During this past week, I ran into some issues on the dolly dress quilt. The basting process was completed and I started to machine quilt yet things were not quite right. The batting felt stiff and cumbersome although I told myself that it would be alright (it wasn't). The straight line machine quilting was inconsistent and more of a chore than a hobby.
I took a break and rethought it all. The all-cotton batting (cut from a roll) that was purchased at a big box fabric store wasn't producing the effect I desired. My sewing machine needed a professional tune-up and cleaning. The backing (a small pink floral pattern) gave a pink shadow to the white sections of the top. I was becoming cranky and it would only get worse if I pushed forward; yet all the while, I kept telling myself it would get better.
After a good night's sleep, I decided I would not be happy nor would things be alright during the quilting process and final result. Therefore, I removed one row of machine quilting and all the basting stitches. Tone-on-tone white fabric for the backing was purchased, a better quality batting was found and my faithful (but neglected) sewing machine was taken in for an overall cleaning and tuneup.
While waiting service on the machine, I replaced the batting and backing and am doing a better job of board basting. Yesterday, I got a got good start on it and will work on it today while I join many others at Kathy's Slow Sunday Stitching. There are some awesome projects out there being stitched by hand.
This photo shows how the basted stitches look from the back when everything is done following Sharon Schamber's method on Youtube.
May you have smoother stitches than I recently experienced.
3 comments:
It is always smart to take a break, instead of getting frustrated. It is looking great....have fun!
Boy, I admire you for your hard work. You'll never regret making it right.
I have this same machine! I actually love it as it's such a workhorse. I think it could use a tune up though.
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