October OMG is Finished: Deco Custom Quilting (Substantially) Finished, Off the Frame

I've finished my OMG (One Monthly Goal) for October, three and a half weeks early!  I am as shocked as YOU are!  My entire 102" x 102" Deco bed quilt (pattern by Lo & Behold Stitchery, available on Etsy here) is now completely stitched in the ditch and all of the digital designs have been quilted as well.  (This post contains affiliate links).  I took one last photo in the Garish Yellow Quilt Studio as I was taking my quilt off the frame:

My 102 x 102 Deco Bed Quilt is Off the Frame!

Now that Deco is off the frame, I can start packing up all of my long arm quilting tools and supplies and Bernie and I can disassemble the frame and pack everything up for our upcoming move back to North Carolina.  However, although I completed what I set out to do on this quilt for this month, the quilt is not yet 100% quilted.  According to the batting manufacturer, I have more than enough quilting to hold the quilt together, but it's uneven quilting in that the digital quilting areas are quilted more densely, with lines of stitching much closer together, than the pieced blocks that are only stitched along seam lines between contrasting fabric patches.  It has always been my intention to complete this quilt with additional quilting in the pieced blocks.  However, it's "quilted enough" for me to feel comfortable taking it off the frame, folding it up, and packing it in a box for our move.

All SID (Stitch In the Ditch) + Digital Quilting Completed

My original plan was to reload this quilt on my long arm machine at the other end of the move to quilt the pieced blocks with decorative ruler work and free motion quilting, but then I got to thinking about how I've always wanted to play around with combining machine quilting and hand quilting on the same project, in different thread weights.  

Y'all who come here often know I have a split personality when it comes to my sewing projects, with Rebecca Jeckyll advocating for slow stitching with a hand needle while  Rebecca Hyde is getting all excited about computer gewgaws.  I'm feeling inspired by how Cassandra Beaver combines machine quilting with hand quilting in her art quilt pieces (see examples of that in her blog posts for Bernina's We All Sew here and here), and I'm itching to experiment with something similar.  

Planning Future Hand Quilting for Pieced Blocks

So, recording my thoughts here for Future Rebecca, who is liable to have Fuzzy Brain Syndrome when she emerges from the fog of an interstate move: I would want a very clear distinction between the hand and machine quilting so it looks very intentional.  Whereas invisible monofilament thread was used for the SID quilting and a very lightweight 50 wt matte So Fine polyester thread was used for the digital quilting designs, I'm thinking of a much heavier weight thread, like 28 or 12 wt, in lustrous cotton Aurifil threads that contrast with and stand out against the fabrics I'm stitching on.  This will be "big stitch" straight line quilting with a few simple embroidery stitches in the mix as I've sketched out above (you might have to zoom in to see it).  Then again, another option I have would be to do some of this quilting on my B990 regular sewing machine with the heavier weight threads, either instead of or in addition to hand quilting.  All I know for sure is that the thought of reloading this quilt to do any more quilting on the long arm fills me with dread, but the thought of "decorating" it with hand stitching feels like it might be lots of fun, and also probably against the Quilt Police rules, which would make it even more fun.  The only thing making me hesitate is remembering how long it took me to hand quilt a little lap quilt project a couple decades ago.  I do want this quilt to be finished someday, after all!

Stonefields Stagnates

Meanwhile, Stonefields: When last I wrote about this sampler quilt project, I felt like I needed to trim my completed appliqué blocks down to the 6 1/2" (unfinished) size of the pieced blocks so I can get a better idea of how the sampler is coming together.  I also didn't want to save all of the trimming to the very end because, in all honesty, I am TERRIFIED that when I trim the blocks down I will have a sliding ruler rotary cutting mishap that destroys all of the hard work that went into prepping and stitching these blocks.  And then I remembered that I have this Adjustable Perfect Square contraption that I bought from Karen Kay Buckley at her applique workshop, designed to aid in this very task:

Karen Kay Buckley's Adjustable Perfect Square Kit, 6 1/2" Inside Window

I think I used this once before, to trim the appliqué blocks for my Jingle quilt a couple years ago.  The challenge is that appliqué is dimensional by nature, some of it more so than others if you have elements like stuffed berries, ruching, trapunto, etc in your work.  If you just plop a square ruler on top of a quilt block with three dimensional appliqué, your ruler is only touching the appliqué pieces like they are islands in the middle of the sea, and the background block fabric around the edges of the block where you need to trim have no contact with the ruler and move all over on you while you are cutting.  In Jean Sullivan's book she recommends making a windowed template similar to this out of something called "illustration board" that can be purchased at art stores.  You'd have to measure and draft the inner and outer squares in relation to your block size, carefully cut it out with an Xacto knife, and make a new one for every new project with a different block size.

So Karen Kay Buckley's innovation was to make a reusable ruler version out of acrylic pieces that snap together like a jigsaw puzzle, adjustable for many different block sizes.  The only problem is that the instructions tell you how to put the pieces together and take them apart, but there are no indepth instructions as to how to get from the photo above to an actual trimmed block.  Obviously we are not using a rotary cutter on the INSIDE opening of the square.

I did try to find you all a link to somewhere you could purchase the KKB Adjustable Perfect Square set online, but I came up empty handed.  It was pricey at the time, maybe $75 before the class discount -- typical of anything that is custom manufactured for a small business with a niche market like this.  I'm guessing that the Adjustable Square set might not have sold as well as some of Karen's other products like Perfect Circle templates and Perfect Scissors, and whoever bought out Karen's business when she retired decided not to continue making this product.  However, if you do a lot of appliqué I think it's worth keeping an eye out for a used set to show up at a guild boutique sale or on Sew It's For Sale.  Just check that all of the pieces are included before purchasing as you won't be able to get replacements for any that are missing.

Notes for Future Rebecca, gleaned from checking multiple appliqué reference books in my personal library:

• Jean Sullivan recommends to wash the blocks first, either handwashing and line dry or machine washing on the handwash cycle in a mesh lingerie bag and then line dry, prior to trimming.  Yuck, I don't wanna, but I probably should to get the glue and starch out and definitely the time to do it is NOW while the edges are protected from fraying by the serger overcasting...  But then I'll lose my crease marks (Jeanne says to mark reference lines with running stitches that wouldn't wash out), and also did I mention that I don't wanna wash my blocks right now?
• Once dry, multiple sources recommend pressing the blocks wrong side up, on top of a fluffy white bath towel.  Jeanne goes a step further, advising the use of a layer of white T-shirt knit on top of the towel, as well as topping the block with a Color Catcher sheet misted with (I think) spray sizing.  The idea is that the Color Catcher would grab any loose dye that might be in the embroidery thread of an embellished block, and you want the appliqué face down on the towel so the dimensional appliqué sinks into the terry pile instead of getting flattened by the iron.  Sizing or steam or whatever is supposed to assist with coaxing the block back into square if any distortion occurred during hand stitching.  Hmm.  Even if I don't wash the blocks now, I still should probably press them before trimming them.
• Oh, just thought of one point in favor of washing now: I'd get to see and evaluate the post-washing changes to those experimental appliqué blocks that I stitched by machine.  Do the needle holes close up as expected?  Do the appliqué edges remain flattened or do they puff up a little after laundering?  I still don't wanna wash them right now, with boxes and wrapping strewn all over and 32 days until the moving truck comes...
• Okay, now back to the Adjustable Square tool: I think it will work best if I use it as a tool to mark a cutting line that I will actually cut with scissors rather than trying to trim the appliqué blocks with a rotary cutter.  My Bohin mechanical chalk pencil will make a fine, clear line for scissor trimming.

Sadly, I need to pack ALL OF THIS AWAY because the days keep clicking by faster and faster and at the end of each day, I'm looking at a To-Do list that is only half completed.  You might not hear anything from me for the next few weeks, that's all I'm saying!  Happy stitching, and happy Fall!

I'm linking up today's post with the following linky parties:

• ONE MONTHLY GOAL

  Anne-Marie at Stories From the Sewing Room

  MONDAY

  Design Wall Monday at Small Quilts and Doll Quilts  

  Monday Musings at Songbird Designs  

  TUESDAY

  To-Do Tuesday at Quilt Schmilt  

  WEDNESDAY

  Wednesday Wait Loss at The Inquiring Quilter

  THURSDAY

  Needle and Thread Thursday at My Quilt Infatuation  

  FRIDAY

  Finished or Not Friday at Alycia Quilts

  Off the Wall Friday at Nina Marie Sayre

  Beauty Pageant at From Bolt to Beauty

   TGIFF Thank Goodness It’s Finished Friday, rotates, schedule found here: TGIF Friday

  SUNDAY

  Frédérique at Quilting Patchwork Appliqué

  Slow Stitching Sunday at Kathy's Quilts

  Oh Scrap! at Quilting Is More Fun Than Housework