Cause and Effect

Action is a great restorer and builder of confidence. Inaction is not only the result, but the cause, of fear. Perhaps the action you take will be successful; perhaps different action or adjustments will have to follow. But any action is better than no action at all. 

Norman Vincent Peale

Well, are you ready to see my new toy work horse?  I've spent a lot of time in the studio taking turns at running the longarm and cleaning and organizing.  All the effort is now starting to show up.  I have one large quilt off the longarm and another ready to quilt.  The sewing machine area of the studio is clean and in better order than it has been for a long time.  It's still not a showcase because I use a lot of recycled items for new purposes but it is very functional.

I really love the bright LED lights on the new machine!  They can be this bright or dimmed.
There is 11.25" of room between the needle and the side of the machine.  Even with the longarm there are still some things I like to quilt with the walking foot.  I haven't tried the snazzy one that came with the machine yet but it is adjustable.

Here are my three sergers.  I didn't have a machine on this table before.  I haven't used the two on the left in over ten years so I took them out, cleaned them up and ran them a little. They are working fine but the one on the left needs some adjustment made to the cutting blade.  I haven't figured it out yet but I will.  I'm thinking of putting one in the longarm room since I frequently serge the edges of the quilts before I load them.  Then I'm thinking of setting the other two up for different stitches so they will be ready to use for different things. I usually serge the edges of new fabrics before I wash them.  A three thread stitch works fine for that.  Four thread stitching is what is used for garment construction although I've used it for more pillowcases than clothes in the last few years.

I moved the Janome 6600 to the desk I had been using for the serger.  I managed to fill up the rolling cart on the right with projects that were in the area.  I'd love to get some of these finished soon.  Several of them are leader and ender projects and several others were 'discovered' in the cabinet over the desk.  I cleared out the right side of it to hold embroidery supplies so they would be handy.

I also hung up a paper towel holder that I had bought last year.  I had a hard time deciding where to put it.  I always keep paper towels handy in the sewing and longarm rooms.  I use them for cleaning and many other things.

I found a home under the desk for the rolling case that the machine will travel in, if I take it anywhere.  The plastic drawers had been where the rolling cart is now.  The big thick book to the right of the machine is the instruction manual.  I'm only about 40 pages into it so far which got the bobbing wound and the machine threaded.  The automatic needle threader is so cool!

This desk was a Goodwill find for $25 a few years ago.  It is formica covered particle board and weights a ton!!  The men in the family had more than a few choice words to say while moving it.  After living with it for a while I decided the gray was depressing and bland so I grabbed the colorful letters and have fun 'writing' messages to myself.  I am in touch with my inner child as you can see.  Hee-hee!!  I added the mirrored circles to reflect some light in the dark overhang too.

The four sewing machine cabinet drawers I found antiquing in the mountains and they had been sitting on the floor collecting dust for over a year.  I cleaned them up and put them to use holding some of my decorative threads.

The Quilting Lines sign once hung at the entrance to my quilt shop.  The shelves to the left hold a few projects but most of the recycled meat containers hold scraps sorted by color. The brown bag on the left holds the embroidery unit for the machine.

The top of the desk holds some of my collectibles and antiques.  I'll have to share them another day.

Another cool feature on the new machine is the laser positioning guide.  You can use it to line up the sewing line or move it around to line up with the edge of your fabric.  There is also a laser point at the needle for lining up embroidery. 

To prove how many hours I've put into my quilting and organizing I tell you what I listened to while I was working.  Inheritance by Christopher Paolini  is the fourth book in the Inheritance Cycke that started with Eragon.  The audio book was 24 discs long.  If you are a J.R.R. Tolkien fan you will enjoy this series.  The series got deeper and more complex as it went along.  Nothing like a good story with dragons and elves.

That's what I've been up to.  I have a few shots of the quilting I did but I'll share those in another post.

Two Finished Tops

Begin -- to begin is half the work, let half still remain; again begin this, and thou wilt have finished. 

Decimus Magnus Ausonius

I have been getting a few things done in the last few weeks.  I thought I'd share the two charity tops I got finished.

They look the same and they are close the only difference is that the red in this one is a solid.

The red in this once is a print and a little darker.

Our group is trying to get some 'man' friendly quilts done.  Most of the quilts we get or make have flowers or pretty prints.  Men get sick too and need quilts that they will be comfortable using.

I pieced these two on the serger.  It speeds the project along and is great for long straight seams.  The main prints were 60 inches wide so I cut the plaid lengthwise and added some small bits to the bat and ball print to make it wider.  Novelty prints work well for fast quilts like this.  Now to get them quilted soon.

EQ7  Giveaway

If you follow me make sure you comment on my previous post.  You could WIN!  Details are in the post on how to have more than one chance.

Linking with:  Link a Finish Friday  and  Finish It Up Friday

Frayed Edges?

Ask the experienced rather than the learned.

Arabic Proverb

I hate to pre-wash my fabrics and end up with handfuls of threads, twisted, wrinkled and snarled fat quarters and a lot of ironing and snipping threads to clean up the mess.  There is a simple way to avoid it.

Quick and Easy Serging

Serge those raw edges before you throw the fabric in the wash!

What else do I use my serger for in my quilting?  When I finish a quilt top and give it a final press I serge the edges.  This locks all the seams on the outer edge of the quilt in case I didn't backstitch.  It also keeps the edges from fraying and releasing any more little threads that could show up in unwanted places.  When quilting on the longarm the line of serger threads at the edge give me a nice target area for when I'm stitching down the side edges of the quilt or along the top and bottom edges as I'm starting and finishing the quilting.

Edge Seam Ends Will Not Unravel

Here's a picture of the last one off my machine.  Maybe you can see the line of teal thread on the serger threads.  When the backing and batting are trimmed off the top edge of the quilt will be nice and neat.

There are a few things to remember when serging this way:

• Make sure that your tension is not too tight.  That can cause the edges to be pulled up.  Loose tension is better than too tight.
• If using cotton thread for serging it may shrink in the washer or dryer and pull the edge up or pucker it.  To correct this ( it will be obvious when you lay it flat on the cutting or ironing board) just use your seam ripper to cut the needle thread(s) every 3 or 4 inches and then pull the fabric taunt across the width of the seam.  Enough stitches will unwind to relax the serged edge.
• A curved surgical type cutter works better and faster to remove a serged seam than a seam ripper.
• Trim the 'tails' of the serger seams before putting the fabric in the wash, those can unravel and knot everything together making another kind of mess.
• Use either a 3 or 4 thread seam for either process.
• An exact 1/4" seam can be made on a serger by adjusting the 'cutter width'.
• Look for videos and tutorials on line or at Nancy's Notions if you need to brush up on your serger skills. Good books are available too, check your local library.

Do you use a serger when quilting?  I have made Log Cabin, Trip Around the World and Irish Chain quilts using a serger for the piecing. Sergers sew FAST!  This can really speed up piecing long strips.  Do you think you will give your serger some quilting time?

Linking up with Plum and June's Monday Link Up and
Fabric Tuesday at Quilt Story.