Samples, Threads, Rulers and Cards
I’ve been busy during my “break” from teaching! I needed to finish two new class samples as well as complete a Modern-ish quilting sample that should have done before I taught in Houston last October. It was nice to be able to catch up with my To-Do List.
I noticed that class sample photos that were posted on shop and show sites were not very clear. They were beautiful samples that were usually done on a light pastel cotton sateen with various threads. The problem was that the color washed out in on-line postings.
I decided I needed to do black and white samples so that the samples would present better on-line. But oh dear, black thread on white fabric shows every single bobble. It is an unforgiving situation. Kinda like trying on a bathing suit under department store lighting; or your face in HD on a 60″ screen, or life without Spanx! You get the idea.
This is a good illustration of how much difference your thread choice can make. You want to stack the deck in your favor. If you are new to fmq, puleeese, be kind to yourself and use a low contrast thread on your projects! Practice with high value contrast, but do projects with low contrast.
It’s hard to photograph black. Maybe I’ll learn how to do that someday. I do love this Superior Kimono light gray silk on that black sateen though. I am such a silk thread fan that I usually use it in the bobbin-it’s my go-to bobbin thread.
I kind of like how this new beginning sampler turned out-it just seems like a happy piece.
Way back in August, 2014, I decided I needed a more Modern quilt as a sampler for my Houston Modern Fills class. This has only a few of the class’ motifs on it, but I wanted to illustrate how you can make motifs gracefully flow from one to another. Unfortunately I forgot which motifs I was going to use in the white side and I am not happy with the flow. But I’m not ripping all of that out!
I was super busy at the time and did not have the mental space to design and construct a new quilt. So I asked my friend Helen Hardwick to design and construct this for me. Helen is a talented designer and exquisite piecer. Helen can design wonderfully complex quilts too, but I really like this edited design. And she set those circles in-no applique for her! Of course it is perfectly pieced.
I almost always like my backs as much as the fronts. There is just so much glorious texture there!
All those negative-space circles were fun!
You can see Helen’s perfectly set-in circles.
Here’s a nice section of Flutter. I have a tutorial for that here and here.
Love those daisies too! There’s a tutorial for them here.
Now, here’s where I cringe. This is not my best work-lots and lots of bobbles there. I’m unabashedly including this as a cautionary tale. If you’re going to do something this challenging and this bold, consider your thread choices very carefully as well as your method of quilting.
Here I used a high value contrast thread. Not a smart idea. The very hardest thing for us domestic machine quilters to do is to fmq a straight line. The eye perceives the teeniest wobble. Not good. I should have used a matching thread or taken more care.
Or I could have used assistance to get straight lines. I could have either used my walking foot or a ruler. I do NOT like either choice.
If I walked it, it would have been excruciating to turn the quilt at the end of every line. Twice. Ick.
There is a big trend currently to use rulers with our domestic machines. Of course long armers have been doing this for centuries-well, maybe not quite. I have tried several and if I’m going to use them I am definitely using Angela Huffman Quilter Joy Rulers.
I am not convinced that this is really a doable thing for most dsm (domestic sewing machine) quilters. Some machine manufacturers have even come out with ruler feet that make this easier. Bernina is not one of those companies, unfortunately.
I see this trend of dsm’s trying to do work that looks like long armed work. Personally, I’m not a fan. You may be-there’s room in this quilting world for all kinds of styles.
There is work that long armers do that is glorious. And there is work that dsm’s do that is glorious. We each use our machines differently. I want to do glorious work that looks like a dsm quilted it. I want to honor my skills with the work that fits my machine. I’ll write more on this subject later, but if you’re opinionated, I’d like to hear your thoughts.
This year is starting out very differently than last year. Last year was really tough and wonderful and busy. In an attempt to organize and track all of the various commitments I had, I purchased this low-tech “card stadium”. It’s a useful tool for me. Each index card tracks an activity or commitment or dream. This visual system works well for me.
But this year, three Big Cards are not in the mix: SAQA co-rep, the year-long Elizabeth Barton class and some major commitments to my local guild’s show. Wow, that’s huge. But then again this year I have 10 guild gigs, Houston and two new shops to teach at, so I may not have any more time at all. But it’s all good. I love what I do and I am thankful every day to be able to teach and make art. What a life!
I’ll be linking up with Nina-Marie’s Off the Wall Friday.
Your work is magnificent! And up close we all have bobbles–from a distance, not so much! Glad there are wonderful people like you to teach beginners like me!
Thank you! Yes, from a distance it’s fine and I would have been happy if I had used a navy thread. And my general philosophy is that I’d rather move on and learn something new rather than strive for perfection, whatever that is!
Your work is fantastic and a real inspiration to me, as a beginner free-motion quilter! Personally, I like the minor wobbles of dsm quilting, it shows its done by a person and not by a machine. They add to the overall character, texture and depth of a quilt. Of course, I’m not entering quilts to juried shows, just for my own enjoyment. Love your work and thanks for sharing it with us!
Thank you Karen! I have to say I do like, actually like, a few wobbles also. I like that my work carries “hand of the maker”. I think a few wobbles in a sea of lovely is fine. In juried shows, yes, it does make a difference and should. If I ever ribbon in major shows, I am confident the judges saw my wobbles, but also saw them surrounded by a sea of lovely. Hey, I like that phrase: “Wobbles surrounded by a sea of lovely”!
I’m glad you’re fearless in the use of high contrast fabric and thread for your class samplers. It’s so hard to see what you’re supposed to learn on low contrast samples. And it’s great you’re doing even more teaching. Let me know if you’re heading anywhere near the east coast with your classes.
Yeah Joanna, it took me awhile to figure out how difficult it was to see those samplers, especially on pastel colored fabric. I’d love to be teaching east coast, but not yet!
The DSM-passing-as-LA question is something I’ve been pondering lately too. There are things I would like to see on my quilts that I am just not capable of doing – lots could be FMQd by a better, more experienced quilter, but the simplest answer for me would be to send it out, even if it’s a waste of the longarmer’s ability. In my case the debate ends there and I change the design to use a walking foot, because I’m in Europe and the postage to send a baby quilt to the US (there are very few longarmers on this side of the Atlantic, and their prices -and to some extent results- reflect that) is the final nudge I need to work on my skills rather than outsourcing. Plus, I also like the ‘hand of the maker’ blips. Perfect longarming makes my piecing look bad!
I’ve got a little top all pin basted and waiting, and had planned a straight radial design for the negative space, but your modern sampler fill has me reconsidering!
You’ve raised some interesting points Lauren. I had no idea there were very few longarmers in Europe! And I will have to ponder the concept of perfect longarming making the piecing look bad. Recently I saw a very poorly pieced top longarmed to death. The la’r chose to kill it with quilting to cover the inept piecing. I saw the quilt as gasping for breath-it was so quilted to death!
There are some fabulous modern fills out there. You might look into the Craftsy classes-there are some good modern ones.
I’m glad you like “hand of the maker” too:-))
There has been so much ruler for DSM discussion lately and I have been tempted to join the this new game but part of me holds back because I got into FMQ for the free form flowing look NOT for hard geometric lines and shapes. I use my walking foot or I will digitise and stitch on my embroidery machine to achieve geometric quilt designs if I want that look but I never combine two techniques so although I have not totally dismissed the thought of trying rulers for now I will stay with my either or approach – sashiko style (digitised or walking foot technique) or quiltfiti. This is very much a personal choice for each individual quilter. I have a friend who has never really got to terms with free flowing designs and she has embarked on the ruler adventure and love what she is doing. Courses for horses in this, I think. Thanks for sharing your wobbles; good to see the individuality of our work.
Yes, this really is about individual preferences. I do hope that dsm’s are not feeling like they need to look like longarmers though! “Courses for the horses”-like that! And dsm’s do free form really well!
I’ve used blue painters tape before to get a straight(er) line on a quilt when having at least one straight line for establishing a design was important to me, but most of the time I go with the flow! I don’t think I’m coordinated enough to do ruler work with my DSM unless I grow another pair of hands.
Yes, done the painter’s tape and I like your expression-straight(er)! I like going with the flow too!
Jenny, you drive that long-arm so professionally! (grin) Your work is beautiful. Even though I do very little dense FMQ, I appreciate the tips!
Ouch! Thank you Margaret. We’ve each got our own fabulous style!
Hi Jenny – what a wonderful post and great information on your take for laying in the FMQ designs. The pieced quilt done by your friend and then quilted by YOU is stunning – sample or show piece, only you can decide. Thanks for all of the great information, even here in the comments section from/with your online friends.
I love to quilt my own pieces, and rarely send out, so your thoughts and comments are very helpful. A class with you at Houston would be great…. humm!
Bethany in Kingston, ON
Bethany-what a great comment! Isn’t it wonderful to quilt your own work? Ooo-coming to Houston? I would love to meet you and if you take a class, even better! I hope this year I can take a class or two also. It’s just so amazing-teachers from around the world-there’s so much to learn.
I so love your work, both quilted and written!
I, too, notice the *pressure* to make dsm fmq look like LAQ. BUT, as a dsm fmq-er, what I like about my quilting is the bobbles, the irregularity, the humanity of it. My mother has a long-arm, and we both love the differences of the ways we quilt.
That being said, I do try to keep my quilting consistent without a stitch-regulator. That is part of what practice helps. And moving my quilt beneath a needle, just feels so good! Someday, I hope to have a long arm, and will add those skills, but I really love what I do now!
Thank you Kelly! Love that you both embrace the differences in the way you quilt. I too try to enjoy what I’m doing today, no matter what changes I might have planned for the future.
So Jenny, did you see Bernina Educator Reneah Rafferty’s post about adapting the Janome ruler foot to work on a Bernina DSM? http://freemotionquiltingadventures.blogspot.com/2014/12/ruler-foot-for-berninas-tutorial.html
I have not tried it yet because I haven’t had a chance to source the Janome foot yet, but I did buy the Bernina adapter that Reneah recommends. I was frustrated with my inability to FMQ straight lines during some of those tutorials we did in the 2012 SewCalGal FMQ Challenge, and I have been longing more and more to be able to do some of the “ruler work” that I see quilters like Angela Walters and Judi Madsen doing on their long arm machines. My FMQ skills are nowhere near what you do, though. I may need a bit more help than you! :-) I think your class samples look fantastic. Seriously, though — you ROUTINELY use silk in the bobbin, for every project? I thought most quilters used silk in the needle, silk in the bobbin as well if it was an heirloom or show masterpiece, otherwise something like Aurifil 50/2 or cotton 60/2 embroidery thread in the bobbin with silk on top? What are you using in your needle when silk is in your bobbin? Enquiring quilters want to know!
Yes I read that when she posted about using Bernina’s for ruler work. Really-buy a Bernina adapter, then buy a Janome foot?? It’s just screaming to me that this is a square peg in a round hole. I appreciate her work and her blog and how hard she has worked to help Bernina people, but that rig ain’t for me. When you go from a Bernina foot to the Janome it will take some getting used to-the Janome profile is very wide and blocks your view.
Yes, I really do use silk alot in my bobbin. If not silk then Auril or Sew Fine. I don’t like Bottom Line-the only Superior product I do not like. I do a lot of work where I go over my lines. Bottom Line crunches when I do that and silk whooshes.
All this is just about my preferences, not meant to be prescriptive for anyone else!
All of my black and white series is with Aurifil on top and silk in the bobbin. Now that is a very challenging combination because of the weight differences but I like my purty backs!
Jenny, I’m not in a position to critique anyone’s quilting talent, but I’ve got to say that your modern sampler has great design! Back and front it has marvelous interest and such clean, simple color use. I know you made it for instruction, but it is stand alone for a show piece.
Wow, thank you Sandra! I am intrigued by the Modern movement which is growing and morphing daily.