Reader comments, quilting on a domestic sewing machine, Soupcon and Godstone Grannies block 3

There've been some great comments from readers to I thought I would mention them in this post.

On April 3 I showed you how to make your own value finder for next to nothing. Sheila suggested that you make two and one of them in your purse or wallet for when you go fabric shopping! What a great idea!

I also had a question from Kathy. She wanted to know if I quilt on a long arm machine and the answer is "no". I work on a domestic sewing machine. The first thing I do is stitch in the ditch on all seams. I like to use Superior Monopoly on top and Superior The Bottom Line in my bobbin. The pictures below are of my Mom's Anna quilt (the design is by Karen Cunningham but I couldn't find a pattern anywhere so I drafted my own pattern). In addition to stitch in the ditch I also stitched around every appliqued hexagon. This anchors my quilt and allows me to move around to different areas.

I also don't like marking quilts so I do a minimal amount of marking or no marking. In the case of the lines in the border I did mark guidelines that were about 1/2" apart. I used my free motion foot to stitch on the line and then I would follow the edge of the applique over 1/4" and then stitch a line in between the marked lines. When I got to the top I would again follow the edge of the applique until I got to the next drawn line.

The lines are not perfectly straight nor are they evenly spaced but if you don't look too closely it is just fine!

When you look at the quilt you see the whole and not the individual parts. And if you do look at the quilting up close and say "um Karen, those lines are crooked" my answer is a) you should see my first quilt - those lines were very crooked or b) I never noticed that before or c) yes they are! At the end of the day I'm not overly bothered by what other people think of my work. I quilt because it makes me happy and I have no intentions of entering a juried show. However I am bothered by what I think of my work and if I'm happy with it that's fine. If I'm not happy with my work and can't live with what I've done then I fix it. If I can live with it (that's usually the case because it is easier than the fix) then I live with it!

In the case of quilting the elongated hexagons I simply stitched a line that was roughly 1/4" away from the edges of the center row of hexagons and filled the area with figure 8s. For the outer rows of hexagons I just quilted 1/4" in from the outside edge and filled the space with free form feathers.

I also added faux trapunto dragonflies in the border. You can read how I did it here.

This is the finished Anna quilt made by my Mom. I made one as well but it is sitting in the "to be quilted" pile!

My work on Godstone Grannies (GG) continues and I've now completed a third block. This one is a little muddier than the first two but I like this kind of block because it helps the others shine. I've still got quite a few blocks to cut out but I'm getting there! Almost all of the blocks are duplicated so I'll make the first set and then go back to the beginning and make the second set.

There are a few more Soupcon pictures posted on the Soupcon FLICKR Group so I thought I would share them with you.

Raewyn is off to  a fine start with her Soupcon. I absolutely love the fussy cutting in this block. Her cutting is so precise that it looks like a single piece of fabric rather than six patches stitched together! The soft curves of the embroidered vines add movement to what I think is a very exciting start. I can't wait to watch Raewyn's progress!

Jean Cockburn is slowing down. She only has one Soupcon posted this time but I'll bet that is because she put so much work into this one. Look at all the gorgeous little stars and the fussy cuts.

 She fussy cut the circles from the border fabric and placed them in the center of her hexagon flowers in the outer border! What a great way to pull it all together! Jean has so many Soupcons on the go and they are all so different!

Susan's (Stichin Witch) quilt is a study in butter and blue. I love all of the Civil War prints she has used in her quilt. I can see that one of the things Susan has done is to repeat fabrics in the same position on each side of the outer border and this is a great way to maintain the scrap feel of a quilt but add control in a very subtle way. Notice the navy dotted fabric is in the center on each side and on either side is a striped blue fabric that is fussy cut. She has also used the same gold fabric in the center of each hexagon flower and that fabric is in the center of pieced border and in the corners of that border. This little tricks give the quilt a lovely pulled together look! Great job Susan!

Well I think that's about it for today! I have one or two or a dozen things to do so until I post again, happy sewing!
Karen H