We are our own worse critic
We are our own worst critics. So often I begin a project with fabrics that look well together when laying alongside one another and only after the quilt is finished do I wonder “what was I thinking”? Honestly, this happens with every quilt with the exception of 2. You cant go wrong with a 2 color quilt.. The other, the whole time I was piecing it my nose was curled and I questioned myself. It was only after the top was completed that I truly appreciated the colors and placement.
If fabric choices arent tough enough, what about piecing? Perhaps the lines dont exactly meet, we have all had this happen. One of my sisters will tell me, “if you didnt point it out I wouldnt have noticed or no one will notice but you”. That is reasuring as long as it takes my husband to walk into the room. He has an eye for noticing those little mistakes that “no one will notice”, lol. He has noticed things that I as the assembler did not see.
We have all at one point fudged a seam. We have either neatly puckered or stretched a seamline to make the points meet. Ideally we dont want to do that but the thought of ripping out all those stitches is so depressing. More often than not the problem isnt with the piece you are stitching, it may be several seams ago or several blocks ago and when you start ripping seams you may undo more than half of what you have completed before you find the issue. Two words, paper piecing. With traditional piecing there is very liitle room for error. With paper piecing, as long as you position your fabrics correctly, stitch on the line and match your points when joining blocks you will spend your time stitching instead of ripping. With paper piecing you can see where you went wrong before it’s too late.
Remember Elmers washable school glue? Turns out it is good for more than coating your fingers to watch it dry and peel off so you can admire your fingerprints. If you place a tiny dot of glue inside the 1/4″ seam allowance then dry with an iron you will discover you have fewer shifting pieces. The number of dots to place really depends on the length of the seam you are stitching. For a patch that is 3″ long you could get by with 2 dots. Stay at least 1/2″ away from corners and within the 1/4″ seam allowance. The size of the dot…well grab a sharpie fine tip permanent marker and lightly place a dot on a piece of paper. Thats about the amount of glue, A little bit larger than a period on this page. If you are paper piecing and the paper gets stuck to the fabric, keep a damp rag nearby. Touch just the glued area with your rag and the paper will be released.
Things to always keep in mind if using the glue.
1. Always stay at least 1/2″ away from corners. The glue does add some extra bulk and you will want to avoid seams that will go from 2 layers of fabric to 4 or more layers. Your longarmer will not like you or you will not like yourself when you hit one of these already thick seams made bulkier by glue. 2 layers of fabrc with a tiny dot of glue will not bog down or stop the quilting machine.
2. Always apply the glue within the seam allowance and a very small dot. You will know if you applied too much glue when you are turing your pieces. The glue will spread out and too much will run into your stitch line. A damp rag will release the glue or if its not a lot you can gently pull the fabrick apart.
3. Make sure the glue is dry before running thru your machine. If it is not dry and you have not kept it within your seam allowance it will get on and dry on the needle. If the glue is dry it will not gum up your needle.
Pattern above quilt by :http://www.getasquiltingstudio.com/ Very clear and easy to follow pattern.