I Just Remembered I Still Have a Blog

 Wow.  forty-six views last month.  

I have discovered ChatGBT after asking for help with my Japanese Vintage Sewing machine.  Err.  Don't do that.  While it knows some things, it started making up things as I went along.  Very funny, but not.  I had pulled out the top tension, took it apart, and somehow knocked the pieces over.  I can't find a picture of the machine from a Google search.  So, ask AI right?

It knew about Japanese Vintage machines.  Singer and other companies sent their specifications over to Japan after WWII.  Most of the machines were just rebadged as something else.  So there would be 15 machines that all looked the same with different badges, like New Home, White, and others.

As I explain the tension unit to AI, it starts asking basic questions about the assembly none of which show up in what mine looks like.  This is the original upper tension unit.

I get this far into the assembly:

After it fell on the ground when I accidentally knocked it all over:  How do I put this back together?

Then it keeps "updating" the order of the parts as I say that I don't have that part.

I don't have a C washer.  Freaks out AI.  It starts "thinking again" and then it asks me about the tension

So now nothing in this tension unit is making sense.  AI keeps readjusting what I have but not really making it easier.  I still haven't been able to put the top tension together.  After going through more "information", I give up and stuff everything back together.  Failure on my part and AI.  The free version wasn't helping either.

If you know how to fix a Mark II vintage Japanese machine, let me know.

 

Quilting "My Tweets" Working on outside blocks

I detest stitching in the ditch.  Especially with this quilt.  At least I didn't get any pleats or screw up the backing.

I finally got all that done and started in on FMQ the first of the outside blocks.


Here's part of the center.  I FMQ hatching between the spaces:  You may need to enlarge the picture.  I plan on doing something in the center of the flowers after seeing the hatchmarks.

Note to self:  Do better planning of how to quilt and mark so you aren't stuck.  Since I haven't quilted in years, it's like relearning how to do it.

Free Motion Quilting Over Lines

Hmm.  Purple marker disappears after a day.  Good thing I didn't mark everything.

I did two of the corner flowers and I don't like the backtracking from FMQ.  I hate to unpick the flowers, but it would look better if I stopped/started to make one single stitching line.  On white fabric it becomes painfully obvious how well you FMQ.

This is a close-up.  It looks horrible:

I'll think about it over the night and go from there but I'm pretty sure it's coming out.

Quilting "My Tweets" by Erin Russek

I fell in love with"My Tweets" an applique quilt by Erin Russek years ago and was determined to finish it. I thought this would be an easy project.  I was wrong.  In fact, I stuffed the quilt in a drawer and forgot about it.  I hated it.  I wanted to burn it but I'd put too much work into it.

I didn't hate the pattern,  Erin makes fabulous quilt projects so check out what she does.  I just was overwhelmed all those pieces, reverse tracing, fusible webbing, multiple fabrics and then all the satin stitching.  I didn't square the blocks correctly and everything was a mess.  I had to redo the entire center because I messed up the background size.  I got to the border and that's when it was stuffed into a drawer.

The pattern was designed by Erin Russek around 2011 and it's now 2018 so that explains how long it's been stuffed in a drawer.  It took a couple of years or so to get this far.  Then my dad's wife came to visit and found the quilt.  Her and my dad fell in love and asked if I would finish it for her.  I agreed to finish it for her and my dad out of love.

Here's the top w/o the light green border fabric.

My mom was super awesome and helped me get it all pinned and ready to quilt.  Now to choose how to quilt it.  I haven't quilted in years.  This quilt pretty much ruined it for me.  I started making mini albums and gave up quilting.  I haven't even posted anything for years.

I wondered how other people had done their "My Tweets" quilts but only found two finished quilts.  Both were beautifully quilted but beyond my quilting skills.  I wonder how many others finished this pattern since I could only find two.

My first thought was to use the flowers in the four centers until after I quilted the bottom and realized they were out of proportion and didn't fit around the centers as they were different widths.  It's pretty, but I didn't like it.  I spent yesterday ripping it out.

  I wanted the corners to be like the top of the flower.  I put them in the corner and realized it looked like Art Deco.  Cool.  I then put a one inch strip around the borders to frame the quilt.  It was out of proportion and I didn't like it.

So I cut out two small 1/2 inch strips and laid them out like this.  Much better.  Now the center needed something else.  I did a Google search on art deco but didn't find anything.  I then had the idea to put a square on point in the center and sent a picture.  My dad and Heather loved it.  I still think it needs something else, but will figure it out later.  Now to figure out how to mark it.

Turns out tools for marking quilts hasn't changed.  The usual blue pen (I don't dare because if I wash the quilt, it will probably turn blue), the purple pen and the chalk liners.  Then someone brought up the Frixion pen by Pilot.  Oh my gosh, the ink disappeared when I ironed it!  Pilot was a genius.

Awesome, except the lines come back if you put it in the cold and my background is white.  I emailed the company and asked if they would make a pen like this for fabric.  They said they'd look into it.  This pen does have it's uses, but not on white fabric going to a loved one.  Like others have said, use with caution and test your fabric as Pilot never designed it for fabric.

I think my choice is the purple pen.

Then while at the quilt shop I discovered this:

 Not sure how long this product has been around, but I LOVE it.  The pins are so much easier to use and it's worth the 20 dollars I paid for it.

3-D Quilt Done!!

I got it done!!   I finished my first quilt of the year.  And..*drum roll* I machine bound it with ease.  I can bind!!!   The quilt isn't flat, but the binding looks awesome.

From Blogger Pictures

The feather quilting and butterflies. Click on the pic if you can't see it

From Blogger Pictures

Picture of the quilting on top

From Blogger Pictures

The binding, which is perfect all the way around like this.

From Blogger Pictures

My secret to this binding: Viking makes a left edge topstitch foot. There's a guide on the left side that the fabric can slide through. Just follow the red mark with your fabric and away you go. I even made it over the corners without the seams folding over or being squished. It's amazing what the right machine can do for you. While the quilt isn't flat, the binding has no ripples or folds.

Okay Jen and Jill..what's the point status for this quilt??  Meandering or dwirling doesn't count.  I did feathers and butterflies.  

I Didn't Mean To..Really

I didn't mean too. Really. I just went over to look. Honest. It called to me. It knew my name. I couldn't resist it. I played with it. I fell in love with it. We had an instant connection. Even hubby recognized that there was a connection and let me do it.

From Blogger Pictures

It's a Husqvarna Viking Sapphire 870 and it's amazing. It has everything I've ever wanted and more. It sews amazingly. It free motions beautifully. An exact 1/4 inch seam with ease. The features are incredible.

I got the borders on my flannel quilt done yesterday and today with it. No problems whatsoever. I LOVE this machine.

From Blogger Pictures

I'm FMQ my hubby's snowman quilt with Minkee fabric on the back with relative ease. Since my machine doesn't ft in my Janome table, it's on top. As I don't have it flush with the table it's harder to work with the fabric. All they make for it is an acrylic crappy table. They decided not to make the extension table I really wanted in the book. But..it FMQ beautifully!

Did I tell you I LOVE this machine?

"Mountain Sunset" Bargello Quilt

Here's a picture of my bargello quilt. I'm almost done with the quilting but still need to do the borders. This has been a fun quilt to design. I used metallic, rayon and cotton thread to free motion quilt it. It's turned really nice and the quilting gives it texture and motion.



Here's a more detailed look at the quilting: