Thank you Helen. I will have to see if I can find any locally.