I've not had many finishes so far in 2015, in fact, now that I think about it, this is my first quilt finish for 2015. Good thing I don't have a quota to meet!
I really enjoyed the Compass Quilters Bee. I've met some wonderful quilters from many different places, I've learned some new skills like paper piecing, and I've also learned a lot about myself and what makes a good bee block.
When it came to this particular quilt, I had a LOT of issues quilting it. I chose an overall meandering double loop pattern with a light apple green poly thread but I my machine just didn't like this thread. I typically use Isacord thread for quilting since I like the slight sheen that it gives and it's really easy to work with. I picked up some thread at a quilt show last year that wasn't Isacord, but it looked similar and it was on sale so I decided to try it. It kept breaking despite my efforts to rethread, replace the needle, and change out the bobbin. I had to go at a much slower speed and as a result, my loops aren't as smooth. I find that loops and curves look much better when I can go a little faster and have a fluid motion. Needless to say, I was relieved when I was done quilting.
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This green & pink print is my favorite! I don't know who used it or what fabric it is, but I'm glad it's in the center of the quilt. I just love it! |
Then came the issues with the binding. I do all of my binding by machine since I'm not a fan of hand sewing. I put the binding on the back, used my
binding tool for the first time which I loved, and then wrapped it around the front to sew it on. I was more than half way around when I realized that my machine was skipping stitches every inch or so. VERY FRUSTRATING! So I had to rip out the entire thing and start over. I found a stray thread stuck in the bobbin case, so a thorough cleaning of it seemed to fix the issue. So while I didn't really enjoy finishing this quilt, I do like the end result even if it's rather small (41 inches square).