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Monday, June 3, 2013

Natural Charm for Charity

Natural Charm was made for the Hands 2 Help Charity Quilt Challenge over at Confessions of a Fabric Addict and will be donated to Quilty Hugs for Happy Chemo.

Natural Charm quilt
You may remember this quilt from this post. I had a lot of trouble with my machine and with thread breaks. Since I was on a deadline for my May goal, the binding was done by machine and it was GREAT! I don't know if I saved time by doing it this way (pinning took forever), but it was fun getting out of my little hand stitching box.

Fabrics: one charm pack (Love Letters Batiks by Moda) and a light neutral batik yardage from my stash.
Pattern: 9 patch with borders.
Quilting: Stippling and leaves by me on my domestic.
Size:  50 1/2" x 50 1/2"

Machine stitched binding
 
 The binding was pieced with a charm pack (Love Letters Batiks by Moda) cut in half and sewn end to end.  The binding was sewn to the back first using the double fold binding technique and then wrapped over to the front.  About a thousand pins were used to hold it in place and I picked a swirly design from the stitches on my machine to sew the binding down on the front.  That binding isn't going anywhere...lol
 
Picture taking fun
Edyta Sitar has Laundry Basket Quilts, Carla has Disc Golf Basket Quilts.  My hubby loves the sport of disc golf, so he is making his own baskets in his Duck Creek Design workshop and is building a course on our land.   Picture taking, for me, is taking on a life of it's own...
 
 
 
H2H 2013 logo
 
It's amazing what a couple of days can do for healing.  I was crushed with the troubles I had with my machine and threads on this quilt, but I'm ready to "get back in the saddle again."  I really love this quilt and am so happy to be donating it to such a great cause.
 
I am on a quest to find my perfect thread.  What thread do you use for Free Motion Quilting?  Suggestions please.  I can't quilt another one until I find a thread that works for me.
 
Thanking everyone for help,
 

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5 comments:

  1. Glinda ♥June 3, 2013 at 3:48 PM

    Oh I hate to think of you crushed :( glad it all worked out for you in the end, my friend. I only ever use Guttermann cotton (never polyester) - it's a bit fluffy and occasionally breaks but I find that happens when I move the quilt too violently or the needle needs changing, I've heard good things about Aurifil but haven't used it myself. Good luck :)

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  2. Sarah CraigJune 3, 2013 at 7:57 PM

    It's a beautiful quilt, Carla! Sure to make someone feel a lot of comfort and love. Thank you so much for participating in the challenge this year!

    As far as thread goes, be sure you are using new thread. Old thread gets fragile and can't tolerate the stress of free motion quilting (it works ok for piecing, though.) If your thread is breaking, you should try changing your needle first - a burr on your needle will break your thread. Also, check your bobbin for nicks and snags. That will also break your thread. Good luck!

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  3. KarenJune 3, 2013 at 8:04 PM

    Very pretty quilt.

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  4. Sue DaurioJune 4, 2013 at 7:45 PM

    such a great pattern. I agree with Sarah on the FMQ, those are the first things to check. I've also heard that putting the thread in the freezer for a few hours will help, although I have never tried that myself. Check how fast your are going too, see if slowing down helps. I know some threads are fussy about that. But your quilt looks great and I'm glad you worked through all the issues.

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  5. em's scrapbagJune 8, 2013 at 6:11 PM

    Received your beautiful quilt. thank you for being so generous. I know it will bring comfort to the person that receives it.

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That you would take time to comment, makes my day so much brighter!