Good Morning, Quilters!
I am thrilled and delighted that so many of you have decided to join me at The John C. Campbell Folk School in North Carolina over Labor Day! (Read more HERE) It will be my first time at The Folk School and after reading about how many of YOU have already been there and loved it…just makes me more excited! I can’t wait to meet YOU! We are going to work hard and play hard and I promise that by the end of the week YOU will be a CONFIDENT MACHINE QUILTER!
QUILT-A-LONG QUESTIONS
I am also thrilled and delighted that we have a huge group (perhaps thousands???) who are jumping in on the Second Annual Machine Quilt-a-long!
Last year’s Quilt-a-long was a huge success and is still available HERE
Is this a project for beginners?
Yes! This is a great project for beginners! First of all, the project is small-just a fat quarter size. It is important for beginners to start small when learning machine quilting in order to learn how to maneuver the quilt under the machine without all the weight of a big quilt. Also, small quilts require minimal time and fabric requirements which help give the beginner quilter confidence that they can complete a project! (Ban the UFO!) Finally, we will learn several techniques on the Small Quilt that can be applied to the Large Quilt-marking, stabilizing, design. All of the motifs are fairly easy motifs (especially if you doodle first!!!) but the final product will be beautiful and not just a “quilt sampler” –squares of different motifs.
Why not white on white backing fabrics and what about black on black fabrics?
I prefer to not use white on white fabrics for my backing because it is harder for the needle to penetrate the paint or coating of these fabrics. Any time the needle has difficulty penetrating the fabric-it has a chance of causing a slight needle deflection and this shows up in our stitches as a slightly imperfect stitch. I’ll admit this is a small thing…but it’s usually easy to avoid these fabrics for the backing. I also avoid batiks because they are very tightly woven fabrics and can be difficult for the needle to penetrate.
As for black on black fabrics…The same rule applies. If you can rub your fingernail across a fabric and feel a texture difference-it probably has paint on top and will be more difficult. Sometimes this will also cause tension problems…and who needs that???
I want to emphasize…this is a small thing. Many beautiful quilts are made with batiks and white on white fabric backgrounds…but if you have a choice, consider an alternative.
When will your second Craftsy Video be released?
My second class, “Creative Machine Quilting-From Doodle to Design” will be released in just ten days–on April 11!!!
I’m so excited! We will be starting a giveaway next week!
What about YOU? Do YOU have any questions?
Will YOU be joining the Quilt-a-long?
If not, what’s holding you back?
Happy Stitching,
Lori
PS…All tutorials, images and information are the property of Lori Kennedy at The Inbox Jaunt and are intended for personal use only. Feel free to re-blog, pin or share with attribution to The Inbox Jaunt. For all other purposes, please contact me at lckennedy@hotmail.com. Thanks!