Cute Whale Quilt Panel and TIPS!!!

Third one's a charm.

This panel was created by Joyce's Sewing Shop just outside London, Ontario  A nice, easy panel to make which was a relief because yesterday's and the next one are complicated.

TIPS

1. Elmer's Washable Glue Stick worked perfectly for this application.  I cut the pieces out and then spread the glue on the reverse and finger pressed it into place.  While sewing I made sure the edges were firmly pushed down and then did a zig-zag stitch to permanently hold the pieces down.  The glue stick worked perfectly as a temporary hold.  
2. Zig-zag stitch problems occurred when there was a build up of lint in the bobbin area.  I had to remove the bobbin holder and the throat plate to get all of the lint out. After cleaning, the zig-zag stitch would be uniform with no missed stitches.

Stitch on!

Pauline

Under the Water Quilt Panel

Second one done!

 This one took a lot longer than I expected.  Thankfully, the finished look is cheerful otherwise I would be crankier than normal.  Under the Water is another 2015 Row by Row panel from SewEtc in Burlington.   I loved this store but haven't had a chance to get back there.

I complained about Heat n Bond in the last post but Steam a Seam2 was even worse.  I will never willingly use it again.  It claims to never gum up your needle.  It does.  It failed to stick to some of the fabrics.  I still needed to zig-zag stitch around all the pieces, partly because I want a bed quilt not a wallhanging and partly because some of the pieces weren't sticking properly.

Instead of using a fusible web for the next panel I'm going to try Elmer's washable glue stick.  If that doesn't work then I'm going to appliqué the pieces down. It can't be any worse.  Can it?

I hope your sewing is going well.  If you have any suggestions for placing the pieces down please let me know.  Thanks, Pauline

Deck Chairs - Row by Row

I'm finally getting going on the 2015 Row by Row quilt panels.  The first one I attempted was created by Heart'N Home in New Hamburg.  I loved the fact that we could chose different variations of colours for the deck chairs and the sky and if we wanted sand or grass under the chairs.

What I didn't love was the use of heat n bond to fuse the chairs to the background fabric.  The fabric frayed and every time I look at the chairs I see yet another tiny piece of unsecured thread hanging off the edges.  I ended up trying a blanket stitch to tack them down but it looked messy and so I used a narrow zig-zag around the edges.  Better but still not great.

I've got a lot of ideas for the quilting.  A sandcastle, a sunbrella, and a pail will be added and then the clouds, water, and sand will get some detailing, too.  But...that will have to wait until the other panels are completed and joined into the top.

Until tomorrow, when I'm sure I'll have another panel to post....yeah, right.

Cheers, Pauline