Wednesday, September 23, 2009

WIP Wednesday - Week 38 - Highlight Quilting...

And continuing in the vein of finishing quilts.... I finished this quilt top back in June, but never blogged a photo of the top finished, maybe cause it was too big? Look at it pegged to the clothesline at the old house? Couldn't get the whole thing in the photo! I have done a pieced backing too but no photo, I think I got tired of the wind blowing it around. Last news of this quilt was back here. I hadn't even put the borders on. I think I was waiting on some more fabric from America? I do remember folding it up when finished and promising myself that I would not touch it till the old house was sorted. And it has been since here, over 2 months ago. That was my mental carrot I was dangling to myself. Won't start quilting this till the house is sorted, won't start quilting this till the house is sorted. Then the flickr Dolls Quilt Swap Round 7 started up and that got in the way.....

Anyway, enough dithering Helen, it was time to put this quilt on Mum's frame! I'll admit it took a few days to pin it on. I unpinned it twice as it wasn't quite right, it's going to take practise pinning and rolling tightly. In the shot above I forgot to put the clamp on the quilt to pull it over, see the wrinkles at the end? Should be a bit tighter. Still it didn't seem to matter in the end.

I have put my machine back on the frame. I'm rather impressed at this machine. It is "only" a Brother, about four years old? Not a super cheap machine but not a really expensive one, just an ordinary Brother Quilt Master BX300 or something like that. A workhorse though, it quilted this perfectly! I turned the tension up to nine, normally its a four, and it was perfect! Absolutely perfect, I was happy.

So two days to pin it on, school runs do get in the way of quilting don't they? And then the quilting began. I was using "bobbin fill" for the backing thread, went through nine bobbin changes. Who was counting? Just an all over meandering stipple again. I think I have mastered this one, time to move onto a stipple with hearts or stars thrown in.

Here it is cascading down the frame when we unpinned it. It is not finished though. Because my machine is just a normal machine with a little tiny throat, by the time I got two thirds the way through, I had so much quilt rolled up in the throat I only had like a few inches to actually do any quilting. I suppose we could have taken it off, turned the quilt around, repinned it all back on and started at the other end..... But all that pinning! That is the worst part. So I'm going to do the last bit as normal, normal being at the Horn table with a quilt bunched around you wrestling it under the machine normal! I am going with Mum tomorrow to look at this machine. Finger's crossed.

15 comments:

Unknown said...

My quilt top from the old red barn quilt along has been sat waiting to be quilted for months too. I just ordered a quilting frame, and I'm going to buy a second workhorse machine for that - so let me know how you get when you look at the 1600, that's on my list of possibles!

Brioni Greenberg said...

The quilts looking great!!
I am stacking them up ready to quilt and am itching to get going. I have ordered the same quilting frame as Katy and am going to use my Mums machine. When she bought it it was a top of the range Janome embroidery machine but the screen has completely gone and will cost an arm and leg to get a new one. She wants me to take it so she can justify buying a new one! Let us know how you get on with the 1600 as i'm sooooo tempted!

April Pantall said...

The finished quilt looks beautiful! Do you sell them ?

Anonymous said...

What a lovely quilt! I have two Brothers - one is a really basic one that's been really good to me whilst I started learning to sew properly and now I have a middle of the road Brother and that's great too! They've been really reliable!

One Flew Over said...

I ARORE this quilt...the colours are gorgeous and the quilting looks amazing!

willywagtail said...

You are amazing tackling such a HUGE quilt on just a normal machine. Kudos to you. And it looks great too. Cherrie

Natalie said...

This is looking stunning Helen! I wonder if you will do more than just look at the new machine ;)

Dawn said...

Hi. :) I just purchased the Janome 1600P-DB machine about 4 weeks ago to go with my Grace Frame. I absolutely love it!!! Now there are some tension issues to work out when you first get the machine. Make sure you get the correct needles for quilting....a DB16 needle works really good. I got lots of help from some wonderful quilters when I got my machine. Let me know if you need any questions answered and I can forward you the information.
Happy quilting!!!
dawn

wishes, true and kind said...

Just beautiful. And wonderful quilting!

joan

Cass said...

Oh Helen I absolutely love this quilt. I think I love it the most of all the ones you have done, well except mine. What are you going to do with it?

Julie @ Jaybird Quilts said...

beautiful quilt... good luck on the machine hunt.. my only advice is to test everything!!

AJ said...

That framehas already paid Jules back....well you any way!! LOL

Love it Helen...different to your 'brights' yet still you!

Lily Mulholland said...

There ya go blues and greens again (with a bit of brown thrown in)! Work it Helen! It's looking fab.

Sarah Payne said...

Gorgeous quilt! I am getting ready to machine quilt my first one, and seeing yours has really spurred me on!

Mark said...

Absolutely Gorgeous!!! Have fun machine shopping!