Welcome to UFOvember! This month, led by Bobbie, we are examining our crafty orphans and deciding whether to Resume work on them as planned, Rework them with a Plan B, or Rehome them to another crafter, who can joyfully get them across the finish line.
We spent last week taking stock of our unfinished objects, and I’m excited to kick off this week’s theme: RESUME. Now that you’ve got those UFOs out in the open, are there any that are calling you to pick them back up and keep going?
Last week I gathered several unfinished quilt tops in my own sewing room, including this happy quilt top that I made in January 2019 as part of a blog hop for the book “Turnabout Patchwork” by Teresa Mairal Barreau. I moved on to other projects before finishing it off, but always thought it would make a good practice piece for some free motion quilting on my domestic machine.
Fast forward to late 2020 and…I unexpectedly now own a longarm after buying my friend Anna’s used machine a couple weeks ago. I needed some low-stakes quilt tops to practice on, so instead of domestic FMQ, this quilt top and UFO is now my first official longarm finish!
I chose a loose, all-over stipple. I don’t have a lot of free motion or longarm experience, but stippling is the one motif that I am weirdly good at! And since the quilt is fairly small at ~46″ square, the quilting went fast. I had it done in under 2 hours — and that’s including plenty of pauses to check my stitches and make sure the tension on my new-to-me machine was still ok.
The stats:
- Quilt measures ~46″ square.
- Pattern is Flying Confetti from “Turnabout Patchwork” by Teresa Mairal Barreau.
- Top is a 5″ charm pack of Anna Maria Horner prints plus low volume fabrics and larger scraps from my stash for the background.
- Binding is low volume scrappy from my stash.
- Backing is Alison Glass Handcrafted Indigo, pieced from half yard cuts.
- Free motion quilted on my longarm (!!) with Aurifil Forty3 #2024 (white) thread.
Even though I knew all along that I had this quilt top buried in my sewing room, I was surprised at just how satisfying it was to pull it out and finish it off. I try to avoid too many unfinished projects, and the ones that linger as UFOs for a while tend to gnaw at me until I get them done. With this cute quilt now complete, I’m definitely feeling the itch to resume work on a couple other quilt tops that deserve to get out of limbo!
Hopefully you are feeling the same way about at least one of the UFOs you uncovered last week and can turn it into a great finish. And if not, later this month UFOvember will be focusing on other options to rework or rehome UFOs. Be sure to check out all the other stops on this month-long blog hop!
Yvonne @Quilting Jetgirl says
Congratulations on your new longarm. Getting it set up and quilting the first piece is the biggest hurdle, and I hope you have a lot of fun as you continue to get accustomed to it.
michelleJ says
As a non-quilter, I still don’t get this long arm thing. I may have missed it in Instagram stories/other, but how are you guiding the stitches? (In other words, how are you getting the design?) Is something pre-programmed? Did I miss seeing this thing (and you) in action? Sorry if you already did this and I missed it.
Sarah says
So the basic difference is that on a normal sewing machine, the sewing machine is stationary and you move the fabric. On a longarm, the fabric is stationary on a large frame and you move the sewing machine. Here’s a photo of my longarm: https://www.instagram.com/p/CGnD708H4CH/
I am moving the longarm manually, just with my hands on the handlebars. Think of it kind of like drawing on a piece of paper with a pen. You are “drawing” on the quilt.
They do make computers for them that can be programmed with all sorts of designs, but mine is not computerized. I may consider adding the computer in the future, we’ll see. The computer is just as $$$ (or more expensive) as the longarm itself.
Michelle says
That helps a lot! Thanks! Have you posted a brief video of you actually working with the long arm? That I’d love to see.
Sarah says
I don’t, but I’ve been meaning to take one! Soon!
Jennifer O'Meara says
It looks so good. I think quilted curves (like your stipples) add so much to a simple straight line quilt. I just like the contrast. And the evenness of the stitches is superb.
Sarah says
Stitch regulator! It’s awesome.
Truesy says
I have a REALLY old longarm machine which doesn’t have stitch regulation (and no computer, either). I was a bit shy about doing free motion. I ran across Kathie James who has some pantograph patterns including a stipple (https://www.quiltscomplete.com/Departments/Paper-Pantographs/Designers/Kathie-James.aspx). She comments that people who have problems stippling themselves in a corner find her pantograph helpful. She also has one YouTube video on how to do pantographs in a way that makes them easy.
Your stipple is absolutely beautiful!!! I thought I’d give the above information for those of us who are not as brave or talented as you are.
Sarah says
Thanks, that sounds really helpful!