Wednesday, October 28, 2015

One Step Forward, Two Steps ____?




Pop Stars for Halloween


There are 2 more passes to go before I'm finished with the quilting. I've been using a ruler for the spider webs, and free handing the curlicues. Every thing is going smoothly now, but please let me tell you about the disaster what happened.


I've had 2 spools of the Aurifil Invisible thread for some months now. One in Clear, and the other in Smoke. I started this project thinking I would use the Smoke, but the Clear was ideal to use in the star centers, too. Not having to change threads makes things go a lot easier and quicker, so I chose the Clear. I used an Omni thread for the bobbin that matched the backing. These two threads work very well together.


Can you see the thread above? There's a reason they call it invisible! The thread draws up, and then through the metal mast. At some point of quilting, my thread came out of the mast. I made two runs across the quilt with a mis-threaded machine. Look very closely at the stitching below. The thread is too loose on the quilt top. I could feel it when I brushed my hand across it, but it didn't look like there was anything wrong.


The backing is Minky, and it was hiding the problems. Again, I could feel the nylon thread a little bit when I ran my hand across the Minky. I wound up flattening the backing down, and snapping a picture with my phone. It made me nauseous. There were little eyelashes everywhere!



That was supper time yesterday so I went home. All night I dreamed about ripping all that stiching out. Nightmares! I started at 5:30 a.m., and set my alarm for an hour at a time. It took 3 whole hours to get it cleaned up. It's a long time, but honestly, I had thought it would be much longer.




Can you see how these stiches in the same place sink down more? I have learned that by brushing my hand across the top and bottom, and feeling no nylon thread is a good sign.


How can you not love Minky? 
The quilting pops!





One row each of spider webs and stars, and it's complete. I'm still holding out for a Halloween finish.

Although I nearly killed this quilt, I learned so much. There was a moment with a sinking heart when I could have kicked myself for using invisible nylon thread, but I'm feeling rather cocky at this point. It's another thing I can check off my big list of things to try. Yes, I screwed it up, but, yes, too, I fixed it. Never be afraid to try new things. Remember..


If you have something new you're trying, and you're on Instagram, hashtag it #bravequilter. Let me know @pinkdoxies, and share it with the world. Let's do this thing together!

Come on, Doxie girls.
Let's go sew.

12 comments:

Anja @ Anja Quilts said...

Sorry to hear about your troubles. But the quilting looks amazing.

Gina said...

I'm sorry you had the problems. This is why I don't use Invisible except for stitching in the ditch. The quilt looks amazing though. I love how the back looks

Brita said...

You get the persistence award, and reward 😊. I know, all too well, about those caterpillar loopies, so frustrating. It turned out gorgeous!

Brita said...

You get the persistence award, and reward 😊. I know, all too well, about those caterpillar loopies, so frustrating. It turned out gorgeous!

Unknown said...

It's turning out really nice! And like you keep saying; look at all the experience you are getting.

Kat said...

It's looking great! Kudos to you for sticking with it.

Laceflower said...

I love invisible thread, but I use polyester not nylon, as nylon causes so many issues.

Karen @ Pieces of Contentment said...

I can imagine your dismay and discovering the mis-stitchings on the back. Thankfully the unpicking went smoothly - and as you say, another lesson learnt.

Barb Neiwert said...

What a pain! But you endured and successed!!! Did you know you can get these little mesh sleeves that fit over the cone of slippery threads and it keeps it from unraveling willy nilly? They are super inexpensive. I get mine from Superior Threads and use them all the time for any shiny threads I use - works wonders!

Dogwood Lane Rambles said...

Oh my gosh I would be sick. But I also would not be able to rest until the problem was resolved. Good for you and sew on! Visiting from Val's Quilting Studio.
Patrica @ Dogwood Lane Rambles

Zenia Rene said...

I'll take your word for it that it was a nightmare because it didn't look like one to me. Quick question, do you still use batting when you back w/minky?

Val's Quilting Studio said...

Oh gosh...three hours of ripping out!!! I'm so with ya...we have to live and learn. THanks for sharing your learning with us a TUesday Archives this week.