On my way..

Second day of quilting class and we got to use the Thangles! A neat little invention that helps you make perfect little triangles into perfect little squares in such an easy way. Being a first timer I thought they were fun and was disappointed when I was done ripping them off my material - it’s a stress reliever! For homework we have to sew all our strips together (3 strips of two different material) and then cut those into squares. It was a relief that I didn’t have to buy a special foot (1/4 inch quilting foot) for this. Hopefully I won’t need it down the line, that’s just one more expense and my regular sewing foot seems to work just fine. I can’t imagine all the time and effort it took back in the olden days to put these together and sew every stitch by hand. How fortunate those who have quilts from long ago that have been passed down through generations. They are true treasures. I found a fascinating web site that features and sells antique quilts from as far back as the 18th century. If I ever get to York Village, Maine , Rocky Mountain Quilts will definitely be a stop on my itinerary. It’s so neat to see my first quilt start to come together and I love being able to have this time to sew again

BeepBeep

Yesterday I attended a class to learn how to work my new sewing machine. Although I had experimented at home with it, it kept beeping and stopping. Upon checking the owner’s manual, it went into a long drawn out explanation that gave the impression the beeping had to do with the settings. I was so glad when yesterday I started sewing in class and it began giving me the same problem. The teacher at first was just as perplexed. So she adjusted the thread somewhat. Still beeped. She took the thread out altogether and rethreaded the whole thing. Beeping stopped. As the class progressed I noticed a little tab peeking out from underneath my machine. Unsure if i might break something i none the less pulled on it. Low and behold it was a little trouble-shooting cheat sheet! And there under number 19 (a little light flashed on stitch number 19 when it beeped) it mentioned “may need to readjust threading”.
I also learned that i didn’t have to follow the instructions per letter in the owner’s manual for my bobbin. The book gave a complicated process that i was having trouble with. The teacher said i could do it like i’ve always done, just wind the loose end about 5-7 times around the bobbin and go. worked just fine. I’m such a rule follower that it makes me nervous to try something new, different. What am i afraid of? i don’t know, it’s something i’m working to overcome - sometimes the rules can be broken with no harm done. This is what i’m hoping to work on by quilting. Yes there are certain rules but doesn’t appear so when it comes to fabric - Colors do not need to match - it can be as wild and as funky as i want it to be. looking forward to these experiments.

What's a Thangle?

Thangles, dayglo tape, blocks, triangles on a roll. These are just some of the new terms I learned last night at my quilting class and yes dayglo tape is exactly what it sounds like. A roll of brightly colored tape used to mark our rulers (at least that’s what we did last night) in the various positions needed to keep track of where we will be measuring and cutting for different widths of cloth. I’m sure it has other uses but we haven’t learned them yet. And triangles on a roll are just that – a big roll of paper triangles to use as patterns to cut the fabric. How cool is that! We will be using Thangles instead of triangles on a roll which are basically the same thing except they come in strips instead of on a roll, but the lesson on how to actually use them will be next week.
Quilting, I (and my classmates) are learning is turning into an expensive little adventure, especially for those of us who also just purchased sewing machines. In addition to the above we needed thread, cutting mats, rotary cutters, pins, seam ripper and a quilt ruler. Having sewed off and on through the years I did have some of these supplies but not all. We also learned to never, ever leave our cutting mat in the car. A class mate left hers and by the time she got in the car to come to class it had bent out of shape from the heat (and it wasn’t even a very hot day). Now she has to purchase a new one and at $25 her cost in this venture has just gone up.
But all in all, we will take away a valuable skill and an item that will last for years to come –as will most of the supplies with proper care – and that is what we are anticipating. By the end of the class we should all be very familiar with quilt-speak.

The thread goes where?

Well, I’ve taken out the new machine to familiarize myself with all it’s fancy gadgets and workings. After several tries I was finally able to get my bobbin threaded after spending a few minutes figuring out the example drawn in the instruction book, yet I still don’t think I’m doing it quite right. It kept getting tangled up on the bobbin and ending up in a big mess that definitely would not work. So I managed to figure out a way to get the thread on there tight and managed to thread the machine. I then went through some old scrap material I still had (I keep everything!) to test some of the stitches. It sews beautifully!
However as I went through the various stitches, the machine kept making a beeping noise and stopping. Apparently it is factory set and although I moved the knobs to adjust the stitch length, it still keeps beeping. This will be very annoying if it does this while I’m in my quilting class so I found a class for next Monday morning – lesson 1 to learn how to work my machine. I had already been through this series of classes with my previous machine and now I’m back at square one.
Well it will be worth it, this has some really neat stitch options – ivy and starbursts among others and I can’t wait to use them on upcoming projects.