Adding Machine Embroidery To My Blog

I've decided to add my embroidery stuff to my quilting blog so the next few posts will be embroidery machine related.  

I started out with a Janome 350e but quickly realized I needed a machine with a larger hoop than the giga hoop.  What I didn't realize about the giga hoop is that it's actually two 5x7 hoops that overlap.  I thought I could put in a 6x6 design and stitch it out.  You can't.  You have to split the design in half.  No biggie, but the basic Janome software doesn't do that.  Nor does it convert formats.  Well...darn.  So I bought Embird, a basic software program that's not affiliated with any sewing machine company.  Great program.

My first attempt at using Embird to split a design and using the Giga Hoop.   Obviously, it didn't work.  The Giga hoop is a great hoop, but I found myself not really using it.  It's great for combining two designs, but I don't like having to split up one design to make it work.  I'm too lazy.

From Blogger Pictures

After buying a Sapphire 870 and falling in love with it, I realized Viking made the Topaz, an embroidery version of the machine.  Evil Viking Company.  How you tempt me.  Hubby said I could keep the Sapphire and get the Topaz 30.  Who are you and what did you do to my husband??  My husband won't admit it, but he likes quilting and embroidery.  Shhh.

From Embroidery Designs

The Topaz boasts one of the largest hoops in the industry of 360x200 which is partly why I bought the machine.  It can do an 8x8 inch block without splitting it.   The only catch to the Topaz 30 is that almost all editing needs to be done on computer.  There is no touch screen to see the layers and scroll through things like my Janome 350e does.  If you can get past that, it's an incredible machine.  It has most of the features of the TOL machines which I love.

Rotary Cutting Mats

Guide To Rotary Mats And Cutters

I had a friend call and ask about buying a cutter and mat.  She knew about them but wasn't sure what to buy.  As we talked, she had a better idea but was still lost.  I offered to have her come over and try mine before investing in them.  She doesn't do a lot of quilting, but the project she was working on really needed the rotary cutters.

My best advice is go to to JoAnn fabrics with a 40% coupon or when they go on sale.  

Mats

You have to have a mat.  The cutters need the mat so they don't go dull.  I know, because I went through 3 blades in 10 minutes until I went back to the quilt store and bought one.  Mats come in various sizes from large to small.  There is no bad brand of mat.  Look for one that has some thickness for the blade to work with and that is easy to see the fabric with.  

My favorite size for home use is the 24x36 size mat.  You can easily cut large amounts of fabric with one.

 

From Embroidery Designs

The 18x24 is perfect for classes and is a good beginner size mat.  This is the mat I bought 7 years ago and still works perfectly. 

From Embroidery Designs

The smaller mat sits perfectly on my 6600 table next to my machine.  It's perfect for paper piecing and trimming up blocks.  You don't have to get up and move back and forth from another table.

From Embroidery Designs

Using a Mat:

Mats have grid lines for measuring.  Not all mats have equal lines though.  Same with rulers as I found out too.  Line your fabric up with the lines and cut.  I use a ruler instead of the lines.  I cut at an angle as well toward the upper right corner so the grid lines mean nothing to me.  Some people turn the mat over where there are no grid lines and use them that way.

Care of mats:

Don't leave them on your kitchen table for your kids to put their dinner plates on.  They will warp your mat.  I use my kitchen table for cutting and forgot one night.  The thinner mats warp much easier than the thicker ones.  Same with cold. 

Don't leave them out in your car.  They warp there as well.  I know some people have managed to "unwarp" their mat successfully but try not to get them warped at all. 

Don't leave the larger mats up against the wall.  They will fold over.  Most of the larger ones have a hole to hang them up on.  I wish the smaller ones had a hole and even when I tried to drill a hole, I made a mess.

Don't use the same cutting line over and over.  You will eventually leave grooves on the mat.  All of the mats I have are 6-7 years old and you can see the cutting lines.  I do move around, but there are grooves where I've cut in the same place.

I don't know if you should do this or not, but I spray mine with a a basic kitchen cleaner to wash the mat when it gets dirty.  I don't do it often.  If someone knows how to clean off your mat correctly, let me know.

Mine have lasted years and have paid for themselves several times over.  Take care of them as they are an investment.

Creating A Bargello Quilt In EQ6

I had a lady ask how to make a bargello quilt on EQ6. Her email address was under no reply. If you change your settings in blogger, it's easier to respond to you.

It's actually really easy to create a bargello quilt.

1. Go into EQ6 and set up a new project.

2. Go to the "quilt" tab and select "new quilt". Select Vertical Strip Quilt from the dropdown menu.

3. Go to Layout tab and you will have vertical strips. There is a menu off to the side that has more information. Delete all the strips but one. Under width, put 2. Under length, put an even number in. That will make it easier to have even numbers of blocks.

4. Under Select A Strip Style, click on "Pieced Blocks". If your number is even, you won't have gaps. Ie, 30 inches put in 15. You can see the picture off to the right. I haven't deleted the other strips so don't panic.

5. Put a checkmark under Clone the selected strip

6. click on Add and keep adding strips until you have what you want as in the picture below. You now have a template to play with.

7. Now comes the fun part. Play with the strips by sliding the width slider over each strip. Small strips make taller peaks. Wider strips makes the fabric appear to come forward.

8. To create a peak that is visually pleasing, add the same width on each side of the peak. If your peak measurement is 1 inch, on each side add 1.5 inches and move outward. You can see the variations of the widths of the blocks.






9. Go to Layer One and start adding fabrics on a diagonal. You can go up or down. If you don't like the width of the strips, change them until you find a layout you like.



I just played with a few colors and ideas to get the idea.

"Flower Power" Class From QuiltUniversity

I've spent the past couple of weeks taking Susan Brittingham's "Flower Power" class.  She does a fabulous job and I've been working harder than I usually do for an art quilt.  She really makes you think about color in ways that almost hurts my color confused head.  LOL.

The rose on the left is the one I really love but Susan said it might be hard to do in an art quilt for a beginner.  The colors are subtle and finding fabric that would duplicate the look would be a challenge.  

I came up with another flower from my backyard

but not sure I like it.  Susan said the colors were easier as they weren't subtle and there was more to the picture.  

I've been working with both pictures using the methods we've been talking about.  I can see where Susan is right about the group of flowers, but even with taking out what I don't like, it just isn't "calling" to me. 

It just hit me.  I HATE the leaves in this picture.  The flower is called a Mallow flower.  I don't like how big they are and I find them terribly distracting and cluttered.  The flowers themselves are beautiful.  I'm just not sure how to fix it if I want to stay true to the way the leaves look in real life.  I'm not even sure how to work with the leaves in fabric.

Finding fabric for the mallow flowers has proven difficult but I think I found them from a lady that dyes her own fabric.  Even if the colors are off, they will still work. 

I bought a new toy yesterday called "Bamboo Fun".  It's meant for working with photo software and has a special "pen", mouse and pad to use.  The pen works like a mouse but is used by graphic artists for getting into places where a mouse is doesn't.  I really bought it because it has Photoshop Elements and a couple of other photo enhancing software.  

Here's what I did with the rose in Photoshop Elements:

It would look AWESOME if I could do it with fabric like this.  I don't think there's a way to do the chain link fence in fabric though.  I'll have to find a darker background.

When I tried playing with the mallow flower, nothing really worked.   When I enlarged it in EQ6 it looked better.  

Oh.  I've also learned that if you put a picture in your copy machine, it prints out in reverse.  

I can't wait to start working with fabric.  If I can find what I want and like.

Art Nouveau Floral Square Block

Wow. Had I known this block would take 5.5 hours to stitch out, I don't know if I would have bought the entire set. However; the design looks FABULOUS. I love it. Here's the block:

From Embroidery Designs

If you want to see more detail, click on the picture.

It has 20 color changes and I think took 16-18 actual thread colors. I love my Viking Topaz. Now to decide if I want to do the other blocks. This is a lot of work.

Heart Comfort Quilt

I talked with my mom today and after some coaxing found out that she's going through an extremely rough time in her life. I can't fix the problems and trials she's dealing with. I even tried to see if she would come out here for a visit to get away from things, but she won't. So I thought of a comfort quilt.

If anyone would like to send an 8 inch finished block of a heart design, please email me and let me know. I think it would mean a lot to her. I know I could just make her a quilt, but I thought having a quilt from other people would be more of a surprise and may cheer her up more than I could right now.

It's short notice, but if you could mail out the blocks by next weekend (the 20th), I could get it done and sent off to her by the end of February or early March.

If you could sign your block on the front as I thought it would be fun to have an album style quilt.

Thank you so much!

Blackwork Quilt Top Done!

I got my Topaz back from the dealer this morning. It got the update it needed and she said the up-take lever problem should be fixed. I sewed on it all afternoon without any problems. So far so good.

I got my Blackwork quilt top done today:

From Blogger Pictures

I'm not sure I like the white border width. I'm planning to do some some decorative stitching on the white so maybe it will soften it up some. If my editing skills were better I'd take some of the designs from the blackwork and put them together as a border.