March 29, starting at 09:00 GMT (5 a.m. EST)
We’ll be asleep (it will be 2 am our time). But we’ll leave the porch light off…and the night light.
You are currently browsing the monthly archive for March 2008.
From the tag on the tea-bag string.
Yesterday was the first day of Spring for the Northern Hemisphere. This morning we had new snow.
There is balance in all things: Our awaited composter arrived today. I am crossing my fingers that it is going to work well and be generally perfect.
Update: Composter was taken from the box, examined, and is now being shipped back.
I ordered some seeds and am amazed at the lovely drawings on the packet. I love that someone would go to so much work to make something transient, beautiful.
This print (found inside The Potted Garden: New Plants and New Approaches for Container Gardens) caught my attention.
As did this bookplate (inside the same book).
And to top it all off, I found a book that answered a few very specific questions I had. I was browsing in the container garden section of our favorite local bookseller…lots of books about flowers, herbs…not quite what I wanted. And then there it was: The Edible Container Garden: Growing Fresh Food in Small Spaces.
All these little blessings are almost too much to bear. I hope you’re similarly swamped.
I read about quilting with a long arm machine in The Modern Quilt Workshop and was intrigued. So far, I have quilted three quilts using the long arm. I would definitely recommend trying it.
I thought that learning (in a class) and then using the long arm machine was/is fairly easy. The machine is easy to maneuver despite its size.
saves time
I used to spend about six hours pinning a quilt, and then quilt it on my home sewing machine over the course of a few days. I finished my latest quilt (using a long arm) in about two hours. I had my quilting lines pre-marked (and used a continuous pattern).
It takes me probably 15-20 minutes to attach my quilt to the machine (pinning to the canvas, etc.).
Because piecing (the patchwork bit) is the fun part for me, it makes sense in most cases for me to quilt as quickly as possible. The owner of the shop where I rent looks at it the other way around: You have to piece so you have something to quilt! Either way, neat things are possible using a long arm machine.
(My apologies: This camera doesn’t do orange very well, and messing with the white balance hasn’t helped…which is about the extent of my knowledge.)
tension can be good
Because of the way the machine is set up, I felt like I had a better chance of doing alright, right away. There is some tension on your layers, so (theoretically) fewer foldovers.
At the business where I rent, I was shown how to attach only the backing to the rollers. The batting and the quilt top are pinned along the top and sides, and “float.” I know that it is possible to attach and tighten all three (backing, batting, quilt top) because I have seen it done on other people’s quilts. So far, it hasn’t been a problem, but if it was, I would definitely ask to be shown the other technique.
Also, I sometimes couldn’t get the thread tension exactly right on my home machine. This means that there were often little tiny holes where the bobbin thread meets the top thread. This hasn’t happened using the long arm machine.
stitch sameness
There is a stitch regulator on the machine I use, so no matter how fast/slow I go, in theory the stitches are all the same length.
things that help: pre-marking
Having the lines pre-marked on the quilt top has been the biggest lesson so far. It’s a huge time saver and allows you to just follow along, rather than making decisions at every moment.
Here is the oh-so-fancy template I made and used.
things that help: continuous quilting
Because I’ve found that continuous quilting works better than boxes using the machine (see below), I needed some tips. I looked through this book, and then made my own design.
things that help: long arm book
I browsed through the book ABCs of Long Arm Quilting. This is a helpful overview, and a nice restatement of the information I learned in class.
things that help: accessible staff
The business where I rent has three long-arm machines. The owner is typically there, and at least one and sometimes two other workers. These ladies are always ready to help when you need to change thread, wind a bobbin, or get the needle unstuck (this can happen where seams meet because of the multiple layers). This makes the whole process a lot less intimidating.
frustration: straight-lines/boxes
I’m a big fan of echo quilting around squares used by Denyse Schmidt (most of her quilts are hand-quilted). Rectangles take a long time on a long arm machine (I haven’t finished a quilt in less than four hours when I’ve quilted boxes, and that’s standing up for the duration, which can be tough on the soles of your feet). I did the sides and bottom of each box in one continuous line: down, across, up, stopped the machine, then finished off the top of the rectangle with a straight line.
And, on the machine I rent, you can only go up or down, or right to left (but not left to right) when doing straight lines (apparently it puts stress on the thread?). I found the quilting process to be a lot less tedious/frustrating when I work within the bounds of how it’s meant to be used: Free-motion, curves, etc. That being said, I have since seen some clever ways of doing continuous lines.
frustration: thread pull-outs
If you aren’t doing a continuous quilting pattern from one side of the quilt to the other edge, you will have to cut your bobbin thread by reaching (sometimes a long way) under the machine. If you haven’t made sure to backstitch a few times, the pressure of moving the still-attached bobbin thread can pull out a few stitches.
frustration: aesthetics
The long arm stitches are deeper/tighter than my home machine stitches. This is good (in terms of washability and wear), but there are also more shadows (there is a deeper “valley” surrounding each quilting line).
frustration: saves time
Yes, I realize I said this was a positive thing.
There was something nice about the amount of time it used to take me to quilt (using my home machine). I liked looking over my work (mistakes included), and the close-ness which is required (your eyes are literally less than 18 inches from your quilt top). With the long arm, sometimes I feel like I’m not done “getting to know” my quilt before it’s done. However, I don’t miss having the weight of a rolled-up quilt on my shoulder for 12-plus hours.
summary: give it a go
Using a long arm is definitely worth a try. You might not end up using it for every project, but it is a good resource.
I learn something new with every quilt I make. I’d love to hear your experiences with long arm quilting!
The idea for this quilt comes from Denyse Schmidt’s book. There are a lot of really nice examples of this particular pattern (What a Bunch of Squares) made in all kinds of ways.
Here are just a few:
One.
Two.
Three.
Four.
Five.
Six.
Seven.
I didn’t use the patterns given in the book, but I did take some general measurements and worked from them.
I marked the quilting lines with a disappearing ink pen (I made a cardboard template and traced the shape).
A note about the disappearing ink: The packaging says that the ink disappears in 48-72 hours, depending on humidity. I tested the ink first and was happy to see that it did indeed disappear with water. The drawback was that it disappears rather quickly. I marked the quilt and less than 24 hours later the ink was already fading. Luckily, I find imperfection interesting.
Quilted using a rented long-arm machine.
Finished dimensions: Approximately 72 inches wide by about 90 inches long
Update: I have been set straight (see comments). These are biscuits. As such, I am updating the wording of this post.
First, I found this recipe (for biscuits) which called for golden syrup.
Second, while searching for the golden syrup, I found some honey and some bagels. This reminded me of when we visited Dublin (almost six years ago) and discovered a little indoor market that sold bagels. They were spread with a delicious concoction of honey, toasted almonds, and cream cheese.
Today, I attempted to eat a bagel with my own cream cheese/honey topping, and successfully got it everywhere.
Which made me think of the following: While visiting us, my sister had chided one of her daughters for eating something messy on our couch. Kids get reprimanded a fair amount for good things (look both ways while crossing the street, etc.) and I didn’t want this little girl to be scolded for something silly like potential spills on our very-washable furniture. But, I didn’t want to undermine my sister’s parental authority, either (I assumed she was attempting to teach good manners, etc.)
What was especially ironic is that the two people who live here are notoriously clumsy. There is *nothing* children could do to our furniture/household that we won’t get around to ourselves (grape juice? done! chocolate ice cream? done! very sticky honey? done as of today!).
So I had to laugh, because I think most people assume that children “grow out of” certain things. I think I’m still waiting for that day.
I’m going to try to make those biscuits. I will wear a washable apron.
I hope it is sunshine-y wherever you find yourself today.
Friday last week found me in the waiting room of a hospital near Vancouver, Canada. B’s elderly grandad had a bit of trouble and we felt an immediate visit was pertinent.
I was knitting. A woman watched me for a bit and then said, “Excuse me, are you making a belt?”
I explained that I was making a scarf, but in a funny way. Usually one knits a row, then turns around and knits the next one. This one, you cast on the length first (on circular needles) and then make it as wide as you want.
The lady seemed satisfied with my explanation and we were again silent.
When she was getting up to leave a little later, she asked me about how long I thought the scarf would be. I held it up as best I could (in the middle of a row) and said that it might be shorter than usual, but would probably be ok. “Oh, a proper length, then.” I said that I hoped so. She wished me well and went her way.
I do love the camaraderie of crafters.
The idea for the scarf comes from the book Scarf Style (which is still available for free in the gratitude pages).
We managed a quick visit to the Vancouver Aquarium.
I took a quilt and a few pillows for the ride up. A few soft textures from home go a long way to soothing the soul.
Back on the Washington side (on the way home), we stopped in to a restaurant. We had been there about five years earlier (B used to live in Mt. Vernon, where it is), and not only was it open, but they were still serving the salad we sought. It was just as good as we remembered. Do stop in if you ever get a chance (maybe when you’re there for the tulip festival).
We’ve meant to stop at this sculpture near Vantage, Washington, for a long time. We made it a priority on this trip. More information here.
