How to remove the stitches from an overlock seam

Scroll to the bottom to see the overlock seam thing. 

I have failed miserably at something! Taking that weekly pill. I've set a reminder on my phone - it doesn't work. I see the reminder, and then poof --- I don't remember to take the pill when I'm supposed to. The problem is that you are to take it without food and so for me, that's first thing in the morning. Sigh!!! So now I have to come up with another plan or talk to the pharmacist to see if there is another way to take this drug. It's to increase bone density, which I have a hard time believing is an issue, but according to the test, it is. Maybe that's why I can't get into taking this drug. 

I just thought that instead of setting my reminder 24 hours in advance, I set ANOTHER reminder ten minutes after I get up. Let's see if that works. I swear, there are times when my brain just doesn't function and others when I'm firing on all cylinders!!! Why didn't I think of that before? 

The daily quilt got quilted. 

Community project quilt - DONE

Let me tell you about the backing for this quilt. I had some larger pieces of fabric set aside for backings, and rather than start with the bolts of fabric, I decided to try to finish those up. I still have a lot of yardage left, but that will have to wait for another time. 

While the quilt wasn't huge, I didn't think I had enough fabric. But I got out the pieces and started to play Tetris with them. I used to draw a diagram on a scrap of paper, but I'm just as happy to actually play with the fabric to see what happens. 

Trying to puzzle together a quilt back

Yes, I used the serger again to piece the backing. It's so fast and very accurate. 

Using the serger to piece the backing

Before I knew it, I was done!! Here's the backing. It might be hard to see in the photo, but part of it was from a different dye lot as it's darker, but it all works. 

The backing for the next quilt

Here's the wrong side where you can see that different dye lot better. But you can't see the seams!!!

The wrong side of the backing

I had to join pieces along one side, and since the fabric is directional, I had to keep that in mind when I pieced it. 

The joined sections along one side

This is all I had left, which works for me. Yep -- with a little bit of imagination, I was able to quickly get the entire backing from that piece. I seem to have an innate sense of making this stuff work, or I have excellent spatial relationship skills. 

The leftovers from the backing

It loaded flat onto the long arm, and I was ready. And yes, there are seams in all directions, yet it loaded with zero issues. 

The backing loaded flat

It might be hard to see in the picture, but there was not a lot of backing on either side of the quilt, but enough that I didn't have to babysit it too closely. So that was also good. 

Not a lot of room to spare, but enough

Once that quilt was being quilted, I got to work on the final quilt in this group of ten. I might as well prepare it while I was in the groove. And let me say that the computer for the long arm was one of the best investments I ever made. I would never look back at doing it manually, but that is mostly because of the sheer volume of what I have to process. 

I try to at least color coordinate the backing if I can, and there was nothing in the right size or color to accommodate the final quilt. Rather than go to the bolts of fabric, I went to the stash of yardages reserved for backings. Remember that all my yardages are labeled with the amount in yards, so picking one was easy. Then I decided it wasn't the right color and found something else that worked perfectly. 

The backing stash

As I find large yardage pieces in my stash, I measure and label them and put them here until there is room on that shelf for them. It works for me. 

Yardage waiting for room on the shelf

I also joined that backing with the serger. Instead of cutting off the selvages and then sewing them, I trimmed and serged in one pass—super fast!!! And YES -- it loaded flat as well. It's on the long arm ready to be quilted this morning. 

Cutting off the selvages and joining the backing pieces

Oh dear - some long-arm quilter won't be happy as I did not match the print on the back. Seriously? We're going for speed and NO WASTE. If it were a heirloom quilt, I might take the necessary time and extra fabric. I took this photo to show that if the tension on your serger is good, you will not see the stitches on the front of the join. Also, think about what sergers are mainly used for -- sewing clothes, and those seams take a beating! So, if the seam works for clothes, it'll hold up for a quilt back. 

The front of the serged seam

The batting bits got joined using those strips of fusible interfacing. 

Joining the batting bits

I lay the strip on the join and fuse it in place, but this is not a strong fuse because the interfacing is sticky, and if you leave the iron on it for a long time, it will goop up the underside of the iron. 

Fusing the batting bits

So then I take a press cloth (a hunk of muslin), place it over the strip of fusible interfacing, and press it with the iron. That makes a good join and won't come apart when I'm quilting. 

Using the press cloth for the final fuse

I do a lot of problem-solving while walking the girls, and yesterday, I was thinking about all the quilt tops that Diane (and others) made over the last couple of years and how I was going to get them all done. I've tried doing them in groups of ten, which works, but it's time-consuming, and I can barely get anything else done during that little marathon. 

If you do the math, the number is a bit overwhelming. I'm not sure how many tops were completed, but this year, I think I've tackled 30 of them. That's about 10% of the total. I don't want this stuff hanging around for ten years! 

I decided that I could fit ONE quilt per week in my schedule. I could easily piece the back and the batting, load it on the machine, and get the binding done in a week. So I went to the storage room and pulled another twenty quilts out. My goal is to have those twenty done by the end of the year. 

The next group of twenty (with fabric for backings)

I'm working on the flannel kids' quilts, and yes, there are twenty of those. Plus, I have significant yardage to make the backings. All I need to do is bring down more batting bits so I'm not running up and down. I think I should be good. So today, I should officially finish that first group of ten, and tomorrow is the start of one per week. 

Remember what I've been saying about breaking something down into manageable bits. If something doesn't work the way you want, try another way - just like those darn pills! There is a solution to everything; it may not have come to you yet! 

This is what remains in the storage room. And yes -- those two big tubs are filled to the brim with quilt tops. 

Tubs and a stack of community project quilts

In addition, these boxes, the basket, and the piles on top are community project quilts that need to be quilted. 

More community project quilts

Now wait- before you think this is insane and ask how I will ever get that done, or you want to offer to help. I am HAPPY as a clam working on these quilts. I LOVE finding the proper backing, piecing the pieces, and assembling the batting bits so there is little waste. This is my happy place, and I love it. Do I resent the time? Absolutely not -- how could I resent the time when I'm using up my stash and love the challenge. So, if it takes me another five years to clear that up, it takes five years. As I mentioned the other day, this is like my volunteer work, and I'm happy to do it. No politics involved; I can set my own schedule, and I'm delighted!

One of my goals in life now is to use up that stash. And that is NOT an idle goal—I make decisions about using it up every day (well, maybe not every day), and nothing is sacred. Everything is available for use—even the "good" stuff. 

In case you're wondering what I did with the scraps of owl fabric, I have a drawer for all the scraps of novelty fabric. 

The contents of the I Spy scraps

And YES, it's labeled!!!!

The label on the drawer!

I'm going to go back to the serger for a minute. I used to be deathly afraid of the serger. I didn't understand it; I didn't know how to rip out a seam or fix the tension, and, well, I had a whole lot of fears about the serger. I've since taken the bull by the horns and learned the ins and outs. Remember that saying from yesterday? FOMU - fear of messing up? Well, I've also learned that you can't mess up. If you goof, you just figure out a way to fix it. My brain thrives on that stuff. 

If you are using your serger and need to pull out the stitches, here's the FASTEST way to get rid of the serger stitches. 

I'm using a four-thread overlock stitch, which means there are two needle threads and two looper threads. 

This first picture shows the side with the two needle threads visible—the two horizontal lines of stitches towards the bottom of the photo (not the line across the edge of the fabric).  

The needle side of the serged seam

This side shows the wrong side, where only the looper threads are visible. 

The back side of the stitch

This seam only goes through one layer of fabric, which is short. You MUST work from the side where the needle threads are visible. Take your seam ripper and insert it where shown below. If I try to put my seam ripper at the bottom of the large loop (not the narrower part where my seam ripper is), that is the INTERSECTION of two stitches, and grabbing ONE stitch is challenging. But if you insert the seam ripper in the narrow part, which is the actual center of the stitch, it's easy to pull or cut the thread. You may need to clip that needle thread in several places if your seam is long or your fabric is bulky. Then, use the seam ripper to pull up a bit of thread on one side and pull it. The thread will easily come out. 

Using the needle thread to either pull or cut the needle thread

Because I was only going through one piece of fabric and my seam was short, that entire needle thread came out in one piece. 

The first needle thread is removed

Then, repeat the process for the second needle thread. 

Repeating the process to remove the second needle thread

Again, it came out in one piece. Notice what happened to the looper threads? They are now all loose because the needle thread is no longer holding them in place. 

The needle threads are removed

Then, you can easily pull away the upper and lower looper threads, and the thread is gone. No mess, no small bits!  

The serger thread is gone! 

Here's the thing -- I did NOT know how to do that, and whenever I needed to remove a serged seam, it was a nightmare. I didn't need to watch a YouTube video or get some instruction - I simply looked at the mechanics of the seam, and I tried MANY things before I realized what was happening. Now? It's easy to remove the serger thread. Remember, this is an overlock seam where the needle threads are visible. If you use another stitch, like a rolled hem, it might be easier to cut that off and start again!!!

We had fun at the Virtual Retreat last night. It was quiet, but we made up for that! 

Remember there is a Virtual Retreat again today starting at NOON. Here's the link. 

Join Zoom Meeting
https://us02web.zoom.us/j/82983517671?pwd=ODdsa1FJenQwdFNaQWFTNGd4bEhPZz09

Meeting ID: 829 8351 7671
Passcode: 117636

Have a super day!!!! And remember to find something in your sewing room or routine that makes you happy. If you're unhappy, you need to find a new hobby!!!!

Ciao!!!!