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This
video doesn’t need many notes. I mark on quilt the sashing block, and then copy
the horizontal sashing patterns. I use stretch and shape shift to make them fit
nicely in the sashing block. I also talk about when I use distort, shape shift
and magnet tool.
After
completing this part, I think everyone should be able to complete all the
sashing and block patterns, but if you have questions or need me to clarify something, please ask here or
e-mail me so I can make another video before getting to the bottom border.
7. Stitching the first row of block patterns and
vertical sashing.
In this installment, I
use distort and shape shift to modify the patterns so they fit in the blocks on
my real quilt.
You’ll see that I have a
serious tension issue at the start that cured itself. I have found that with
the change of seasons, and thus temperature and humidity, my elderly machine
does this. I had stitched a bit before making this video and thought the
machine was warmed up enough, but surprisingly that was not the case. I chose
to ignore the bad tension. You might also notice that my machine’s speed
changes - that’s because I accidently brushed against the speed dial when I was
working on modifying the patterns. I did not check the dial’s position before starting
to stitch. The lesson here is to always glance at your speed setting when iQ
prompts you to do so before touching that start button on the sew quilt screen.
I changed the speed slightly whilst iQ was stitching.
Now onto the
instructions.
Retrieve your complete
quilt map and align it away from your real quilt, just we did last week. This
time I aligned it off to the right hand side.
I marked the centers of
the next row sashing corner stones, then did these steps :
Add/edit block > add
block > standard block > mark on quilt.
I marked points around
the block as many times as necessary to show the true block on the screen. This
is important.
(My remote clicker has a
small usb receiver plugged into one of the ports on the top of my tablet.)
When I got to the end of
marking my block, instead of taking the needle back to the start, I simply
touched close block.
Finished > add/edit
pattern > copy pattern. I copied 2 vertical sashing patterns. It didn’t
matter which two I copied as they are all the same. I zoomed as necessary.
I moved the copies into
position in the sashing block. I snapped the start point of the pattern to the
top reference point of the black, then touched stretch. I anchored that start
point, and then moved the end point until it snapped to the bottom reference
point of the block.
I used true size zoom to
inspect the pattern and saw that it needed some modifications.
I touched the double
arrows to find shape shift.
Look at the size button
– I changed that to 3” before the video started because I had been working on
the other sashing patterns. After checking the preferences, as I do in the
video, change your effect circle size to 3 inches. Modify your pattern – if you
don’t like your modifications, touch undo. Change the size of the circle and
try again. Sometimes it can take a few tries to get the result you want – try
working with a large effect circle and a smaller effect circle to see which
modifies the pattern to your liking. You can undo up to 10 steps so don’t worry
if your pattern starts to look really bad. If it gets completely out of shape,
you can always delete it then copy the patterns from the quilt map and start
again.
If your shape shifted
patterns looks very strange, check that you have smooth on. If it’s off, touch
the button then touch the plus or minus sign to change it to on.
Note: when you get to
the next sashing, copy the patterns from the quilt map, not from this sashing
which has been altered and thus will be more difficult to modify for the new
block. Always start with an unmodified pattern for the best results.
As you watch my machine
stitching, this is where you’ll see that terrible tension. It didn’t happen
again. You’ll also see that that first double stitched line wasn’t right on top
of the previous stitching. This shows how my quilt had moved because I had my
hand on the surface.Lesson number
2 – do not touch the quilt until you are absolutely sure you need to!
Don’t worry about making
mistakes like this – we learn so much from our mistakes (and I’m obviously
still learning!)
Having completed the
first vertical sashing, go on to the next. Mark the sashing block, copy the
patterns from the quilt map, move them into place and modify them as necessary.
Stitch them. Move on to the next sashing, then the final sashing. Always work
on one block at a time – mark the block, place the patterns and sew them
immediately.
After completing all the
sashings, delete the sahing patterns and the sashing blocks, and then move on
to the 10” blocks.
I started with the block
at the right hand side. I marked on quilt the block, and then added a diagonal
line to help me position the heart patterns. I copied the two heart patterns
for that block and moved them into place.
I studied how the
patterns related to the diagonal line and found I only needed to rotate the
patterns. If your patterns need more modification, use distort and/or shape
shift. Just play around – if you make horrible mistakes, simply delete the patterns
and copy them again.
Before stitching, I
needed to check that my preferences, or local configurations, were set for
backstitching because there are some jump stitches built into this pattern.
I sequenced one pattern
then touched sew quilt to get to the page where I can alter those settings.
I set my back stitching
length quite long so you can see the machine doing them. Personally, I don’t
like that double backstitching, especially with this high contrast thread. If
this were a piece I needed to look really good, I would have modified the
pattern and eliminated the backstitching. I’ll show how to do that in an
additional video.
After setting my
preferences, I backed out of the sew quilt page so that I could sequence all
the block patterns I wanted to sew.
I choose jump stitch as
the transition between the two patterns.
I moved onto the center
block next, marking the block and copying the center pattern.
This time I used
distort. I always go to true size when modifying patterns with distort and use
the little reference points of the distort box as guides. This gives me
consistent spacing from pattern to pattern.
After using distort, I
panned around and used shape shift to alter one side of the pattern where it
came too close to the seam (edge of the block).
The image on the video
is zoomed in at this point so you can clearly see what happens to the pattern.
What you can’t see is that I chose shape shift, and then altered the size of
the effect circle (you can just see me altering it by using the keypad).
This allowed me to move
that part of the pattern away from the block.
On the stitching
sequence page, I swapped the start/end points so that the pattern would stitch
the outside first before going to the wreath.
Note: Look at the close
up of the pattern at the end – the tiny circle in the center should have
touched the petals. Mine doesn’t probably because I was going too fast. I think
slowing down iQ would have improved this stitch out considerably, so that’s
lesson number 3 for this installment.
Let’s see if I remember
those lessons in the next installment.
The quilting begins in
this installment and you’ll see that my stitching is far from perfect. I’m not
worried because this is just a project – it’s a practice piece. If yours looks
like mine, then I hope you’re encouraged to just accept it. If yours looks
better than mine – hooray!
I am using a high
contrast thread that shows both the good and bad clearly. I chose to use it so
that the stitching would show up well on the video. You can choose whatever
thread you wish. My small quilt is made with old fabric that I don’t care
about. I can see my finished project will be a very good, and elegant, pet bed
or small picnic rug.
This is a longer video
because it shows everything I do. It is nearly 40 minutes long. If there are
parts you need to refer back to when working on your project, make a note of
their time so you can quickly find them. For instance, I start working on the
sashing at about 25 minutes. I talk about the dwell settings starting at 21 minutes.
There are a couple of
places in the video where the image breaks up a little but they do not
interfere for very long so I chose not to edit them out. They do not make you
miss anything. Also, you may here me speaking softly once or twice – this is of
no importance either because I am just talking to myself, saying my thoughts
out loud, so don’t worry about trying to hear what I’m saying.
So let’s get started
with the notes. As before, I am giving you a basic guideline, not every single
step. If you have questions, you can refer back to the video, comment here, or
e-mail me.
Start up your iQ and
retrieve your project, using add/edit existing.
You are asked to touch a
reference point on the screen – I touched the top right hand corner of my
project. When asked to move the machine to that reference point on the real
quilt, I did not move my machine to the top right corner of my quilt. Instead I
moved my machine to the top left, beyond the edge of my real quilt.
I do not want to work
with my project map directly over my real quilt. I want to be able to copy the
patterns from my project map and move them onto my real quilt blocks. The real
quilt will not be perfect. If I try to mark my real blocks on my project map, I
will become very confused.
Add/Edit block > add
block > standard block > mark on quilt.
Mark the top border
block, tracing along the seam line between the border and the sashing and
making a diagonal line, or miter, at each corner. Mark as many points as
necessary to truly reflect the block on your tablet.
Add/edit pattern >
copy pattern(s). Touch the two feather patterns in the top border.
Move the copies over to
the border block, using the arrows to move them precisely into position.
Use the measure tool to
check the distance between the bottom of the pattern and the seam line.
Use zoom true size to
get a good visual of how the pattern is sitting in the border block.
Pan to each end to make
sure the pattern isn’t crossing over the miter.
In the video, I only had
to move my patterns. If you find that when your pattern is the correct distance
from the seam line, it overlaps the miters, touch width and then the minus sign
to shorten the pattern. Stay zoomed in to one end as you do this. Pan over to
the other end to make sure it’s correct.
When you are happy,
touch finished > finished > sew quilt.
Touch the pattern on the
left as the first one to stitch, then touch the other half of the border.
Choose stop to cut threads as the transition.
This border will be
stitched from the center outwards. This minimizes the fabric movement. However,
before stitching the second half, touch realign and follow the directions to
make sure the pattern will start exactly in the center. In the video, I let the
machine move to the center before realigning. If it had moved to the correct
starting position on the quilt, I would not have needed to realign.
I made some changes
whilst iQ was stitching. I had not checked my tension before starting so it is
less than perfect. I also found that my quilt was vibrating, which was probably
due to the fact that my machine has been moved from its normal position recently.
After completing the top
border, add/edit pattern > delete patterns. They’ve been stitched so they
are not needed anymore.
NOTE: do not ‘select all’ when asked which
patterns do you want to delete. Selecting all will delete all the patterns on
your project map!
Leave the block for now.
Finished > Add/edit
block > add block > standard block > mark on quilt.
Take a marking tool, and
mark the center of each cornerstone of the top row of sashing on your quilt.
When you mark on quilt the
sashing block, mark it so that it dips down to the center of each sashing
cornerstone. This will help when placing the patterns.
When you have finished
marking the sashing block, look at the screen. Has it overlapped the border
block? If it has, that’s showing how the fabric moved when it was quilted.
You can delete that
border block now.
Add/edit pattern >
copy pattern > touch the first row of sashing patterns – you need to touch
all 6 because they are not combined.
Move the copies to the
sashing block. Zoom to true size and pan along the row to check their position.
Use move and/or stretch to move the patterns into place.
Stitch the sashings from
the center outwards. Watch as they stitch. If the double stitched line doesn’t
seem to be perfect, press down on the quilt slightly to move it to make the
stitching go where you need it to be.
There is no need to save
this quilt when you exit out and shut down. Your complete project has been
saved already.
