Sew Oregon: Day One

Here in the great state of Oregon, 35 quilt shops are participating in the third annual Sew Oregon (http://www.seworegon.com/) from June 25 - July 9, 2009. It's been a few years since I've shop-hopped but thought it would be a fun adventure for my youngest daughter and I to do together.

Children 12 and under receive a novelty charm square from each shop and adults get a free pattern and fabric kit to make a quilt block. All the shops use coordinating fabric from "Have a Sheri Berry Holiday"--Lyndhurst Studio and have created a block featuring their "favorite ornament".

We decided to collect a fat quarter from each shop we visited and found a wonderful retro Christmas print "candy-colored christmas" by the Alexander Henry Fabric Collection. From this print we selected additional fat quarters. The fabric just happens to coordinate very nicely with the shop hop Christmas blocks. (The charm squares Hannah received are pictured 1,2,3 at the lower right-hand corner; she has project plans for those.)

So our first day out was today and we visited three shops. First was Cool Cottons at 2417 SE Hawthorne (Portland). This is where we found the Christmas print that jump-started our whole excursion. There is so much beautiful fabric in this shop and on the porch they feature bolts at $4/yard--very nice for backing a quilt. They also feature "baby bolts" (smaller lots of fabric) and several adorable sewing projects such as a bubble skirt.

Next up was Quilter's Corner at 15717 SE McLoughlin Blvd. (Milwaukie) tucked in a corner lot with other gift and children's clothing shops. Such a welcome entrance and even sweeter ladies inside. The previous owner of the shop I learned to quilt at 11 years ago now teaches classes at this shop. It was fun to see her primitive style, homespun quilts up in the shop and to smell the wonderful smell that was like coming home again.

Our last stop for the day was Canby Quilt and Fabric at 248 NW 1st Ave. (Canby). We had just been in this shop last month and the owner asked if we were going to participate in Sew Oregon. "No time" I said but...here we are!


Copyright ©2009, Sharon Baggs

Kaleidoscope Quilt

Following up on how to layer a quilt, here's how it was quilted.

I started off with stitch-in-the-ditch using Sew Art's clear monofilament nylon in the top and Presencia's 50/3 100% cotton thread (color 225--part of Jo Morton Coordinates Spice Collection) in the bobbin.


This process of quilting a grid through all the horizontal and vertical seam lines is called "anchoring" and provides a basic, minimal amount of quilting. A walking foot (or even-feed foot) is used because it is designed to "evenly feed" the three layers of the quilt under the needle. It handles the bulky work and can also be used for the next step of quilting.


With the same thread in the top and bobbin (Presencia #225), a series of arcs were quilted along the rose-colored triangles. This is referred to as "continuous curve quilting". In 1980, Barbara Johannah, published a small booklet by the same name which illustrated how to incorporate this technique on blocks featuring squares and triangles.

I used a closed toe free motion foot to quilt the continuous curve pattern; although I typically use an open toe foot, it kept getting caught in the triangle edges of this block. There was a greater amount of bulk at the center of each block so I switched back to the even feed/walking foot. For slight curves, such as cables, this foot can be used--it's not just for straight line quilting.

The third step was to stitch-in-the-ditch around the inner frame of the quilt between the block area and the green accent border using the monofilament/cotton combo. I used matching Presencia thread to stitch between the aqua and the green and again between the outside border rose print and the aqua.


Lastly, I used medium green Presencia thread to freehand quilt an oak leaf design continuously around the outside border. There is an oak leaf printed on the rose fabric so I looked at the curve of the leaf to adapt my basic leaf design to look like an oak leaf. There was no marking on the quilt so I had to gauge the spacing between each leaf and pay attention to the corners. An alternative for quilting the border would be a straight line design such as channel quilting--three lines 1/4" apart with a 2" gap between the next three lines, for example. Because the print is busy, these leaves aren't too visible so lines are a good option.


After quilting is complete, check the corners with a square ruler and trim the edges even around the perimeter of the quilt. I basted 1/8" from the edge this time--not always--but now it is ready for binding.

Copyright ©2009, Sharon Baggs

Layering and basting a quilt

When it comes to layering and basting a quilt together to prepare it for machine quilting, there are several ways to approach the task. I've used different techniques including spray basting, pinning to the floor, etc., but my standard method is using an oblong table. This procedure is explained and illustrated further in Harriet Hargrave's Heirloom Machine Quilting--4th Ed.

The first step in putting it all together is to turn your quilt top over and clip all the loose threads from the back, making sure your seam lines are pressed to one side or open, with no flipped seams that will add bulk. If you plan to stitch-in-the-ditch, always press seams to one side in the piecing process. Press both sides of the top and use a bit of spray starch if desired. If your backing fabric has a seam, press it open and starch the entire backing for smooth quilting.

Mark the center edge of the two short sides of the table with either a toothpick, safety pin, or button; tape over the top. Fold the backing fabric and mark the center edge with a safety pin. With the fabric wrong side up, lay the backing down on the table, matching the safety pin to the toothpick on the table.

Use large office clips to secure the backing fabric to the table top. The fabric should be taut but not stretched off grain.

Use as many clips as necessary to secure the backing fabric to the table top. Smooth out any wrinkles and re-clip if you see any waves in the fabric. The center clip on both ends of the table should clamp over the toothpick.

Fold the batting to find the center and lay it over the backing, matching the center fold with the tootpick (you can't see it but you can feel it). Smooth out the batting over the clamped backing.

Put the top over the batting, matching the centers. It's a good idea to cut your batting piece about 2-4" larger than the quilt top--this is a bit close here so be careful to give yourself what you need.

Be sure your pins don't get in the way of your quilting foot. My quilting plan is to first stitch-in-the-ditch through all the horizontal and vertical seams; next I will free motion a continuous curve through the rose colored triangles (this could actually be accomplished with a walking foot because of the slight curve and it can also help get over any bulky seams where the triangles meet). Therefore, I pinned the aqua and light green triangles so it will hold secure and my walking foot or free motion foot will clear the pins.

Begin pinning from the center out. Once you have pinned everything on the surface, unclamp the backing. Smooth out one side and pin out to the border; repeat with the other three sides. After stitching-in-the-ditch and forming a grid of stitch lines your quilt is now anchored. If necessary, some of the pins can be removed without worry of shifting the layers.

Copyright ©2009, Sharon Baggs

Chevron Lines--Quick and Classic

Having taught students how to quilt simple line designs on samplers, the chevron line design is one I've always wanted to use on a full scale quilt. Recently, I was contacted to quilt this top for a man who is a Denver Broncos fan...this is a birthday gift from his wife. For a strip quilt such as this, chevron lines are classic, masculine, and fairly easy to quilt.

Strip quilts can be somewhat challenging to square up because there isn't a corner block to work off of. Measure it through the top, middle, and bottom both vertically and horizontally with a 120" tape measure to get it right. I used my 12" square acrylic ruler and a metal T-square to check the corners.

To mark the top, I used a Clover white chalk wheel and a 6" x 24" acrylic ruler. The chalk does stay on fairly well through the quilting. It's easy to remark when necessary and rubs out when you want it to.

First I chalked a line 1/2" in from the edge around the perimeter of the quilt--this is the quilting edge that will be covered by binding eventually but I use it as a guide to quilt to. I can move beyond this line a few stitches to travel to the next quilting line without having to stop and start a new line of quilting.

Next, line up the 45 degree angle of the acrylic ruler on the chalked quilting line and begin marking a line from the top left corner. Keep the ruler on the line and mark the next line, 1-1/2" away.

It really doesn't matter when you decide to change directions and make a point that meets at the quilting edge, but I found the center and then ended up marking it off-set a bit which looked fine. With that kind of freedom, you really can't go wrong. No need to worry about an exact fit as with some grids, this design works even if you decide on 1" or 2" spaced lines.

Using 1" stainless steel safety pins, keep them horizontal with the chalked lines. The quilting is done with a walking foot so there is room for the foot to clear the pins. A sufficient number of pins will prevent puckering and distortion that can occur when quilting long lines; unfortunately this problem is difficult to hide on solid fabrics so keep the pins in as you quilt.

This quilt has Quilter's Dream 100% cotton batting, which I presoaked and dried in the dryer because the quilt fabric had been prewashed. My client wanted the thread to match--navy on navy and orange on orange. The backing was navy so the tricky part was to balance the thread tension so I didn't get pop-ups from the navy bobbin thread while quilting the orange. I quilted several rows on a practice swatch, made adjustments and the tension was balanced. There were a lot of starts and stops but keeping dedicated to 1/4" of small stitches (8-10) at the beginning and end of a quilting line keeps everything secure. Then bury those threads, rather than snip them at the surface. I used a quality thread, Presencia 50/3.

Copyright ©2009, Sharon Baggs