Wednesday, March 23

Post-it Quilt

I never think a lot about a quilt before I start one. Don't want to do calculations of how much yards or fat quarters I need. So I just start and reckon that if I need more fabrics I can always order more, right? Wrong!

I started on this Fat Quarterly Quilt Along Quilt last year intending to make it larger than the 36 by 36 inch it is now. Because I wanted to use a lot of different fabrics (from my stash) I thought the blocks at least needed to have the same center to add a little consistency to the 'design' (beside the colour pink). So I chose a cute yellow with white dot fabric of which I had a quarter yard. That clearly was not enough to cater for a larger quilt.  And I couldn't find any more of this particular fabric either! Also, on second thought (after I already had made several blocks) I thought that the little yellow squares looked a lot like little post-it notes. So I'm calling this the Post-it Quilt. It's also a bit wonky (seams of the blocks don't match in the rows) and I definitely have to re-sew the bottom row to the one above that too. I'm  not really 'Quilter of the Year' material am I? But all in all I think it still looks kind of cute (for a wonky quilt)

Now I also have a question for all of  you that are more experienced quilters.

In quilting 1/4 of an inch is the usual seam allowance when you make blocks etc. This is the foot on my machine. On the front it has these three red marks. Instead of aligning my fabric to the red mark on the right I use the inside of the foot. It works for me but I was wondering if that is the normal thing to do?

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7 comments:

  1. Little Bluebell (Adrianne)23 March 2011 at 14:47

    Morning Nicole. How fun to see your quilt along quilt. It's looking good! The yellow center squares do look like post it notes. : )

    My foot doesn't have those cool marks. I use the right, outside edge of my foot as a guide. On my machine I can move the needle from side to side to adjust the seam allowance.

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  2. Melanie23 March 2011 at 16:27

    I'm more a wonky sewer than an experienced one--I often use the inside of my presser foot as a guide, like you do. I find it's pretty hard to see what I'm doing, though. I haven't found a way yet to adjust my needle to the right, so that I could use the markings on my foot and machine.

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  3. Cate Lindsey23 March 2011 at 16:28

    None of my machine feet have those marks, and I do as you do, I use the edge of the prong on the foot as my 1/4" guide. But I'm wondering if those red marks are zig-zag guides?

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  4. Georgia23 March 2011 at 22:45

    I love your post-it quilt! You're inspiring me to do one just like it - and that is a difficult thing to do in this 'not interested in sewing' time I'm going through!

    My 1/4 inch foot is different to that. It has a little blade looking thingy on one side that you run down the edge of your fabric -http://www.janome.com.au/sewing_accessory_1.php?aid=200-330-008&gid=1/4%20Inch%20Seam%20Foot

    The thing to do is find sone grpah paper with 1/4 inch markings - I know, not easy to do when we use the metric system for everything - then sew on the graph paper, adjusting your stitch width 9even though a straight stitch has no 'width' it moves the needle from side to side) until you are sewing on the 1/4 inch mark.
    I tried printing out some graph paper from online once - but it wasn't accurate, so test it with your ruler first if you do that.

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  5. Nicole Follow the White Bunny24 March 2011 at 13:54

    Thank you all for your feedback on my 1/4 of inch problem. I'm now beginning to wonder if I have the right foot on my machine because apparently I'm the only one with those marks on it (it's a husqvarna machine). All the feet I have have letters on them to identify what they are for so I will check just to be sure. I think I'll just keep on using the inner side of the foot as guide for now. :)

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  6. Crafty Maine Mom25 March 2011 at 13:07

    I was going to suggest that you keep using the foot you are using at least till you finish any current projects. i broke a foot and had to switch foots in the middle of a project and didn't make sure my seam allowance was the same for both. I had to do a lot of work to get it to sit flat.

    Good Luck.

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  7. Chelley3 April 2011 at 04:42

    I don't know about your red marks, but I sure do love your quilt! It's so cute!

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