Have you ever seen Sharon Schamberg videos on youtube. She's an amazing machine quilter/teacher/artist. She enters her quilts into competitions that allow Internet votes. I've voted for her quilts many many times.
I love love the way she free motions so easy and I would love to do what she does but without the pressure of competition or doing it for somebody else. This video where she demonstrates her quilt halo, is amasing. She invented it and I think it would be a great tool to use. I will buy it when I go to a quilt shop in Florida in early March.
But for now, I decided I wanted to do a quilt sampler like she did here. I didn't buy this DVD yet, but I am going to buy one. I'm just not sure which one.
For now, I just traced the design onto a piece of fabric and I'm starting to do stitch down the base lines using a walking foot. The really nice thing is that a few of the Friday girls are joining me in this little exercise. It will be fun to learn as we move from section to section. I'm using my Juki TL98Q domestic to do this and already I've learned something. I found out the value of a knee-lift, which lifts the pressure foot so that you can turn the piece a little bit. I'm not used to it yet, but I'll continue trying to use the knee thing.
I realized that I'm not that great with the walking foot on the Juki. I started to sew up a line, and the fabric shifted quite a bit by the time I got to the top of the line. I guess that was because I didn't have enough pins, so I had to take out the line of stitching with the seam ripper. grrrr....Do you think I have enough pins along that path now?
My plan is to free motion for 45 - 60 minutes each week on this sampler. Stay tuned for the next few Fridays. I'll show the sections that I have completed on this project.
5 comments:
Holy Geeze... I watched her demostrating the halo.. man, can she quilt.. like.. she made that feather so fast, and its beautiful. The Halo is pretty slick too.
that is a very cool project your working on... I can't wait to see you progress with it.. fun.. keep the blogs coming about it.
I took a free motion background fillers class last week here in Stuart. The teacher had one of Sharon's halos - she loves it. BUT I haven't seen the halo in any of the shops. Check around, you may have to purchase it directly from Sharon.
Sandi Mac
Gail, let us know how you make out using straight pins for MQing. Most people find they fall out as you work. You may find safety pins work better...
One thing that came to mind when I read about the shifting issue - do you lower the presser foot pressure on a Juki when you use the walking foot? I do on my Husqvarna. That might stop the layers from shifting on you.
Oh, and let me know if you'd like to know the handquilter's tip for removing blood drips from your quilting project. With the size of those straight pins, I'm betting you might need it... teehee!
Practice makes perfect!
Check out Sharon Schamber's video on sewing binding strips (with washable glue). It really is a great idea. Lucy
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