iQ Project #1. Part 7.

Simple Custom Quilting.   iQ Project #1. 2017

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.

 Now here's the video.

This is the link to Youtube.

Answering some questions about the project.

An iQ owner following the project asked some questions on facebook. Although I answered her there, I thought it might be useful to others to answer them here too. I have paraphrased some of the questions.

1. You mentioned burying the threads, do you like to bury threads always or does it depend on the quilt or only on custom quilts? 
I nearly always bury thread ends simply because it gives me the best results. I tried back stitching and doing tiny stitches very close together, but they always looked lumpy and very noticeable, and they would always come loose when I picked at them. I've buried threads since getting my machine in 1997. I bury them as I go and it takes me very little time. These days, I can do them faster because I'll bury while iQ is stitching.

2. What kind of thread are you using for this project? 
I am using a polyester thread. It's a cone I must have acquired along the way - it has no makers name, so is a bit of a mystery. It might be Priced Sew Right overlock thread that a friend gave me.

3. I noticed you have your IQ speed and detail set high, if I sew at those speeds the thread breaks.
Pay no attention to where I have the speed and details set. You all know your own machines and where they stitch well. Set them to suit you and your machine, and to get the best results. If that's significantly slower than mine, that's o.k.

4. What size needle do you usually use?
I use an MR4.0 for everything. 

5. If you smooth the pattern as mentioned in the video, do you delete the original or keep it?
I would probably keep the original, saving the new one with a new name, which may be the original name with smoothed added to it.

6. Do you always do a quilt map with the patterns?
No. I only make a complete quilt map when I am making a quilt from scratch. Sometimes I know which quilting patterns I want to use and design a quilt to suit them. I make the map, then piece the quilt. That's the other way around to the way we usually work - choosing patterns to suit an already pieced quilt.

7. Do you ever mark on quilt and then place the patterns as you go?
Yes, that's the way I usually work on custom quilts. I do go through my pattern catalogs and move any I think I might use on the quilt into their own catalog, just as we did at the start of this project.
I then keep a copy of the patterns on my working screen so I don't have to keep going back to the catalog. I copy those patterns just as I'm doing in the project. (That method might make a good video after the project is completed) For this project, I thought it would be good to include making a quilt map.

8. I noticed that the patterns didn't need altering that much when copies were moved to the real quilt block.
I expect to be altering the patterns more as we progress. My quilt is far from perfectly pieced, plus the fabric draw up will distort it more as we work through. I expect the borders will need modifying the most.  

iQ Project #1. Part 6. Stitching the first border and sashing..

Simple Custom Quilting.   iQ Project #1. 2017

6. Stitching the first border and sashing.

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.  

This is the link if youprefer to watch the video on youtube.

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.