CW challenge for anyone. Guide on 1st post

[Pamela N.]

Rita your quilt is absolutely wonderful your niece is so lucky.
Best Wishes
Pam

[Pamela N.]

Once again I am way behind in reading the posts (45 in this thread alone).

Rosemary--you will never be able to deny that beautiful girl as yours--she looks just like you. Her outfit is wonderful and makes me think I may want to go back to making some outfits for myself.

Rita--I have EQ4(I know dinosaur) and I spent a good amount of time trying to get proficient with it. Never was able to get good at it. I can't imagine learning and getting the designing, piecing, appliqué and quilting done in 6 weeks. I bow to your talents. Well done! Is your EQ7 for Mac?

[Rita C.]

Thank you for all the nice comments. It's lovely to show a quilt to people who understand, know what I mean?

Ritzy, my EQ7 is for Mac! They finally did it. And it works really well too. I have had no problems so far. But what is annoying is that Blockbase has not been formatted for Mac so I can't add that to the endless possibilities for block choices. Maybe that's a good thing.....

Beverly, the threads I used were mainly because they worked with the fabrics colour-wise and I had enough of each of them to be able to complete the project. But I have to say that my Janome seems to be happiest using a good quality thread, and the polyester threads create so much less lint in the bobbin area.

Dawn, something to add to your thoughts when buying a new machine, the man who sold me my last two machines always said that a side-loading bobbin works much better for FMQ than a top-loading one.

[Judith A.]

Rita,
Your quilt is wonderful! I am impressed. I think you should consider designing quilts professionally and selling patterns. You are definitely gifted in this. Maybe start by submitting articles to quilt magazines.

By the way, I agree with you about the Bernina walking foot. The dual feed is nice and it helps with many feet, but the dual feed is just not the same as the walking foot. I bought mine about a year after I bought my 830. It was expensive but well worth the money.
The interchangeable soles for the walking foot are very useful. When I make a queen-sized quilt, I usually start by stitching in the ditch with the walking foot with the stitch-in-the-ditch.

In another thread, you mentioned the Bernina bobbins. I have lots of generic bobbins for my Janome, but sure can't buy a lot of large Bernina bobbins, as they are not inexpensive. If I have a lot of thread left on the Bernina bobbin, I don't necessarily want to throw it all out, but I also want to free up the Bernina bobbin for the next thread I need.

Tip: When I am finished with one thread on the large Bernina bobbin, I rewind the thread left on the Bernina bobbin on a smaller generic bobbin. I usually rewind them with the Simplicity Side-Winder.
Then I attach the generic bobbin with the rewound thread to the matching spool of thread.
This is a tip I learned from a fabric shop owner. She said to buy some heavy flexible plastic - the kind sold for covering tables, etc, at JoAnns or Walmart. Then cut the plastic into strips.
Hold the bobbin flat next to the spool of thread and wind the strip of plastic around both a few times. The static electricity holds them together.
This keeps my threads and bobbins organized and neat. No loose threads.
If the plastic strip stops clinging to itself, wash it with soap and water, and it will cling like new again.
I cut a batch of strips with a rotary cutter with an older blade that I am about to discard, and wind them in a big roll that I keep in my sewing machine drawer next to my bobbins.

Hope this makes sense. If it will help, I will try to take a picture and post it.

Judith

[Norma H.]

Rita, amazing quilt. I can't add more to the comments. All the others said it before me.

Judith, what you describe with the vinyl, describes a product called Hugo's Amazing Tape. I got it from Barnyarns in the UK and it works really well. I only use it on the "wild" threads like Madeira's Polyneon.

[ANNE E.]

Rita, Lovely quilt and I especially like the pattern on the border and the colourful threads...great stuff.
Anne

[Janet K.]

Rita, love your quilt. I bought EQ 7 several years ago at Houston and am still trying to figure it out! Just doesn't click with me.
I however have made it one of the things I want to accomplish this year. I am amazed you have mastered EQ 7 so quickly.
Janet K

[Dawn S.]

Thanks Rita! I'll have to check into the side loading bobbin vs the drop in for free motion quilting. When I think about it, it seems more natural for the bobbin thread to be drawn up from a side loaded bobbin. I'm just so used to the drop in. I've have a Janome with the drop in for 20 years now. This is such a major decision, with so many variables between machines. I guess I'll just have to try them all, and make a list of my must haves.

Dawn
In beautiful Northwest Montana

[Judith A.]

Hi Norma,
You are right. I asked for Hugo's Amazing Tape at my quilt shop about 10 years ago. They didn't carry it. The quilt shop owner said, "This is what we use," and she shared with me the tip about the plastic strips. She had an assortment of thread in a drawer for shop use (machine embroidery, heirloom sewing, etc.) stored neat and untangled.

I think I was mistaken about static making it cling together, because I don't notice any static in the thread afterwards. The thread acts the same. Who knows. I just know it has worked well for me for years with no problems.

15 years ago the only thread I used was Gutterman's from JoAnn's. I did mostly garment sewing. If I wanted to sew with red thread and I had a bobbin half full of red thread, I would match it to some red thread in my thread drawer. It was simple. It was all Gutterman.
Now I use a lot of different threads of different fibers and brands for quilting and machine embroidery. And my thread stash has grown. When I picked up a bobbin half filled with thread, I no longer knew what kind of thread it was, so I started trying to keep the bobbin and spool together. This method was the most economical way I could think of to keep my many different threads organized and neat.

[Geneva C.]

I believe Superior Threads carries the Hugo stuff. I bought some from them a few years ago at Road to CA. My son thought it was so funny that I bought "tape" that doesn't stick. It only sticks to itself!

Geneva

[Hannelore N.]

I haven't seen anything yet that Rita has made, that is not brilliant. Rita, as usual, you rock!!

[Rita C.]

:cheer: Thank you Lorchen.....but I just don't show off the ones that didn't work out so well. :lol:

Judith, Gutterman thread is still the only one available here in all the big stores. There are only 2 LQS's in the country that I know of that sell YLI, Aurifil and Madeira. Everything else I either buy at the Knitting & Stitching Show in Dublin once a year or order in from abroad. When I inherited my grandmother's Singer treadle machine every single bobbin had several different coloured threads on them! And I worked my way through every one of them until they were all used up piecing crumb blocks. I am sure she would have been pleased that I didn't waste the thread.

[Lois B.]

:lol: :lol: :lol:

[Pamela N.]

Judith, years ago I was the same as you and only used Gutterman thread for garment sewing, it was so easy then not having to match thread spools to bobbins for different types of thread. I would love to see a photo of how you keep your bobbins and threads together.
Pam

[Pamela N.]

Rita, I agree with Judith that you should consider designing quilts professionally.
Best Wishes Pam