lin

Well, I might just do that! :wink: :wink:

Thanks Blue Bell! :)

Diamonds

I love it... Rich colors, excellent layout anf the quilting is beautiful :thumbup:

amma

Very Nice! Love the fabrics, the applique work, and the sparkle :D :D :D

blahel

Beautiful xmas wall hanging..you have just given me an idea for my dresden plate tablerunner which has been sitting in my drawer waiting for inspiration..your idea to use metallic thread i think would work perfectly well on my table runner and now i might even finish it for xmas...thanks a bunch as now i am inspired!

lin

It makes me happy to know that you were inspired blahel. I hope the metallic thread works just right for your quilt! That would be wonderful. I get inspired all the time when I look at others' blocks and quilts. Makes me want to do one of everything! :lol:

I'm glad the sparkle came through in the pic ok. It sure gave this little thing some punch. :)

Thanks for your comments about the quilting Diamonds. It feels especially good considering how much trouble I had with it. I learn something new every time I machine quilt. In this case it seemed I needed to be using two different needles at the same time. One especially for metallic thread to keep it from shredding, and one large enough to get it through the bonded applique without it shredding. I finally found a good balance. Whew! LOL

Rebecca Chambley

lin
Thats another good point, I'd like to ask you. (Metallic thread) What size needle should be used? I've tried metallic thread before, and as you mentioned it shredded, so I haven't tried since. So can you share some of your wisdom, Ex: What size needle, Why use 2 needles, What is the 2 needle process good for,??? Do you only use the metallic in the bobbin?

lin

Rebecca, I used a Schmetz metallic needle size 80/12 and I was using the Sulky Metallic thread. It worked just fine as long as I was in the body of the quilt, but when I came to the applique, it was too fine to get through even that small amount of glue, so it was refusing to sew through it, or it was shredding as it sewed. So, I changed to a universal 100/16 (I know, that's huge!) to get through the applique, then changed back to the other needle for the parts that weren't appliqued. It was more time consuming, but it got the job done.

What I learned was that if I'm going to be adhering my applique and I want to use a fine thread to quilt, then I need to use only a narrow strip (¼") of adhesive around my applique pattern so that I don't have to quilt through a whole design and change needles to accomodate that thickness.

I've found that thread shredding is usually due to the wrong needle for the thread I'm using, or my tension is off. In this case, I knew it was the needle because the tension was fine whenever I wasn't working on an area of applique.

I've never used metallic in the bobbin. That scares me! LOL I love to use a really fine thread in the bobbin unless I'm trying to make a statement on the back of the quilt. Ususally I'll use either YLI Lingerie & Bobbin thread or Bottom Line Bobbin thread.

annmarie

Lin - you did a beautiful job. And we can all appreciate the amount of work that went into it. Does everyone in your quilt group make something to exchange. You'll have to show us what you get in return!!

lin

Thanks annmarie.

Yes, everyone participates in the exchange. They don't always make something though. This year we were to cover all the letters in *Christmas* and that could mean anything at all like candles, half yard of fabric, etc. Most of us try to make at least one thing. I couldn't come up with nine things I liked with the letters, (we're "supposed" to keep it under $25) so I "cheated' and put it all into one gift. :twisted: Hope no one minds. LOL

I already had most of the fabrics I used in the quilt, so I definitely stayed under the $25! :lol: I'll probably add a little extra or two. :)

ShellyQ

That's an awesome quilt Lin, and I would find that very hard to give away if it were mine too. Another beautiful job on the quilting as well. I wanna be able to machine quilt like you when I grow up :P