joe'smom

I'm so sorry to hear this! I guess neither of your machines has an option to raise the presser foot? How frustrating!

How are you dealing with the torn fabric?

origamigoldfish

I switched to the treadle machine, because the modern machine was actually catching the underside of the hourglass blocks and tearing the fabric while i was sewing, and the treadle has a flat, smooth stitch plate without all the fancy holes and openings for attachments that are tripping me up on the modern machine. It is only one fabric that rips, and I have just been completely disassembling the block to replace that piece, then reassembling. I am about to run out of it, though, so I have to be very very careful with the last few blocks I have using that particular shade of gold. It took me a lot of experimentation and redoing blocks, but I found the right combination of pins and ways to put the units through the machine to minimize the risk of the fabric catching on anything.

I also have decided that as long as it isn't glaringly obvious from three feet away, I am going to have to live with points that don't quite add up...the problem has consistently been with one of the gold triangles on the hourglass units coming up a smidge small every time.

No more quilt kits for me unless I know what fabrics are in them first, this one has only a couple of quality fabrics, and a couple that are so thin they tear like tissue paper with the slightest pressure. I had this problem earlier with one of the oranges, but the fabric damage was always at the edge of pieces in what would get turned under t he seam allowance.

SuzSLO

Oragamigoldfish: So sorry to hear you are having trouble but glad to read that you have found a fix.

I have attached the (mostly) complete center of my Grassy Creek interpretation. I’m still missing the corners ‘cuz I’m not sure if I want blue, neutral or nothing. Right now I am thinking of a thin border in yellow then a string or piano key border in blue or neutral. I’m also thinking of adding a contrasting stripe in the border like in Bonnie’s Dawn’s Early Stripe shown in today’s blog. I may noodle on it all for a bit. I have another top that I used as a leaders/enders that is almost complete, so I may finish that up while I try to decide next steps on Grassy Creek.

JeanieG

Oh Suz - I just love the colors you used on Grassy Creek! Beautiful!

joe'smom

origamigoldfish, what a trying day it must have been for you! I'm so glad to hear that you figured out how to handle the various problems. I have plenty of points that aren't perfect, and unevenness with the Ohio stars is a principal reason.

SuzSLO, that looks marvelous!

Queenbarbiej

Here's a picture of my Grassy Creek. I still need to add the orange strips. I will add a 1" strip of the green to separate the orange and my final border.

sewingpup

I actually don't pin much except on those really long seams. I "finger pin" My machine auto raises the foot a little between stitches which really does help it seems....but if your machine does not auto raise the foot, you could raise the foot and insert your fabric so it is under the foot right up to the needle, then lower the foot, this helps start off the pieces together in the right position, then take a few stitches, find the next seams that need to match, adjust them so they are "nestled together" and gently hold them in place until you get that point to the needle....then stitch them...find the next seams that need to "nest" together and repeat. If you have pressed the seams in the direction Bonnie gives, this should be easy to do with the top seam usually facing towards the back and the bottom seam to the front. As the action of the feed dogs on the bottom fabric is pulling the fabric it actually helps "nest" those seams together..now sometimes it will the opposite but still can be done just go a bit slower. I find that when I pin, I am actually less accurate as the pins themselves seem to distort the fabric a bit.

joe'smom

Queenbarbiej, that is so bright and pretty! I wish I had the uniformity in my golds that you have; I have some really dark ones that aren't going to show the pattern optimally and will cause visual trip-ups. Your border fabric is wonderful.

I have finished my blocks and have been experimenting with sashing options for the past few days. I didn't 'get' the football sashing, and changes I've made have created problerms of their own, so it isn't going to be ideal, but I am now moving forward.

Stitches23

Progress! Still need to add borders including BH's border that completes the churn dashes. They're made, just not on. Next I'm thinking about highlighting the grey and cranberry.

toverly

How do I post photos?