Need more thread.

Posted on August 22, 2012 by Sewfrench

I tried to duplicate Malka Dubrawsky’s zig zag quilting on my Honeycomb quilt.

Without much luck. I just couldn’t get the hang of the smooth zig zagging, without pointy curves…. Anyone else tried this stitch? Can you share how you did it? I really, really wanted to use this style but just couldn’t get the hang of it.

This is Malka’s example straight from her book Fresh Quilting. I love this book. So many inspiring ideas.

Then I turned to stippling.

And I wasn’t any happier with that. At least I could do that one. Though this is not a good example, it was just a thread wasting test. I’m not sure why I wasn’t happy with that. Maybe the thought of turning this humongous quilt under the throat of my machine was too much? Maybe it because it seems as if stippling is? Over used? Too common? Too girly? I’m not sure, but not crazy about it on this quilt.

I considered hand quilting, but somehow that wasn’t the look I really wanted, either.

Apparently no one else on the World Wide Web has created a quilt like this. Really??? I am on my own for quilting ideas?

I decided to try outline quilting, which is generally my go to style for quilting both by hand and machine. Using my Accufeed, dual feed foot, I stitched about 1/4″ on each side of the vertical seams, then again 1-1/4″ from that same vertical seam. It only took dots, not full fledged marking, to keep the inner stitching rows aligned.

I think I found what I was looking for!

a

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15 Responses to Need more thread.

  1. bold goods says:
    August 22, 2012 at 9:54 am

    I’ve seen other big hexies projects but I can’t think of where to point you… I love what you ended up doing though!

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  2. P says:
    August 22, 2012 at 9:58 am

    Hi, I haven’t tried that zig-zag stitch you started with but understand your frustration with the pointy curve issue. I like what you came up with in the end though, with your Accufeed foot. Have you checked out SewCalGal’s Free Motion Quilting Challenge? It’s a year-long challenge with a tutorial by a FMQ expert each month. It has been going on since January, and nearly all of the tutorials are still available on SewCalGal’s blogsite, and you can sign on anytime during the year. There are over 2,000 participants and we’ve learned a lot of FMQ patterns and there’s a ton of encouragement and ideas shared through the associated Facebook group (similar to the Celebrate Handquilting group, only larger). We’ve had tutorials from Ann Fahl, Diane Gaudynski, Cindy Needham, Leah Day, Angela Walters, Wendy Sheppard, and others, so all quilting styles are well represented. Anyway, your quilt is coming along beautifully!

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    • sewfrench says:
      August 22, 2012 at 8:58 pm

      That’s a great idea! I did dig out my FMQ book by Leah Day and leaf through it but nothing struck me as what I envisioned. And I did practice those zigzags for hours, LOL! Okay maybe not that long, but I am missing something there! They shouldn’t be so hard!
      I have followed some of the weekly challenges, even practiced a few, I just never linked them up! I think hand quilting is so much easier!
      Thank you for your kind words and reminding me of the FMC, I didn’t realize their was a FB group. I will look into that!

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  4. Heidi @ Buttons and Butterflies says:
    August 22, 2012 at 1:18 pm

    Choosing the quilting is where I REALLY get stuck too! Glad I am not the only one!!!

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    • sewfrench says:
      August 22, 2012 at 8:37 pm

      Deciding on the quilting is the worst, isn’t it? I think because you’ve spent all this time loving what you have created and then to think that you could take it down, so quickly, for poorly thought out quilting… The last couple of quilts, I have done like with this one. Just dig in and put the needle to the fabric. I think I have a problem with visualization…. As soon as I see it done, I know whether it’s a yay or a nay.

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  5. amorette says:
    August 22, 2012 at 5:08 pm

    hah! i am about to start quilting a big hexie quilt myself and was thinking i would go with that outline idea too- mostly because it is already so busy with all the hexie patterns. glad you went through the process first 😉

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  6. Rebecca Bark says:
    August 22, 2012 at 10:16 pm

    I totally love your quilting choice! I’m just storing this away for my quilt 🙂 Thanks for linking up to WIP Wednesday.

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  7. Pingback: Honeycomb quilt ~ revealed! | Sewfrench

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