Squashing the quilting myths

Sometimes, I get asked how I do so much in a day. There are a couple of reasons:

1. I don't watch TV and try to keep my screen time (Facebook and Instagram) to an absolute minimum. 30 minutes daily is a good goal because it's a massive time waster. I don't do Pinterest, which I've heard is a black hole. I'm also highly selective about what I stream and attempt to avoid clickbait at all costs. That is clutter for the mind—I no longer cope with clutter. 
2. I can start work the minute I get up. I don't need coffee, and I don't need to wander around the house trying to figure out my day—I already know what I will do. I've already walked close to 1,200 steps since I got up about 90 minutes ago, and that was just in Studio B. 
3. I am super organized (well, almost) and am very anal about putting things back where they belong, so I'm not wasting time trying to find something. 

I'm sure there are other reasons, but those are the main ones. 

I only included that because I felt very productive this morning. After taking the big quilt off the long arm yesterday and trying to get my daily quota of applique in, I didn't have a chance to prep the next quilt. But this morning, I pieced the backing and the batting and loaded the quilt. 

Let's have a look at some pictures from yesterday. 

I have yet to dig into that fresh bolt of fabric that I brought out for the backings for this group of ten quilts. I decided that I needed to use up the pieces of fabric that had been set aside for backing first. It means more fiddling to get the right size, but I might as well do it now rather than later, as it helps to clean up that area. 

The bolt of fabric is untouched!

The pile of batting bits I pulled for these ten quilts is also dwindling. I still have three quilt bats to make from this pile, and I'm sure I'll have leftovers, which is OK. It'll go back into the closet for the next round of quilts. Remember, the batting bits are for my community project quilts; customers get batting off a roll! 

The pile of batting bits

Let's talk about that backing. I had this big piece of fabric that was for a quilt, but it never got used. Since it was a donation, it's been in the community project pile for a while. I already got the backing for one of the quilts from that piece and was able to get one more. 

The backing I made this morning

And I pieced it on the serger!!! Yes, the serger is ready to go, and it takes a lot less time to turn on than my sewing machine. Plus, it's way faster to piece and better at something else. 

I think we recently had this discussion in the Monday sewing group, but when you piece your quilt backing, do you piece it lengthwise or crosswise? Does it matter? Technically, it doesn't matter, but I remember years ago, there was a discussion (a BIG discussion) amongst the guild members as I prepped a backing for a raffle quilt. That seam could ONLY go lengthwise of the quilt. It was a NO-NO to piece the backing crosswise! Why? An old wives' tale, to be sure. What does it matter? 

Then there was the myth that that seam HAD to be pressed open. Why? OH -- if you were hand-quilting the quilt, this prevented you from going through one more layer at the center seam. OK -- I get that, but with a long arm? It doesn't matter. I press the seam to one side. And with the serger, that's a given. 

But then there are long-arm quilters who will only take quilts with "properly" pieced backings. I know one long arm who refused to quilt someone's quilt because the print on the back didn't match where she had joined the two pieces? Seriously? Life is too short for that!!!! And what business is it of the long-arm quilter? It doesn't affect her job!!!

Usually, when a quilt is loaded on the long arm, the seam in the back is parallel to the bars so the seam doesn't roll onto itself and create a big lump. I get that and always follow that rule as best I can. 

However, what does one do when there are seams in all directions, like on my backing this morning? There is one seam going the width of the backing, and the two pieces also have a seam in them, so we have seams lengthwise and crosswise. Oh dear!!!!!!

Seams in all directions on this quilt backing

Well, here's why the long-arm quilters want seams only in one direction. If the seam has ANY fullness in it—and there's a HUGE possibility that it will—I'll tell you why in a second—then it will create droopy backing on either side of the seam. 

Most backings are sewn together with two pieces of fabric and ZERO pinning. This results in the top fabric piece being stretched because of the presser foot pushing (stretching) the top layer. So, just like we pin borders, we should pin the backing to prevent this. Yes --- even when the seam is parallel to the bar, it can cause issues. But if you're a good long-arm quilter, you can work around this. And I have to say that I've learned and am good at it!

The larger the quilt back, the worse the issue. I do NOT have a picture of a droopy backing, but the next time I see one, I'll share it with you. 

Since my backing was pieced on the serger, that fullness issue isn't there - at least if you have the differential set correctly on your serger. 

No droopy backing despite there being a seam perpendicular to the bar

You can see how that seam wraps around the bar and is perfectly flat on both sides. Well, you can't see the wrapping on the bar, but it's all very civilized, and more importantly, that backing is FLAT. 

No droopy backing around the seam

So, if your long-arm quilter balks at how you piece your backs, perhaps you should find a new person to quilt your quilts! 

Anyway, the quilt is ready to be quilted after I walk the girls this morning. This routine is nearly killing me! Well, it isn't, but it's an intense schedule, to be sure. I have four quilts to quilt, and then the pressure of this group is off. 

I will do an overview of pre-wound bobbins later this week, but I still need to get all the pictures before I can share them. 

While babysitting the long arm yesterday, I managed to get the binding on this quilt done. 

Binding on the community project quilt

And the binding is on the last quilt that was quilted as well. 

The sixth quilt is bound 

So I'm all caught up with the bindings, and four quilts are left. I know—I already said that! 

I still have to clean up the fabric scraps and batting from trimming the last few quilts, but I'll do that tonight. It's like a little production line happening down there, and I'm quite happy because every quilt I complete is one more quilt done; there is less fabric for the backing, and the batting bits are being used. That makes me very happy!!!!

Here is the giant quilt. I guess I've quilted much larger ones, but it's big compared to what I've been quilting lately. It's for a dragon nerd!!!

Customer quilt - DONE

I thought it was fitting that I was listening to the final book in the Harry Potter series (I had never read it before) and listening to the dramatic dragon escape!!! I'm going to have to go back and reread the entire series. There is so much information that my brain is getting the gist of what's happening, but there is so much!!!! And I do NOT reread books, but I want to reread this series. 

The quilt was picked up last night, so the owner can start the binding process. That's another thing about long-arm quilters. Some people trim, and some do not. I always trim the quilts so that when the customer picks them up, they are ready to bind. I've got the space, which most people don't. I've trimmed hundreds of quilts, and it takes me very little time to do it. It's just a thing I've always done! 

In case you're wondering what was in some of those bags I brought home from our lunch -- there were three puzzles in one of the bags. Do NOT let me buy another puzzle for a while. I'd better get my butt in gear and start working on them!!!!

More puzzles

It's back to school—heck, according to the stores, it's been back to school before school even let out. I get that it's exciting to get new supplies and new clothes. But I see flyers like these, and it's all about buy, buy, buy. 

Flyers

Do people ever use up the old? What about the "old" shampoo? The conditioner? The fancy soaps? The whatever? That is what is causing so much clutter in your house. I have very little stockpiled as far as supplies go. When something is near to running out, I pop out to the store and buy more. But I don't stockpile the darn stuff. The small savings I might make is not worth the hassle in my head of storing it. 

I'm not going to blame us, the consumer, entirely. The marketers are having a heyday with us. They just want us to buy, and it doesn't matter where you look; there is an advertisement. It's everywhere. It's our job to resist and buy only what we need. I don't care if the economy tanks! I'm not buying junk. And anything I won't use is junk - I don't care how expensive and fancy it is. You need to think VERY CAREULLY about what you give as a gift as well. I would bet that at least 50% of gifts end up regifted or thrown out. 

Something bad happened in Studio B yesterday, and I'm very worried. While I was cutting something at the cutting table, I heard a POP. I turned around and noticed this entire ballast was dead. A bit earlier, I had noticed that it was slightly dimmer in the room. 

Two dead ballasts

What's troubling is that this is the SECOND ballast that has gone. Both of them are side by side. I could manage with one gone, but now two in the center of the room? It might be time to get the electrician here. I have a list of other electrical things that need to be done in the house, so I might as well dig out that list and make a call. 

We used to have big issues with lights in our house. Light fixtures would just die. We were certain it was a spike in the electricity coming into the house. We had them check the box outside our front door (on the boulevard), and it seemed OK. It was just replaced last week. But we also had a big surge protector put on our panel box. 

This dead ballast could be worn out but still brings back many memories of dead lights. 

And what are the girls up to? A rabbit is hiding or making a nest under the deck, and they are NOT happy. Usually, the darn thing is under the gazebo, but it's under the deck this time. Knowing two hunters live here, you would think the darn rabbits would pick a different house. I'm sure they will only leave the thing alone once - well, you know. It's the circle of life -- I wish we had more coyotes in our neighborhood!!!

MOM -- we're hunting!!!!!

So, today is going to be another intense day of quilting and applique. Breaking that applique down how I did (and should have before) has made all the difference. I'm making progress—leaps and bounds of progress—and I should easily hit my September 18th target. Should I say that out loud? Don't I want to keep my UFO group in suspense? Well, it's all about making a decision and sticking with it!!

Remember that we have a virtual retreat this weekend. 

Saturday, August 24 - Starts at 6 PM

 Join Zoom Meeting
https://us02web.zoom.us/j/89816483795?pwd=Mjc3M3pvVmZPdjdsQzlHS3Zhck52dz09

Meeting ID: 898 1648 3795
Passcode: 248667


Sunday, August 25 - Starts at Noon

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

Meeting ID: 829 8351 7671
Passcode: 117636

And on that happy note, I'm out of here to get the walks in and then back to work!!!!

Have a super day!!!!

Ciao!!!!!