Saturday 7 March 2009

Learning Curve

Wow! As only my second day in the world of quilting I have to say I'm simultaneously exhausted, excited and impatient. The learning curve (as I expected) is a steep one - my first problem? Why does my machine keep missing stitches? Something told me it was down to me and not the machine but it took a stupid amount of time for me to realise it was because I pausing in my sewing with the needle up rather than down (piercing the fabric). That was the thin edge of a pretty thick wedge to be honest, other issues include how on earth do people manage to sew in such perfectly straight lines? Mine seem to resemble some drunken idiot wobbling up and down the place, then there's the bobbin running empty with less than an inch of fabric to stitch left, the thread snapping whenever it feels like it (must be the quality - I'll have to invest in some better cotton) not to mention finding the right angle for cutting with my rotary cutter (get the wrong angle and you may as well chew through the fabric with your teeth).

All that aside, I'm pretty pleased with the results of the last couple of days, I love the colours and patterns (especially the Alexander Henry 'Starling' fabric). At the moment it's just various fabrics in red and green (with the occassional polka dots thrown in) I'm tempted to add some blue but not sure if it'll be too much... any thoughts out there?

I have a few more squares done but I'll feature them later (don't want this first post to be too picture heavy). I am basing the design on Jacquie's Wonky Log Cabin tutorial on the fabulous Tallgrass Prairie Studio blog - check it out, I'm a fan already!

More sewing fun and mishaps to come... lol

2 comments:

  1. simply fabulous!! i think you have a great eye. you're a natural at this quilting stuff. one little hint for a nice straight seam....measure a quarter inch (or a tiny bit less) from your needle and plop down a stack of post it notes (about a 1/4 inch thick)...stick them right to your machine bed and run the edge of your fabric along the edge of the post it notes. you'll always have a straight seam and a nice quarter inch one too. so glad you started blogging! come by and see me some time.

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  2. Thanks Jacquie! That means a lot to me coming from someone whose work I admire so much. And thanks for the tip! I will definitely try that one out!

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