When last I wrote I had digitized an embroidery pattern to fit my St. Patrick’s Day table runner. I was very happy with the design…however…matching up exactly where the designs should start was a bit of a challenge. Even though my embroidery machine has a camera I couldn’t seem to place the design in the correct space.
Below is the design as it would have appeared on each quilt section. It is actually four different designs which I combined for the screen shot.
I ended up using two of the designs below; the border and the middle section.
I saved all of the designs of course as I’m sure I will use them in the future. I need to learn to start simply and work my way up to complex instead of going from complex to simple. Oh well. Never was my way and can’t teach an old dog new tricks.
The revised design fits in an 11″ x 5-1/2″ space. This was easier to line up on the fabric in the hoop. I used my magnetic hoop as it is much easier to shift the quilt over while on the machine. When quilting on the embroidery machine there is constant shifting and re-hooping anyway so this new design didn’t add complexity. I would like to have included the Celtic Knot but I’ll work on that next time around. Below is the final design on the back of the runner and the border is on the far left edge.
Also, since my table runner has such contrast in the fabric colors (dark green, medium green and white) finding the right color thread for the quilting put me in a tizzy. If I used white it would be glaringly obvious on the greens and if I used green the design would be ‘in your face’ on the white fabric. Well I decided to use a light shade of green and deal with the pattern visibility on the white fabric. I kept white thread in the bobbin.
In the process of quilting I began to regret my decision to use green. I thought the design made my already busy fabric even busier. However, at this point I was married to the color and forged on. Eventually it grew on me and in the end, it looks pretty good on my dining room table. As this blog title implies, it will take some time for me to get comfortable with my own digitizing and quilting capabilities.
Also, what I did on this table runner and the previous one in regard to binding was to use a process I saw on youtube. And as soon as I can find the URL of the video again I will post it! I really should bookmark these things!
Anyway, for quick quilts, table runners, placemats this process is great because it can be done in a shorter span of time and still looks okay. A 2″ binding is folded down the middle and stitched to the back of the project, then turned to the front and sewn using a zigzag stitch. I used thread that will blend in with the binding to help cover any ‘slips’. It is barely visible and allows me to actually use the project instead of it becoming another UFO. (For non-quilters, a UFO is an Unfinished Object of which I have a few already.)
One other thing I did this time was to put my binding on the top spool holder of my machine (the one I use for bobbin winding). I was always getting tied up in binding and trying to keep it out of the way while sewing was comical. The answer was in front of me the whole time! I highly recommend it.
A quick update on my Illusion Quilt. I obviously miscounted the number of pinwheel blocks I needed for the project. I finished sewing together the 9 patches (which were cut from the pinwheel blocks) and found I am two blocks short. I’ll make these couple of pinwheels (and probably 2 or 3 additional ones since I don’t like how some of these came out) and finish this step.
Next step is to sew these blocks together. I’m guessing this will be pretty tricky since each time you cut down a block and sew it back together it becomes smaller. Also, this process adds bulk since there are so many seams. Wish me luck.
One last item before signing off, I finished this checkerboard and tic tac toe quilt project for the grandkids (and maybe adults) to play when they come over. It is a two-sided quilt with checkers on one side and tic tac toe on the other. The checkers are 3″ wood discs which I painted red and black. I made the crowns on my Circut using gold adhesive vinyl.
For the Xs and Os I found a backyard game of tic tac toe at Hobby Lobby. Since it was on clearance, I was able to purchase it at a relatively low price. I used the wooden letters that were part of the game. These were painted white on both sides. As you can see, I’m short one O and have yet to find one the same size but I will persevere in my search. In the interim I found a somewhat smaller substitute.
It was a bit tricky quilting this as the stitching would be seen on both sides. I used a straight diagonal stitch and tried to keep the corners lined up.
The two youngest granddaughters, Abby and Emmy, played with it during their last visit and gave it a thumbs up!
That’s it for now! In the meanwhile; Happy Creating!