Twisted Seams VS. Bulky Intersections

So, learning how to press your block the tried and true method is to press all seams to the side, thus providing strength to the seam by not pressing it open as in sewing clothing. This also provides hand quilters the perfect seam to stitch in the ditch. A twisted seam is a BIG no-no and aggravation to the hand quilter.

Being a Machine quilter and actually dis-liking stitch-in-the-ditch and avoiding it like the plague, what I have found to be a huge hindrance to the machine quilter is bulky seams. What happens to me, is I'm quilting along and the hopping foot of my machine comes to the bulky intersection and can't go over it, thus it bounces off and creates a lump in my wonderful feather. Which no longer looks wonderful cuz of the bump. Or how about cruising along with a pantograph and BAM you run into a bulky intersection and now your cute pattern has a lump in it. A bulky intersection is the kind of seam you find at the center of a pinwheel or a lemoyne star. When there are 8 fabrics converging at the center of the block, and 8 seams, which means 16 layers of fabric. AAAHHHH! press that to the side and it makes for a huge pile of fabric.

So what are the solutions? Well, I learned a techinique from my friend Niquie where you can loosen some of the threads on the seams which are crossed by the final stitching and open up the intersection and press it, this really helps to eliminate the bulk in a four-patch type seam intersection.

But what are other options?

And especially for those flying geese points?

Leave your comments and let me know what you think about twisted seams vs. bulky intersections. Happy Quilting! Lauri

PS Thanks to my Cousin Chris for her quilt, in all the examples.

Doing Too Many Things!

So I really have been trying to get back to put something new on my Blog. But Craziness reigns around here. Tis the Season. Right? I have several things in the works and thought I'd share pictures of some of the projects I am in the middle of right now.

First is the Grandmother's Flower Garden that I'm using Ami Simms Invisible Applique techinique to hand piece. I don't have pictures because I want to show a little tutorial when I get a chance. So keep checking back for that. I don't have her book but saw a clip of her teaching it on The Quilter's News Network. It works Loverly, and I'm addicted. I love it because I can sit and do it in my comfy chair in the family room while the family watches a movie.

Second, I've decided that my extended family members deserve a quilt from me. I've made some for nieces and nephews, but I kind of skipped my siblings. So I put a top on that I've had for a while. Here's a picture, but I can't say who it's for right now. I'm working on having a consistent spine. Usually I just freehand it, cuz it's easy. I love feathers. You'll learn this as we go along. I can't help myself I just have to feather things. This is the first time I've tried this curl thingy. I really like how it's turning out.

Then I started a quilted sweatshirt. I took a class at Innovations in Seattle a couple years ago and learned how to do this. I came home and made one. I gave it to my friend Niquie. She loves it and gets bunches of compliments on it. I've told myself TONS of times that I'm going to make more. Then last year I actually bought a couple sweatshirts and guess what? I never did it last year, so here I am doing this year. Basically you just cut the sweatshirt apart. First cut off the ribbing from the bottom, sleeves and neck. Then cut up the sides and the sleeve seam. Then fold the front in half and cut up the middle of the front. I bought a really cute woven stripe and I love it, but because the shirt lays out funky to be flat the stripes won't quite be vertical on the back or front. But I'm going to use the leftovers to do bias binding around the edges and that will look awesome.

My Niece had a baby in October and I promised her a quilt for her little girl, and so I actually purchased a pillowcase kit because they didn't have any yardage of the cute fabric in the kit. So I'm just adding borders and going to quilt that up. Here's a picture of it laid out w/borders. My niece likes frogs, so the center panel and the green border have frogs, insects and cute sayings.

This is Santa's little helper. NOT! This is my 2 yr old that keeps interrupting mommy's projects and probably why I have so many things going on at once, because I can't remember to go BACK to the one I was working on before and then I get started on something new.

Here's the pink quilt on the ironing board waiting to get the seams pressed. Oh Well. Someday.

Til then Happy Quilting!!!

Keep checking back, I have pictures for how I load my quilt and baste the quilt to zippers.