9 for 2009: #2

Finally tackled the UFO pile to complete another quilt for 2009. This one called Heart Puzzle is a wholecloth quilt with colorful hearts on a black background. The other side is a loopy print on a solid yellow fabric, which I consider the right side of the quilt because it really shows off the quilting.




A view of the back folded over the front of the quilt.

I used a stencil called "heart puzzle" (EL5) for the design. When I started the quilting, I drew the design onto Golden Threads quilting paper, stitched through it, then tore it away. When I resumed the quilting several months later, I used a blue washable marker to draw the design on. Finally, as I finished the quilt these past two weeks, I freehand quilted the remainder, having learned the basic line elements of the design.

I sewed on a blue binding and then added echo quilting around the outer edge where there needed a bit more quilting. I like the edges to have enough dense quilting to hold up to tugging and daily wear and tear. The thread used was Superior's Perfect Quilter, a 30/3 cotton.

Copyright 2009, Sharon Baggs

Denim Quilt 95" x 108"

Molly pieced this quilt top over the years from old jeans she had worn. She asked me to fix it and quilt it. The 'fixing' part required getting the seams as flat as possible by pressing them open and trimming away all the extra stuff on the inside of the quilt. This included zippers, white pocket linings and additional denim fabric that could be removed from inside the quilt top.

I removed the outside border and trimmed it even before reattaching it with 40 wt. white cotton thread. These seams were pressed toward the outside border.

Superior Threads King Tut (Color 976-Olde Golde), a #40/3-ply extra-long staple Egyptian-grown cotton was used for the quilting. It looks just like the thread on jeans and this meandering stitch was a good choice for an all-over design. When the quilting was complete, I had used up most of the 2,000 yd. cone of thread.

Nine yards of Sachet Flannels II by Marcus Fabrics was used for the backing fabric. Hobbs Heirloom 80/20 was used for batting and produced a nice, flat feel. There were virtually no folds or puckers on the back. Ya-hoo!!!

Because Molly incorporated many patches with pockets and name brands, the quilt has lots of interesting variations. The denim colors range from light to very dark.

I regularly had to adjust the presser foot pressure gauge on my Bernina 153, turning it to a higher setting when approaching the added height at an impending seam. After going over the seam, the pressure was readjusted to a lower setting; otherwise, the needle skipped stitches.

Random strips of denim were sewn together to form the border framing the quilt. After stitching in the ditch between the quilt and the border, I quilted a wavy curled design around the perimeter (Stencil #119, 2" border with corner).

A lightweight denim was used to bind the quilt. I avoided using a stretch denim so there would be crisp corners and no distortion.

This was definitely the biggest and bulkiest quilt I have tackled on my domestic machine. And yet here's proof it was possible to quilt it. The process was enjoyable too, but the best part was giving it back to Molly, whose determination to get this quilt finished was an inspiration to me.

Copyright 2009, Sharon Baggs

Fabric Color Touch-Ups

A flaw in fabric can be noticeable and unsightly, particularly solids. This occurs from the manufacturing process or a safety pin causes a snag. There's a quick way to fix this problem.


Choose a permanent marker or fabric marker that matches the fabric and use a light touch, being careful to immediately cap the pen. Here I've used a fine line brown marker for touch up.

These markers can also be used to tint thread pop-ups if the bobbin thread is a light color. If you use a medium or dark shade of thread in the bobbin the pop-ups will show.

Copyright ©2009, Sharon Baggs

Kaleidoscope Quilt: Take 2

Here's another look at the Kaleidoscope quilt block, made by the same quiltmaker but with slightly different color placement than the previous Kaleidoscope Quilt.

This time we decided to stitch-in-the-ditch through all the block seams and add a small feathered design to fill the 2" outer border.

I began with stitching through all the horizontal and vertical seam lines between all the blocks. This is my usual first step in anchoring a quilt before proceeding with any additional quilting.

Using Sew Art smoke colored nylon monofilament in the top and Presencia brown (color #226) in the bobbin for the anchor quilting, I used the same combination to stitch a ditch pattern. There is no set direction to this--just find a logical path and go for it. I decided to quilt vertically down from the top. On each block I made four passes to finish the ditch quilting. I started at the top, turned at the bottom and ended a line of stitching at the top.

I used a walking foot for the ditch quilting. If you want to avoid turning the quilt and you've become very comfortable with ditch quilting, try using your free motion foot for this step. It's easier and more convenient than you might think, especially for a larger quilt.

Here's a view from the back:


With the ditch quilting of the blocks completed, I quilted around the inside and outside edge of the blue accent strip using matching thread.

For the outer border, I chose a stencil (EK53 2" Ripple Border) that fit the space. I marked it with the Clover fine line white marker which resembles a gel pen. After marking it takes a few seconds for the white mark to appear.

Always test markers on the fabric to make sure it will remove. After a quick rinse the lines have faded. A gentle warm wash with Orvus Paste should remove the ink (See Washing a Quilt).

Copyright ©2009, Sharon Baggs