8.10.2013

Sew Saturday ~ Scraps

In an effort to use up my scrap stash instead of just storing it I have made a second practice quilt with leftover fabric from a couple of projects.  So far only one member of my family likes it.  That's ok, it's just for me to practice my free motion quilting on.


There are still a few more scraps I plan on adding to the back.  Is it as bad as my family seems to think it is or is it just more modern than they are used to?  I don't know.  I do like the improvised piece in the bottom left.  I created that design myself.  It's probably been done before, but I've never seen it before.


Now for confession of a wanna-be quilter.  With my old machine I had a piece of tape marking the 1/4" line, and the outer edge of my presser foot was a scant 1/4".  On this new machine I didn't have tape because it has a 1/4" line on the plate.  I quickly discovered this was not accurate.  At least not for the scant 1/4" we quilters need.  I tried lining up my edge with the edge of my presser foot, but this didn't work either.  


I bought a 1/4" presser foot and lined up my fabric with the outer edge of the foot, and it still was a bit too big.  Ugh!  Even with the needle in the far right position.  I was at a local fabric store and saw this low tack bright tape and decided I was going to just mark out the 1/4" line and do it the old fashioned way that worked for me for years.

In order to get a perfect line I also got this handy ruler.  The needle fits right into the pre-drilled holes so you can be sure you are sewing accurately.  At first I thought it might be a waste of money, but I am glad I got it!


After fitting the needle into the holes I made the brilliant discovery that I had been lining up my fabric with the wrong edge of the presser foot.  I could have smacked myself in the forehead.  It seems so silly to me now. 


I was lining up with the outer edge, when I was supposed to be lining up with the edge of that long piece sticking out the front.  I wondered why it was such an odd shape.  I figured it was just to give me more sight of the fabric going in.  There is always something new to learn or learn again.   Now that I figured out the correct way to use my presser foot, I am hoping that I will have fewer struggles with having my points line up. 

Creative Blessings,
Heather North








2 comments:

mennikelly said...

Did you sneak any cat fabric in? It took me awhile to figure out the 1/4 inch mark on my older machine. Combine that with not knowing that I should trim things to size = lots of cut off points. And that bottom left corner creates some fun lines to do practice quilting! Hope you are having a wonderful evening!

Heather North said...

Actually, I was just working on one of those cat fabric pieces. Have you worked on yours yet? What would you quilt in those stripes? I'm thinking I will probably do a different pattern in each section. That will be very good practice.