Thursday, August 14, 2008

What's wrong with this picture?

- well, maybe not so much with the picture as with the pictured quilt, I suppose. Looks slightly curved, right? It was. Not just slightly, but extremely! Usually when sewing strips together I measure, mark with pins on both pieces, match up the pins and sew - to the amazement of some of my quilting friends: "you have a Pfaff with dual feed - it pulls top and bottom layers along at the same speed, so there will be no stretching anyway, so there's no need to pin", they kept telling me. Not true.
For once I decided to silence that inner voice whispering "pin, pin, pin" and just stitched my strips happily together, just trimming the bottom after I had finished stitching. When I put the finished (I thought) top on the floor for a photoshoot, I noticed it didn't look quite right, but I just thought I hadn't ironed it properly. When I picked it up and tried to fold it, however, I knew I was in trouble. One side was definitely longer than the other. Much longer. 8 inches longer. Yes, it's true! I had thought that there might be a slight pulling out of shape here, but 8 inches??? I measured again, with the same result. Back to the drawing board, or rather, get the seam ripper! Sigh. But it had to be done.
So that's what I was busy doing yesterday. I ripped all the long seams, measured each and every strip, recut, marked with pins, pinned to the previous strip and stitched again. Not the most exciting job I've ever had, but it had to be done! So here we are. Much happier now, and I have learned my lesson. I'll remember to listen to that inner voice in future. Measure twice, cut once, and all that... I do realize that my problem was not due to a faulty dual feed. But when sewing narrow strips like that together it is inevitable that they get pulled a bit too much before going under that dual feed. But, never mind (I wasn't quite so easygoing about it yesterday - you might have learned a few new words...), I'm back in the right lane again now, and can say yet again that it is going swimmingly...
I'll be back with auditions for the Sunflower Quilt tomorrow - I'll be grateful for some input on that one!

5 comments :

Joyce said...

I read in a book on Bargello that you have to sew each strip in the opposite direction to prevent pulling to one side. It's a lot easier to sew them all the same way so the smaller piece is on the top but that's not how they did it. I didn't enjoy the bit of Bargello I did so I can't confirm this theory. Probably measuring and pinning is best in the long run.

Tine said...

AAAAK! That must have been so horrible to rip all those seams!! But it looks so wonderful! I LOVE the thin green strips, and this is without a doubt the best way of showing large prints I have seen ;-)
Great job!

That's good advice, though, sewing each thin strip in opposite directions. I'll have to remeber that! -like I'm ever going to work with thin strips. LOL!

I like the picture of the pool, and how it has the same "layout" as the picture of your quilt :-)

Lily Boot said...

that's incredible! 8 inches! I'd have been seething! :-) But aside from that - it's gorgeous colours. I too have to pin pin pin 'cause I tend to pull and tug.

Threadspider said...

Sometimes you wish that inner voice would just be quiet, but it' s usually right. Glad everything is back on track now.

cathleen said...

Love these colors together. No quilt is perfect and yours is lovely....I don't think the quilt police will be showing up at your door any time soon!