Have you ever been really stuck on a project, then switched into avoidance/procrastination mode? My friend Judy posted about this problem lately and it really resonated with me. I had been trying to work out how to applique letters onto fabric to be sewn into a quilt. My free motion quilting skills (I wasn't even quilting anyhow) are not up to the precision these letters require. And using a conventional machine foot was not working either, fabric got pulled down into the feed dogs. After lots of experimentation I've come up with this method...old fashioned tissue paper under the piece, light weight "heat and bond" to join the fabric letter to the quilt fabric, open embroidery foot and smallish stitches, and of course, using the "needle down" option to get around those tight corners. Also helpful, adjusting the needle setting to the right. Later, I'll tear away the tissue paper, and sew the pieces together with the rest of the squares. Whew! A weight has been lifted from my shoulders and now I am excited about the project again. Why do we (I) waste so much psychic energy on procrastinating?
That looks great, Karen! Good old trial and error! Hard to believe that tissue paper would be enough of a stabilizer, but, as always, necessity is the mother of invention!
ReplyDeleteThanks for linking to me - fun to see my name on your blog!