Cathedral window quilt tutorials and tips

Thanks for everyones comments on my quilt. To answer some questions, there is more then one way to make this quilt. I tried two versions, Version 1 found here was the one that worked well for me. I used the same scale of block as this version but I did adapt it slightly and hand stitched the points on the underside to keep them together and create a sharper point. A few stitches will do, its just to ensure the point stays put when you begin folding the window.



Once that was done I did a temporary stitch to hold the 2 seperate window points together before I sewed on the windows. This not only kept everything in place,I found that it helped anchor the point when folding the curved edge. This lead to a cleaner finish, and if you make sure the knot is on the top of the fabric it will make the stiches much easier to remove afterward...tweezers help with this.



The other version was to fold to block in half and chain stitch these before folding as per this tutorial. This didnt appeal to me as I found the seams bulky, even once clipped, and therefore the corners were always a little bulky. Also, when the square was created, the seams quite often were off and difficult to match up and the whole block became very creased when you had to turn the square. So this method didnt really save time like I first thougfht it might. Advantages to using this method however, is that it used slightly less fabric and that the two peices of fabric on the underside of the point were already sewn together, but its personal preference. I just found adapting version 1 a lot neater for the end result.

Also, it may seam obvious but use a hot iron, preferably with steam. As hot as you can get away with, I used an old cereal box for my template and it coped well with the heat , but irons vary so test what heat works well for you, and using steam really helps make those points sharp.

I wish I'd known all of these tips before I began, so I hope they will help if you decide to make one, they definitely make a difference because I could see a definate improvement in my points towards the end of the quilt.

Have a nice weekend xxx

Photos of my cathedral window quilt - advice needed

Hello strangers! I've seen some lovely work from you all on your blogs recently, I thought Id contribute and show you some of my latest buys and makes.



First up, I bought this little stash recently, I was going to make the entire quilt from these fabrics but I'm not sure it would have been interesting enough, so I decided to choose just a few and be good and use up my scraps, it turns out its an ideal scrapbusting project as I only have a few scraps left. Since I started making it back in January, I have seen these cathedral window quilts crop up all over blogland, so im sure your probably sick of seein them by now. Here is the finished quilt:



Now heres where I need some advice. Do you think I need to use some buttons to hide my less then perfect points?



My husband also thinks it needs binding, what do you think?



Iv not seen any with binding on but I think it might be a bit too much, what do you think? Im pretty pleased with the overall result, it uses up and AWFUL lot of fabric though!, but by the time I was on my last row, I think I got the hang of those pesky points.



Here is a photo of how the quilting on the back came out, I thought I'd include it as I havnt seen many pictures of the back and I really like the design its made:



Now thats completed I need to get my teeth into something new, so I borrowed these books from my local library:



I havnt had the chance to look at them yet but I'm looking forward to getting inspired.


xxx

My new kitchen

Let me open with first showing you a picture of our new kitchen. I've been waiting for a nice enough day to take a picture but the pictures still dont do it justice. The first one is slightly darker so you can see the exact shade of blue we chose for the splashback. This room was a knock through from the kitchen to the dining room. Its now one big room that gets used all the time.

This next picture dosnt do the glass splashback justice, but it captures how bright the room is now.



You can just see where the old wall was next to the door to divide up the dining room and kitchen. I particularly love all our integrated utilities, everything is hidden has clean lines, and easily wipeable surfaces (our old kitchen has all these little grooves in the cupbaords which were a pain to keep clean). The full sized fridge and seperate full sized freezer are brilliant...no more running out into the garage to store things in the spare freezer.:



..and this is the dining area, formally the dining room which was never used and became many other rooms including a gym and at one point a pole dancing room which is another story all together!.. finally it became my sewing room, which has now been moved upsatirs to the spare bedroom.



The best part about all this extra room is being able to baste my king size quilts on the floor!


x

Pfaff Quilt Expression 4 - my new machine.

Squeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeee!!! Iv only gone and got a new sewing machine.... already!!!! and it all happened on Saturday!- My husband woke up saying that he was thinking about my sewing machine dilemma and wanted to offer me a deal.. If I let him go on a golf holiday with his friend for a week, the machine is mine!!!! (also that he was sick of me going on and on about it...the power of persuasion people!!!)

So, Saturday morning I went out and tried the Janome Horizon and sadly was left a bit deflated, The stitches seemed to be straight but then id get an odd jagged stitch and they would go back to being straight. It was like the machine foot wasnt grabby enough and the dealer didnt respond when I mentioned it. I cant stress the importance of feeling confident with your sewing machine dealer as Im sure the Horizon does some great things but on first impressions, I didnt like the dial and the man in the shop didnt really know much about the machine as he kept having to call his collegue on the phone, he also didnt have a Janome 6600 in to test, but did have the Elna equivilent which wasnt what I was after so I left a little unenthusiastic.

Unable to find a dealer selling a 6600 elsewhere, that afternoon, I went to another dealer and tried out both the Bernina 440QE and the Pfaff quilt expression 4. This was a much better experience, and a much busier shop! I explained my concerns about all the bad reviews I had read about the Quilt expression 4 and she completely put my mind at rest, she said that both the Bernina and the Pfaff machines were great in different ways and that it was really dependant on what features were more important to me and how well I got on with the machine. I was told to forget about what everyone else says and just see which one I got on with better. I asked what the biggest problem she encountered with the Quilt expression line were and she said that it was people using the wrong thread and most problems were down to user error. Both sewed beautifully, The Bernina was a little quieter, but both were smooth and there were a lot more features to show off on the Pfaff where as the only real selling point (for me) on the Bernina was the BSR, which, although very cool, would still produce jagged stitches if I didnt move the fabric smoothly - like any other machine, the only difference being that the stitches would just be consistant in length, and ofcourse not having a lot of throat space was a major turn off for me as I predominantly wanted a new machine for throat space.


The Pfaff however IS all that and a bag of chips!. It can be programmed so that not only does it automatically tie off at the end, it also snips your threads AND raises the presser foot...very cool! Plus, I dont have to fiddle about with a seperate walking foot because if the Intregrated dual feed. The machine was also down to £1129 but we managed to shave off another £29 by haggling. ( The Bernina was £1500 and you wont find a new one cheaper as there are never any offers on.)

A big plus point is that as well as a whole host of feet included with the machine, it came with a free quilting box which has a quilting table, quarter inch foot, straight stitch needle plate and spring free motion quilting foot.(and a hard cover and a big bag on wheels were also included in the price) All the problems I had read about the machine eating fabric and the supplied quarter inch foot causing problems were solved with the contents of this toolbox so I assume Pfaff had received word of this and have started to include the toolbox in the price.

The same dealer had both machines so she said it made no difference to her which one I bought so I felt like she was able to give me impartial advice without feeling like she was giving me the hard sell. She also told me she would give me a free lesson if I needed one.

I will definitely write a review on this machine in six months when I've used it for a while. Its so difficult to find genuine reviews in cyberspace..I tend to ignore reviews on sites that have very few posts on a forum and tend to go with bloggers who’ve given the machine enough chance.

So far, I have played with free motion- which have produced much better results then my old brother machine. It is so true that some machines are easier to free motion with then others. I did experience bearding at one point but worked out that its because the machine did not like sewing through old easycare bed sheets and much prefers 100% cotton. (Iv read that if you send a quilt off to be quilted professionally they wont accept backings made of this either, so this would make sence.) Another problem was thread breakage which I sort of expected as it was poor quality polyester thread I got free with my old machine. This was easily solved by switching threads, and I had success with both the polyester and cotton threads by coats.

The machine itself is easy to use, the only thing that they could change is to mark on the machine if my feed dogs are lowered or raised as there is no icon next to the switch- the manual just says move to the right- and you cant just tell by looking at the feed dogs as the difference is very slight, but Im sure Ill get the hang of that one....Oh and the lights they get quite hot when im threading the needle.

Right, well, Im off to play with the fancy stitches and order some fabric to celebrate :-)
x
***for my 6 month review on this machine please clear here.***

Warning: Fabric diets are bad for you.

Officials (i.e me) have confirmed a fabric diet is bad for you. Perhaps I just didnt know when to stop, perhaps I didnt have enough to start dieting in the first place, but running out of my basics means I now have to stock up on these staples rather then splash out on something a bit more special, and that list of special fabrics is beginning to grow...fast.

All the time Im not sewing, Im helping myself to goodies from the treat cupboard, granted, I'm curling up with sewing books so Im learning lots but I'm also a lot colder, all that pressing fabric keeps me warm you know!

Starting my diet before Christmas wasnt such a good idea, as the money I may have saved from not buying fabric was getting spent on Christmas, rather then getting put into savings, which is what I should have done instead but I always go OTT at Christmas!

I also failed to plan for the unexpected...I decided I wanted, no, needed a new sewing machine, but I seem to have.. whats the expression - champagne taste but lemonade money.

I'm looking at a few different models and have made a spreadsheet of all my requirements and have narrowed it down to:

Bernina Aurora 440QE -(but the throat space, expensive accessories and lots of tlc the machine needs has put me off somewhat)

Pfaff Quilt Expression 4 -(which seems to have everything I want but has terrible reviews all over the web),

Janome Horizon - which I think is probably what I want most but the...

Janome Memory Craft 6600 - is probably what I will end up getting, as its more affordable then the Horizon and has many wonderful reviews.

So, new sewing machine or new fabric?. Im trying to achieve both but I'm finding it hard as patience was never my strong point... I have 3 projects on the go at once, but I have half the materials for each of them so am unable to actually finish any of them! and its not looking likely that I can start finishing them until the beginning of March....I hope all the saving for the machine will be worth it, I should hopefully be able to get it in August with a little help from my husband:-)

Quilting is definitely not a cheap hobby, but while I havnt been able to craft as much, I have been drowning myself in books and blogs, taking in inspiration and drafting out ideas. I'm also stocking up on equipment and notions and discovering new things that will help me all the time so I guess its not be all bad but I certainly wouldnt turn my nose up at a lottery win right now!

Where can I get a pastel Pink mini Iron for pressing applique?

I know I've seen one on someones blog ages ago saying they bought one for this purpose, It was pastel pink and kind of retro looking. I want one and google has been no help! and I cant rememeber whos blog it was.. If you have one or know where to get one please comment xx

Happy new year!

I am feeling pretty positive about this coming year. In the past I have felt a little blue after Christmas but I'm not feeling that way this year. The kitchen is almost done (I will show pictures when its fully finished.) The conservatory is being built as I type and I have a holiday to look forward to in May. My little boy should be coming out of the terible twos as well which is the thing I am most looking forward to! (hes a little handful but I love him to bits)





These were my secret santa gifts. I want to say a huge THANKYOU to Alison from hillandvale.blogspot.com for sending me such thoughtful gifts. The picture is minus the two candycanes for the children which they have since devoured but amazingly I have still managed to hold on to the chocolate!! I love it all especially the fabric (which I have been dying to get hold of) and the pins. Alison very thoughtfully gave a cute egg cosy to my son and a little mirror for my little girl aswell. You are so kind- thankyou..and I look forward to reading your blog :-)

Look what arrived today:



My first lot of fabric of 2011. I have a VERY important project up ahead of me. My sister has asked me to make her a quilt as a wedding present, she is getting married in 2012 so I have quite a while to think about the design. I'm also hoping to get a sewing machine upgrade this year so that will hopefully meen I can make the finish look a little more professional, and I have plenty of time to practice. If anyone sees a wonderful quilt design that screams "wedding quilt" please let me know. My sister is very specific in her likes so its a huge risk and I really hope she likes the end result.

xx