Category Archives: Longarm Quilting

Erica puts rumor to rest …

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Jennifer jumped the gun a bit when she said there was a rumor that I was working on a quilt from the Tula Pink book, Quilts from the House of Tula Pink (A18230). Quilts From the House of Tula Pink

At that time, I was working on the newsletters and getting ready to go to Viking Convention in Tucson. (It was a great convention, with great new products!) NOW I’m starting my Tula Pink quilt! Page 127 has Stacks, the quilt that intrigued me. Angela Walters quilted the quilts in Tula’s book.  I love Angela’s  Free-Motion Quilting (A17336).

Free Motion Quilting by Angela WaltersI used her Tiles quilting design on my last “modern” quilt, Ring Toss (A12651).Ring Toss Quilt

So I chose this quilt based on more quilting ideas from Angela. I enjoy the quilting process so much, and that’s how I decide on what quilt to piece. Look at the beautiful Bali fat quarters I’m using, along with a gray background. (Of course, Lacy had to check out the fabric, too.)Bali Fabrics with a Crafter Kitty

Since Bali fabric tends to have extra dye, and they’ll be against a light background, I knew I should set them with Retayne (40287); 4 oz. (40287), 16 oz. (18659).

Several are dark, so I put them together in the Retayne. (There are instructions on the bottle for machine washing.) Before putting them in the washer, I clipped the corners. Have you ever pre-washed several pieces of fabric and taken them out of the washer and the threads that frayed had the fabrics all tied together? Clipping all the corners prevents that. The photo on the right (below) shows the fabrics as I took them out. Every one of them separate! So much easier this way!

Pre-washed fabricsTesting Fabrics If you want to check your fabric for extra dye or possible bleeding when washed, you can swish it in hot water in a white or clear bowl. If the water turns a color, the fabric needs Retayne. Follow the instructions on the bottle.

Before cutting, I press all my fabrics using Best Press. That way, if there is some fabric I haven’t preshrunk using the Retayne (the gray, for instance,) it shrinks as I’m pressing with Best Press.

Today I’m cutting my pieces, so I truly am working on the quilt from the Tula Pink book now!

You can see What’s New at Erica’s almost every day! Any page of our website has a column on the left that tells you where to find things, and all you have to do is look for “New Items” in purple, and click to find out.

(To find an item or event on our web site after clicking on the highlighted words, hold down the “Ctrl” key and touch F. Enter the item number in the box, press enter, and you’ll be taken to that item.)

And the rest of the story …

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So now he’s finished! Actually, I was so excited when I got the face done, that I took it right to my Handi Quilter Fusion and set up the backing and batting I had cut last November. For some reason, they were quite a bit larger than the front. Oh, well, numbers have always been my downfall. I probably just figured wrong! I tore into this poor project that had waited so long in pieces, for my return.

Thread bridges on Bengal Tiger quilt

I do raw edge applique on my HQ – it’s so much easier than moving the fabric around under my regular machine. There was quite a bit of white, so I started with that. Instead of tying off at the end of each piece, I do tiny little stitches so the stitching won’t come out later, then move to the next piece and do tiny stitches to get it started. In the end, it’s faster just to cut the bridges all at one time.

Got it all done and hung it on the wall to admire before I cut the binding. That’s when it hit me! In all my excitement, I had forgotten to add the accent flange and the black border! Darn! What to do?! Too late now.  You know that great feeling when you think you’re on the last leg of the project? I went from there to it being too hot in the room, and the panic in the pit of my stomach! OK, calm down, and look at this reasonably. Ah ha! I’ll just put a wide binding on it!  That will frame it, like that forgotten border would have. So I went to my calculator. Let’s see, ½” for the seam allowance, some to frame the piece. That’s times two, and then it wraps around, and that’s times two. Got it! (Remember, I told you about me and numbers?)

I had help getting the binding on, as you can see.

Crafter Kitty helper

Got the first side sewn easily.  I got to the corner, and believe it or not, with all my brilliant figuring ahead, there wasn’t enough fabric to do the miter! So I invented these really cool corners! I won’t tell anyone it was either that, or take the binding off and go back to the calculator. So I decided these corners were really great. (Just don’t ask me how I did them!)

Corners of Bengal Tiger Quilt

So here’s my guy! Regal and impressive, with custom-made corners. And done!  (A13718)

Bengal Tiger

I did the Giant Panda earlier, which enticed me to do the Bengal Tiger.  (A13787)  The Panda pattern is down a little from the tiger on the same pattern page, and my blog post is here.  both are hanging in the back of the classroom now, and when you enter, you see them from a distance.  I just love them!  Since then, I’ve finished my first “modern quilt.”  I’ll tell you about that one in a few weeks.

You can see What’s New at Erica’s almost every day! Any page of our website has a column on the left that tells you where to find things, and all you have to do is look for “New Items” in purple, and click to find out.

(To find an item or event on our web site after clicking on the highlighted words, hold down the “Ctrl” key and touch F. Enter the item number in the box, press enter, and you’ll be taken to that item.)

Good Beginnings and Endings

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Maybe you already know this technique, but many people don’t. I learned it in a class years ago with Ricky Tims and was so excited! It lets you clip your bobbin thread from the top side of the quilt so that you don’t have to try to get underneath or clip when you’re finished. So when I got home after several days, and had a chance to try it, I couldn’t make it work because I forgot one step. I made a note below to help you understand that step and why it’s so important. I show this on my Handi Quilter Fusion, but it works with regular domestic machines as well.
Take one full stitch to pull up your bobbin thread.
Hold both thread tails and take tiny little stitches to secure your threads before starting the quilting.

When you need to end, do tiny little stitches again.

Pull your longarm machine away a bit (or pull the quilt sandwich away, if you’re working on a regular machine). Take hold of the top thread.
Hold that loop while you take another stitch in the same place as your last tiny stitch.
Still holding the top thread loop, pull your machine (or the fabric sandwich) away at least six inches. When you have moved it 6” away, the bobbin thread coming from the bobbin case underneath is 6” long because it’s that far away from your last stitch.  (This is so your bobbin thread will be long enough to bring to the top when you start stitching again, and it’s really important.  Moving the quilt away is the step I forgot when I was first learning.)

You will see a loop of the bobbin thread.

Cut all the threads – the top thread where you made your last stitch, and the loop of the bobbin thread.

You’ll see that your top thread is now loose, and you have one little piece of the bobbin thread!

Amazingly, the bobbin thread has been cut, and you didn’t even need to turn the quilt over!
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You can see What’s New at Erica’s almost every day! Any page of our website has a column on the left that tells you where to find things, and all you have to do is look for “New Items” in purple, and click to find out.