Friday, October 12, 2012

Me Versus Machine

I took advantage of some gloomy weather to finally put myself to the task of beginning to machine quilt my Serendipity Quilt.

I had pretty much no idea what I was doing but I knew I needed lots of pins. I was only working on one block at a time so I pinned the you-know-what out of it. Yes, it was a pain to take them all out while quilting but it was nowhere near as painful as picking out unintentional puckers or pleats on the underside. I do have the spray on basting that works wonders on small projects but I would have needed  to rent a gas mask to spray a quilt this big.

On every You Tube tutorial, the quilter puts her hands on top of the quilt and pushes it around. That didn't work for me at all. I didn't like not knowing what was going on the underside so I used my hands in the same position I use for hand quilting-one up, one under.

I know it is wrong, but it really prevents the puckers that I was picking out repeatedly when I first started. Now if I could only come up with a method for improving my bobbin tension. The underside is just not as pretty as the top no matter what I do.
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9 comments:

  1. ShannonOctober 12, 2012 at 7:06 AM

    One of my friends told me about spray basting...there is a spray on glue that holds the layers together so you don't have to pin. I have one quilt going that is done like this and so far so good. She is an avid quilter and says it's the only way to go now. You can get the spray at Joann's. If you don't find it on your own, let me know and I will ask her the name. My can is packed right now.

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  2. AraigneeOctober 12, 2012 at 11:16 AM

    I do have a can of spray basting from Joanne's-I think it is the June Taylor brand- and you are right it is wonderful. I just can't figure out how to use it on something this big. There must be a technique to get it all together straight. I find it "grabs" so quickly that I can't get it all smoothed out. I usually start in the center and work out but how on earth do you do this with the spray stuff? I did one where I folded and sprayed and folded and sprayed and that wasn't too terrible. Any advice? Anyone?

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  3. UnknownOctober 12, 2012 at 6:36 PM

    baste it by hand....ta dum...drum roll please...your spending just as much time smoothing and pinning ...as long basting stitches.

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    Replies
    1. AraigneeOctober 12, 2012 at 10:45 PM

      That is the way my grandmother taught me and the way I used to do it before I started watching the experts do it on You Tube.

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  4. ShannonOctober 12, 2012 at 8:42 PM

    Maybe try pinning the bottom layer to the floor to hold it still? Or did you do that? I have only used it on one project and that is a small wall hanging. Hmmm. I have a friend I will ask as she has a lot more quilting experience than I do. But I think you are right...I think you have to maybe roll up the top layer, spray a bit and unroll, smooth, repeat.

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    Replies
    1. AraigneeOctober 12, 2012 at 10:46 PM

      I never thought about pinning it to the rug first. Hmmmmm....

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  5. AraigneeOctober 12, 2012 at 10:46 PM

    I knew you guys would come through!

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  6. MelodyeOctober 14, 2012 at 9:16 AM

    I just can't do the floor anymore. I use a long table, and mark it off in quarters. Fold backing in quarters and match marks. I iron it. I use masking tape and tape the backing to the underside of the table so the back is taut. Fold batting and top separately and match quarter marks. Working from the center out baste using either pins or needle and thread. If you need more height on the table, you can use PVC piping bed risers or cans. If this isn't clear let me know.

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