Top Quilting Tips – No. 4 – A Pressing Problem

Posted on January 29, 2015 by Apatchy Kaye

In our countdown to classes series here is number

So we all know that pressing is an important part of quilting and that, to perfect your technique, you need to develop a mutually- satisfying relationship with your iron.

Maybe you never owned an iron before you started quilting. Maybe you iron everything including the underwear. Maybe you have shunned ironing as the result of a bad experience when you had to iron 48 shirts in one day.

Whatever your experience, when you are quilting your iron needs to be performing at its peak to get you where you’re going. The irons of the quilting world serve us well but we often take advantage of them. I have left TWO irons on all day on more that one occasion – points for consistency but that’s it.

So here’s today’s task:

Give your iron the once over it deserves.

If your iron doesn’t have a self-cleaning function (can I get one of those for the house?) you’ll have to do it yourself. To start, give it a good clean with a damp cloth. That’s after you make sure it’s turned off of course.

If you’ve accidentally pressed the vlisoflex or some stabiliser on the wrong side and the sticky remains are still visible on the plate then now’s the time to give it a good clean with something more than water.

I’ve read that you can use methylated spirits for this but I just use the commercial iron cleaner you buy from the supermarket. By cleaning the plate you can ensure your next project doesn’t get ruined. Don’t take to it with harsh abrasives or steel wool. There’s no need to be violent. Follow the instructions on the pack and you can’t go wrong.

Now I’ve also read that you should clean the water tank with diluted vinegar. I just use distilled water all the time and don’t get the mineral deposits that require this sort of cleaning.

Don’t store your iron face down because it doesn’t like it. Make sure you leave it for 15 minutes to cool down before you put it away and don’t wrap the cord (if it’s got one) around the plate – wrap it around the base.

Now about the surface on which you iron – it should be tall enough that you don’t get back strain. Maybe you can use a portable board strategically placed between the cutting board and the sewing machine if you’re doing fiddly piecing and you don’t feel you could benefit from getting up every 30 seconds to walk to the ironing board because you’re already trim, taut and terrific…just a thought.

Maybe you could do as Ricky Timms suggests and make an ironing table out of plywood covered with batting and then heavy fabric stapled to the base. The blog sew many ways have a tutorial on how to build this one-

Or maybe you already improvise. Have you improvised? Do tell.

How to press is something that we cover in class. You’ll learn about the pros and cons of using steam and other things seemingly more sinister

For today we’re just looking after the equipment. Maybe you should take a before and after photo of your iron.

Until tomorrow

Kaye

If you’ve missed any of our countdown just click on the links here:

Top Quilting Tips – No. 5 – Nice Threads Man!

Posted on January 28, 2015 by Apatchy Kaye

In our countdown to classes series here is tip number

Nice threads doesn’t refer to topics on message boards (for the more modern) or the white suit John Travolta sported in ‘Saturday Night Fever’ (for those of us more vintage than modern). I’m talking about the myriad thread choices we have when we are piecing and quilting (and hand sewing too). Do we choose cotton, metallic, silk or polyester? And what does weight mean?

Different numbering systems are used in order to specify different sewing threads. Apparently different spinning mills used their own thread sizing systems and there are still several in operation today. Complex n’est pas?

Basically the systems are based on weight. The Tex system was invented to be the standard in the industry. In this system the higher the number the heavier the thread. Unfortunately it hasn’t quite taken the quilting world by storm.

What quilters like are the weight standard and the number standard. Under the weight system the larger the number the finer the thread. So 50wt is finer than 30wt. Why? Because it takes 50 metres of 50wt to weigh one gram whereas it only takes 30 metres of 30wt to weigh one gram because it’s heavier.

Confused? We haven’t even mentioned plies (the number of yarns twisted together to make a single thread) or the denier standard that embroiderers use! That standard is based on the weight of nine kilometres of thread. Think about that when you’re tying up your roses with your old panty-hose!

There are even formulas to determine thread count which I won’t divulge here but trust me they exist.

Your formula is to use a good quality thread. Personally I like Rasant (a core-spun thread – meaning it has a polyester core and cotton covering.). For general piecing it is strong, robust and reliable. You can use it for quilting too and generally beginners would use this in one of our classes without any trouble. Plus there are lots of colours to choose from.

For free motion quilting I really like Wonderfil Mirage (a 30wt rayon) because it is a variegated thread that really pops and enhances the quilting. Of course if you use a finer thread such as Mirage you need to use the appropriate bobbin thread (also finer) such as Invisafil so it doesn’t all end in tears and broken threads.

There are videos here from Wonderfil showing what you can do with Mirage thread.

Linen threads are very useful for hand quilting and, if you have hyper-embellishment disorder like me you will favour metallic and silk threads for that extra ta-da element.

I think we’ll have a closer look at the different threads and what they can do for your quilting during the year because there really are dozens of options.

When it comes to thread choices, colour is another issue. Did you know that Marsala is the Pantone colour of the year?

It is described as a “hearty yet stylish tone”. Some others say it’s more reminiscent of bodily functions and decrepit buildings. What do you think? Is it outside your comfort zone?

Your task today is to :

Have a look in your stash at what threads you have. Is there an abundance of neutrals or are 80% of them the same colour (I have lots of blue)? Have a look at them again and see if there are some gaps in your choices – either colour-wise or texture-wise. Resolve to widen your repertoire this year.

You’re halfway through your tasks now so you deserve a little reward. Have a look at this video. It’s a little sexist but it made me smile.

Until tomorrow

Happy Quilting

Kaye

If you’ve missed any posts in this series find them here:

Top Quilting Tips – No. 6 – Pimp Your Machine

Posted on January 27, 2015 by Apatchy Kaye

In our countdown to the start of quilting here’s tip number 6

OK your sewing machine has been dusted and cleaned but what about some customisation? You personalise your other possessions. Do you have those family stickers on the back windscreen of the car? Do you have the personalised address labels for your snail mail? Have you put a little dangly charm on your phone? Then what about your sewing machine?

Don’t laugh – one of my customers who runs a retreat at Lake Tahoe – ooh there’s an excursion waiting to happen – tells me that all the girls buy Singer Featherweights for retreats and take them to an auto shop for a custom body spray.

Now down here in Oz I haven’t seen something quite so drastic but here’s my Top 5 suggestions…

1. Antenna Toppers – not the foxtail please. No sewing machines don’t actually have aerials but think outside the box and you come up with a thread holder. You will need one if you’re using special thread such as metallic or even some of our lovely Wonderfil Mirage (Intentional Product Endorsement there did you notice?).

Now I’m not talking about putting the spool of thread in a coffee cup beside your machine (just me?). What you need is a proper stand-alone spool holder.

I use one of these and find that it makes my sewing, especially thread painting, SEW much easier.

2. Bumper stickers – No I’m not suggesting you cover Betsy with ‘My Other Machine is a Bernina’ or ‘Ask Me About Sewing’ – actual stickers I kid you not.

Rather than shame your machine think practical. The most practical I know are the Qtools Sewing Edge.

These little beauties stick to the plate on your machine to help you guide fabric towards the perfect 1/4″ seam. And don’t think it’s only beginners who can benefit from these babies. When you’re driving on into the night your eyeballing may not be what it once was.

3. Under The Bonnet – you checked your bobbins in yesterday’s task so now you need to check your needles.

Working with worn or bent needles will only give you grief. We’re talking tension problems or stitches dropped or shredded. The size of the needle has to match the fabric you’re using as well as the thread. I can see we’ll have to talk more about this.

4. Covers – not seat covers or wheel covers but a cover for your machine. Let’s face it – the rigid white covers that come with the vehicle are very ho-hum. So here is your chance to really individualise your machine AND add a project to your UFO list. Create that Wow factor by making a sewing machine cover that says you. Here’s one I saw in France and I bought the kit so it’s on my list AND I’ve actually started the project.

Maybe you want to be practical

or maybe a little more whimsical

Here’s your chance to make a cover that says you. It can be retro, modern, bright, neutral – whatever tales your fancy. In true how-do-I-look style you can chang your ride from a fashion victim to a fashionista.

5. Lights – so your car might have headlights, tail lights, fog lights, bumper lights and brake lights. What makes you think you don’t need to see as clearly when you’re accelerating through a section of chain stitching or a particularly tricky foundation pieced project?

You don’t necessarily need a miner’s light but hey – if it works:

Source: The Sewing Jam

Maybe a laser light (say what?):

Source Timber Hill Threads

Try to use ambient and task lighting with some magnification if you need it. Daylight light is best (you can buy bulbs with this feature – we have them in the classroom – who knew?). We don’t want you to end up with eye strain so watch those peepers.

Until tomorrow

Happy Quilting

Kaye

Missed some of the series – click on the links here to take you back

8…UFO Sightings

Posted on January 25, 2015 by Apatchy Kaye

Here’s the next in our countdown to classes at Apatchy Quilting

So now your sewing room is organised and you can see what’s in there – now I know the joy is in the journey not the destination BUT your job for today is to unearth your UFOs – all of them! Now I’m not talking about the magazine pages you marked with little Post-it notes while you were reading and decided to make-that-when-I-get-a-chance (or is that just me?).

I’m talking about the unopened kits that you bought at the last four Craft Shows – the ones in the basket under the spare bed (just me again?). Also the half-done quilt tops, tablerunners, bags and other major works buried at the back of the cupboard, in the to-be-done bag or in their own dedicated plastic tub (you know who you are).

Oh and what about the quilt tops that are finished but just need the quilting, or the binding or the labeling? (My end-of-year challenge quilt is a candidate for that.)

Today get them all out and make a list – maybe it’s a big list – even better. Maybe you’ll have new projects that you don’t yet know about (even though you promised yourself you weren’t buying anything else from the Craft Show until you finished what you had). They won’t be on your list now but we can always add a supplementary list for newcomers.

I like the AllPeopleQuilt challenge here but there is only space for twelve projects and I might need more or maybe less. This challenge only works if there’s twelve exactly. So I’d like to be a little more flexible than that.

As I see it we should be celebrating every time we finish a UFO – even if it hasn’t yet been identified as unidentified! Sounds a bit existential doesn’t it? This is why I like to add your projects to the Gallery and mine too – so we can all celebrate when things are DONE.

Why don’t you just make a list of all your projects from the itsy-bitsy-teeny-weeny to the oh-my-God-is-that-even-possible with the option of extending the aforementioned list should subsequent projects identify themselves during the course of the year? Much simpler. Then we can have a celebration at the end of the year. Maybe we should have an end-of-year prize for the most UFO’s – or maybe we just all give ourselves a pat on the back for finishing what we can?

So rifle through that organised sewing space of yours – right now – and get out your UFO’s. Make a list with the details of each UFO and where it’s up to then send me a copy too (send it to kaye@apatchyquilting.com.au). Use this 2015 UFO Challenge form if it helps. We’ll keep a tally of the number of projects my clever Apatchy people finish during 2015.

Teresa from the fabrictherapy blog has an excellent post on how to organise your UFOs if you want to have half a chance of actually finishing them. The pictures of the tubs above are from her page. Have a look if you are having trouble. She is almost as organised in real life as I would like to be in my mind. Until tomorrow

Happy Quilting (well not quilting as such but getting ready for quilting)

Kaye

And the winner is……..

Posted on November 23, 2014 by Apatchy Kaye

A great day yesterday after our annual Challenge Quilt competition and Christmas event. We had a record number of entries with 16 clever ladies going with the theme ‘Music’ and creating wonderful projects. Because the scope of the entries was wide open we had a wide range of exhibits and techniques.

Suzanne’s winning entry

The winner of the day was Suzanne with her amazing creation called “Bad Moon Rising” after the Creedence Clearwater Revival song. Not only was her piece filled with all manner of visual allusions to the song but she had LED lights lighting the alley but also had an MP3 player with the song playing. One person who looked at it said “is that really coming from there?” And yes it was!

The runner-up was Margaret with her musical cat table runner. Apparently Margaret’s husband suggested the design so he was in the good books. Here’s their joint effort-

Margaret’s musical table runner

Since this competition was such a broad scope we decided one judge would be hard-pressed to determine the winner. So we came up with the perfect system – let the people decide! So it was viewers’ choice that determined both the runner-up and winner.

Here are the other entries:

Chris’ bird song quilt

Sue’s musical score

Angie’s homage to Michael Jackson

Bev’s Sashiko meets song

Cathy’s “Madame Butterfly meets Liberace”

Debbie’s abstract guitar canvas

Elaine’s wonderfully colourful instrument quilt

Bec said that “even at dawn the laugh of the kookaburra is music to my soul”

Stephanie produced this sumptuously embroidered treble clef

Jan cleverly made a beautiful stitchery and some squares into a wonderful file book cover

Julia was inspired by Mozart for her beautiful piece

Lesa thought outside the box and created “My Green Tambourine” with a matching bag – a child of the 60’s indeed

Sharyn’s creation reflected her love of Mozart and his ‘Moonlight Sonata’

Speaking of ‘outside the box’ June’s purple people eater definitely ticked the creative box

I talked about some of the trials and tribulations of my own creation and the fact I had decided to have it quilted by a professional. Here is the top so far:

My Top 40

The other important event was the drawing of the raffle of our collaborative quilt ‘Flowers for Trudy’ (won by Susan Seeney). We were very happy to welcome members of Trudy’s family Arnold, Julie, Thomas and Anna to witness the event. Julia from Bluecare drew the winning ticket and was happy to accept a cheque for an amazing $972.20. (sorry I don’t have a photo yet). I was so pleased to be involved with this and really glad when we added the ticket sales and found we had raised so much for such a worthy group of people. Well done Bluecare and well done Apatchy people!

6 things I learned from the challenge quilt

Posted on November 17, 2014 by Apatchy Kaye

Only 5 more sleeps until our annual Challenge Quilt unveiling / Christmas party. I don’t know about you but I just spent the weekend furiously trying to get my piece finished. As you know I like to share your pain and create a piece too – even though it is just for display. After spending around 200 hours on this work I have decided that some things are too much and so my offering will be a quilt top – un-quilted. I thought it would be a shame to spoil things by trying to quilt it myself and after struggling to get the beast through the small gap of my machine I cracked. I have decided to send the top off to be quilted by someone cleverer than I.

Here’s some things I learned along the way:
1. Quilt as you go doesn’t work when you overlap appliques from one section to the next;
2. If you’re going to build the Great Wall of China start early (i.e. earlier than you did!)
3. If you leave the main area until the last weekend – and it’s a weekend when it’s 40 degrees – you will overheat;
4. It is amazing how far you can jam a needle down your finger;
5. Pins are evil and will try to bite you whenever they can; and
6. Family members have a breaking point when it comes to the constant sound of a sewing machine.

What has been nice about this project, being the theme ‘Music’ is that I have been listening to my record collection (yes vinyl) while I’ve been making this quilt. The teenager-in-residence has picked up a few new bands and I have been reminiscing about my lost youth.

Here’s a sneak preview of what I’ve been working on….

Now for all the information you need for the event:

Date: Saturday 22nd November
Time: 10am to 2pm ( please don’t arrive early as we have to set up the hall)
Address: Presbyterian Hall, Queen’s Road, Clayfield
Bring: A plate of food to share
Also bring: A pincushion if you want to participate in the ‘Secret Santa Pincushion Swap Extravaganza’

Before next Saturday we need your challenge quilt entry – if you can bring it to class this week that would be great – as the requirements are so broad we don’t know what we have to ‘hang’ and there are very limited resources at the hall so if we have the entries in advance we can work out how to show them.

Also by the classes this week we need your raffle tickets – we have to break up all the books and this takes time – please do not leave it to Saturday.

A representative of Bluecare will be drawing the lucky ticket and Trudy’s family will be in attendance so it should be quite a day.

Look forward to seeing you there.

A baby AND a quilt show!

Posted on October 12, 2014 by Apatchy Kaye

Great excitement on Friday when I was at the quilt show in Brisbane – a new grand-daughter – clearly a good omen I’d say. Number 1 son and his fair maid welcomed their first child – Eleanor Margaret Kaye – 8lb – mother and baby doing well. Here’s a photo, the best available so far of Lady Eleanor and her adoring grandmother:

And here’s some of what you missed at the quilt show:

Can you have too many quilts in one weekend – no way!

Posted on September 19, 2014 by Apatchy Kaye

I thought you might like to see some more photos from last week’s craft show at Laidley:

There really was some beautiful work at the show – aren’t the people of Laidley and nearby clever?

Now not content with three days of peach blossoms and craft we decided to drive out to Samford on Sunday to check out their quilt show! We weren’t disappointed as we found wonderful quilts including miniature marvels from Lorraine Sheane-Smith. This lady’s work is truly amazing. I thought you might like to visit the show now albeit virtually. Prepare for a photo-fest…….

I’m sure you must be impressed. We certainly were. We also caught up with some old friends. Some of you may remember two delightful beginners from a couple of years ago. Tash and Joanne were both making baby quilts for their first babies and hurried to finish in time. They brought their babies to visit and then we have’t seen them for a while. Quite a while as it turned out. Those babies (Angelina and Asher) are now 3 years old and now have a brother and sister (Charles and Evie) respectively. How did that time go so fast? Just goes to show – life is short – quilt faster! Another reason to get all those UFO projects finished.

I believe there is another show in Toowoomba this weekend. Now should I do the laundry, work on my challenge quilt or nip up to Toowoomba tomorrow???

Maryborough Show

Posted on June 21, 2014 by Apatchy Kaye

Having a great weekend at the Rotary Heritage Craft weekend at Maryborough. Remember last year we were here we challenged one of the organisers to make up our owl? Well he did and here’s the proof.

Before

After

We hung our ‘Flowers for Trudy’ quilt and we have had a huge response to it. Everyone loves the bright colours and are quite disappointed when we tell them it isn’t a kit for sale. We have sold quite a few raffle tickets so we have raised more for the Blue Nurses which is great.
We have seen some beautiful quilts here – both machine-pieced and hand-embroidered. Plus there are great stalls here. I have helped the local economy you will be pleased to hear.
It’s also been very nice spending time with Mum and Dad who have been helping Jan and I. We’ve discovered some hidden gems including a great breakfast spot.
Here are some photos from the show. Come and say hello if you’re in town tomorrow.

Winners are Grinners!

Posted on May 18, 2014 by Apatchy Kaye

Well it has certainly been an inspiring weekend for some Apatchy girls – at the show at Brookfield two of our girls swept the awards – Lesa with her magnificent modern Baltimore and Chris with her wonderful tea cosies. Have a look at the photos and tell me they aren’t happy. Great work ladies, congratulations!

What a champion!

And here’s the winning tea cosies:

Chris is a winner!

Chris wins again

Chris makes her third cosy and takes a hat trick

A little peep at Lesa’s prizewinning quilt

Smoke Signals from a Log Cabin

Apatchy Quilting's Blog

Category Archives: Uncategorized

Top Quilting Tips – No. 4 – A Pressing Problem

Top Quilting Tips – No. 5 – Nice Threads Man!

Top Quilting Tips – No. 6 – Pimp Your Machine

8…UFO Sightings

And the winner is……..

6 things I learned from the challenge quilt

A baby AND a quilt show!

Can you have too many quilts in one weekend – no way!

Maryborough Show

Winners are Grinners!

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