Monthly Archives: December 2016

“Playing Well Together” is Michael Miller Fabrics Choice for the #OldisNewMQU Challenge

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I am so honored to have my quilt chosen as the winner of the Michael Miller Fabrics Choice Award! This was my very first challenge in which to participate, and it has been such an amazing creative adventure. I challenged myself to learn something new or try a new technique with each block. I became proficient at designing blocks on EQ7 and designing my layout and auditioning quilting for the blocks using my computer graphics program.  I would recommend everyone push their creative envelope by participating in challenges. You never know what you can do until you try!  Thank you to  Michael Miller Fabrics, to Modern Quilts Unlimited magazine for organizing the challenge, and thank you to the other sponsors: Superior Threads(I used Superior’s So Fine, Bottom Line, and Monopoly), Babylock, and Mountain Mist batting. I also want to congratulate all the other participants for making some very creative blocks and quilts! 

 

Liberated Rail Fence

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In September I posted about doing a Fun, Fast, and Liberated rail fence quilt inspired by Gwen Marston’s book Liberated  Quiltmaking.  I finished quilting it yesterday on SuziQ (aka my Bernina Q 24) and finished the binding this am.  The colors for this quilt were inspired by the dessert southwest…the adobe colors along with the reds, blues and turquoise.  The border was quilted to look like a wood frame surrounded by tiles using a variegated King Tut thread.  Up close, I thought it would look too busy, but you really don’t notice the variegation from a distance.  This was such a fun quilt to do, both the piecing and the whimsical quilting (see the close up). I love the colors!  This quilt makes me smile!

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I still need to finish the 5 pieces I created at the retreat at MISA with Gwen and Pam Beale, and then will post those.  I have a lot of UFO’s to work on, and although I’m itching to do something new, I have to stay focused on finishing what I’ve already started.  Stay on TASK will be my motto for the rest of December!

My First Quilt quilted on my New Bernina Q24

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I finished my first quilt on my new Bernina Q 24 and have entered it in QuiltCon 2017!  This is actually my first quilt submitted to a show.  I’m keeping my fingers crossed that it will be juried in.   Drunkard’s Bullseye WOW! is an enlarged version (58×58″) of one of the blocks I designed on EQ7 for the Modern Quilts Unlimited/Michael Miller Fabrics “Everything Old is New Again” (#OldisNewMQU) block and quilt challenge.drunkards-bulls-eye-1800-p-300-ppi-copy-2

I have to say that I really LOVE this new machine.  Even though it was new to me, it made things so much easier.  I did do some practice pieces prior to loading the quilt top.  I tried a variety of thread combinations and played with the top tension….Oh, yeah!  You can digitally adjust the top tension!  No turning a tension dial and hoping it is approximately where you want it.  Did I say, I LOVE my Suzi Q?  (BTW, you are supposed to name your machine, so I dubbed mine Suzi Q because the tag that came with the machine said she was made by a woman in Switzerland named Suzi.)   There are so many things I love about this machine….I love the digital display showing the different programs, plus I can set a specific program for the thread and tension that I am using, along with specifying SPI and BSR.   While I was working,  I could easily go from manual (doing small circles), to BSR 2 for doing ruler work, and then BSR 1 stitch regulated mode and automatically it would bring up the speed I had been using.  This may not make all that much sense to you, but compared to my  A-1, the Bernina Q24 is  like  Lamborghini and  my A-1 was a VW Beetle.

I also loved that I can sew from right  to left and from left to right and from botton right to top left and no thread breakage!   And I was using Superior’s So Fine thread.

I’m not sure what I love the most, but I love that the stitch regulator is truly a stitch regulator!  There are sensors on the foot plate on either side of the needle that determine how fast the fabric is moving and it adjusts the speed so that the length of the stitches stay consitent and  are truly accurate.  The quality and consistency of the stitches in BSR 1 and BSR2 is absolutely amazing.

Another thing I love is that threading the machine is done at the front  and there is a great built-in bobbin winder at the front.  You can easily exchange hopping feet.  They just pop on.  You use regular sewing machine needles which is nice…no special order.  Oh, and the lighting is great.  I’m sure I’m forgetting something, but I will keep you updated on my progress with Suzi Q.

Next week we install the computer…another adventure and learning curve begin!

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