Tumbler: After Additional Hour or so the quilting is done! My Jan OMG Done!

Something was wrong with the bobbin, it allowed me to stitch a few inches then the thread broke.  I decided to remove all that stitching then went walking to clear my head.  What was the solution?  I was going to change the needle as that does seem to be a solution to stitching problems, but took the bobbin out and discovered the thread was sticking out oddly.  So I tried to wind these thread onto a new bobbin.  It worked for about a quarter bobbin's worth.  I decided to give it a try.  I'm estimating that took about 30 minutes....  But the stitching was even and nice on my test bits so I put the needle in and finished that line!

http://redletterquilts.blogspot.com/2016/01/omg-its-finished-party-january-2015.html

In another 30 minutes I had finished the remaining three lines.  So done with this stage and done with what I wanted to do this month on this project for my January One Monthly Goal! 

I doubt that I would have finished this quilting so quickly without the call of this challenge, the opportunity to share and meet new folks, and the possibility of winning the beautiful red valentine fabric. So thank you so much Heidi for organizing OMG!  

After 19 hours for the quilting.  4.5 bobbins. January OMG Done!

  

Next steps: 

binding and label!

And thanks again to Candace for helping me figure out how to do the quilting design and encouraging me to just go for it!

I need to practice my binding skills so will save this part of the project to complete after I have made a few mug rugs or something!  I can bring this with me to my once a month sewing group next time it meets, I'm sure someone can guide me there so I have a nice binding to this project.

As a reminder, I started sewing this quilt in 2011, and it's been basted since 2013...
To see the posts about this quilt:
http://quiltquest.blogspot.com/search/label/tumbler

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Now I have a few days before the beginning of a new month so I'm going to use my quilting time to work on the Polaroid Blocks that my Stash Bee/Hive 8 friend Katrin will be compiling to make a quilt for her friend's little daughter, Hanno, who will be going thru chemotherapy now.  If you have time, won't you join in?  If you only have time to find fabrics for the photo part of the block you could send to me and I would put into the frames for Katrin!  

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Thanks for coming by!

http://redletterquilts.blogspot.com/2016/01/omg-its-finished-party-january-2015.html

Tumbler Progress: About 3.5 hours (in two sessions) and almost done!

I'm not sure why today's first sewing session went so quickly...

Session One

I started at 4.:49pm and at 6:28pm I had sewn the second lines for one side starting in the center, and even did one line on the other side of the quilt!  So that's 10 angle lines done so far today.  I'm still on the same bobbin so no time was wasted in that regard.

So that's 1 hour 39 minutes if I'm doing my math correctly.  And an average of around 10 minutes for each angle line!  The sewing flowed during this session...

After around 16 hours of quilting.  This is the side that is the most done.  You can click to see the enlarged version.

Session Two (no photos)

I sewed again from 10:47pm to 12:44am.  This time I only did 8 lines.  Near the top of the 9th line at 12:29am I ran out of bobbin.  It took about 7 minutes to get the new bobbin in place and to hide the ends of the threads from where the bobbin ran out.  I started again and then about 8 minutes later the thread got caught and I ended up cutting it to release the material.  I decided it might be too late to continue.

I think I have 4 more lines to go then done with this stage of the project.  There are a few spots where I need to pick out thread that was crossed over and became part of the quilting on the back. For this second sewing (which was the other side of the quilt) there was more pleating that I could not stop from happening.  I tried sewing very slowly, sometimes that seemed to prevent the pleating but there were other times when slow sewing did not help in that regard.  Next project I will use that special top and bottom feeding foot that Katrin reminded me about.

As I travel thru the blocks instead of seeing the colors and fabric, now I'm noticing where I wasn't as careful as I should have been with the stitching even with the FMQing.  I hope the wash will fluff the fabric up so the puckers blend in...

So pretend there is a photo here to show the progress after 18 hours of quilting.  At this stage I've used around 4.5 spools of bobbin.

Tumbler Progress: Almost three hours more 14 lines a new bobbin started

Continuing with my details on this project...

This time I just clicked to see what time it was when I finished a line.  I was able to finish the other side of the quilt with the mainly single lines of angles.  So I just now need to add the second lines of angles to the top and I'll be done.

Today was different than the other days as I did all the sewing in one session.  Our son's little dog kept me company. I thought I had taken photos her on the quilt, but nothing was on the camera when I offloaded the quilt photos.  She came in the room and sat on the chair I had on the side, then all of a sudden she was in my lap and climbed up to sit on the quilt!  I got her to move to a pair of jeans that I put on the table for a while.  Then she was back in my lap, but finally she moved back to the chair and curled up to sleep next to me while I worked.

I started at 1:06 and finished at 4:00.  During that time I sewed 14 lines of angles going down the side of the quilt, a single straight line at the end of that side, ran out of bobbin, so filled two bobbins, hid the mid-line bobbin thread, trimmed the thread for the new lines completed.  Whew!

After 14.5 hours of quilting.  There are a few places with the double lines in the angles too.

Of course now I realize my detail shots 

don't show the double angles....

Can really see lots of progress now!  I'm on bobbin 5.5.

I went to Road to California yesterday with some ladies I sew with during the once a month Saturday sewing group.  We pretty much stayed together while we went up and down the many rows of the vendor area.  So many things to see, it really became a blur! (One of the ladies had been there since Sunday taking classes everyday.  She was staying on until this Sunday.  It's her second year doing this, she says she learned so much that it's a wonderful week.)  I was just there to see the vendor area - and also got to see some of the show quilts.  As I went to the vendors I was on the look out for Creative Grids Rulers – $20 Triangle Squared and $18 Perfect Rectangle ones. that were called for in the Facets Quilt Along that I'm planning on working on.  I found some pretty much the same sized ones by Tri-Recs - I got the set for just $5.  That was a deal.  I also got a bunch of long zippers for all the future pillows I may be making - each for just fifty cents!  Another deal.  I gave that man my email to put my name on his email list.  He says he has no sales tax and free shipping deals every once in a while so I thought that would be a good list to be on.

Road to California Expenses

• $15 Admission to Vendor Area
• $5 Tri-Recs Tool
• $12  24 zippers
• I had two meals while we were there, and I'm going to take the lady who drove out to lunch later as a thank you. (She didn't want gas money or for me to pay for her meal or admission.)

http://quiltingmod.blogspot.com/2015/12/lessons-learned-linky-1.html

Anyway to get back to my tumbler quilting, the lady taking all the classes mentioned that some sewing machines with a needle up or down option also slightly lift the pressure foot when it stops in needle down to make it easier to readjust fabric.  The machine I'm using doesn't have this feature, but I realized I had not always been lifting the pressure foot to change the angle when going down the lines, and that, I think, contributed to my puckering in the stitching.  Those initial lines of stitching are not even close to being a quarter of an inch.  I don't know why I didn't see that before.  Anyway, it seems to make a big difference even now if I do not lift the foot when I turn the fabric.  So that is something else I have learned.

When changing the angle of a stitching line, be sure to lift the foot!

Previous things I learned or relearned recently are:

• wind bobbins ahead of time
• do any straight stitching before doing angles
• shorten the stitch length at the beginning and end of a line of stitches
• bring phone battery to conference so you can take photos! (I did but am sure that other people have posted better ones)
• bring writing pad and pen or pencil to write down booth numbers that have items you might want to purchase or follow up on!
• if the table you put up next to the sewing machine isn't the same height, and the quilt keeps getting caught in between, put something under the lower table so they are the same height.  (I put a pair of old jeans that will become a board game block underneath today and it made it so much nicer to not have to fight the quilt being caught.)
• put something underneath or in front of the foot peddle to stop it from traveling as you sew.

To see previous posts about my tumbler project search for tumbler in the label and sort by date!

Tumbler Progress: additional 3.5 hours adds 15 lines of quilting

Detail of half of the quilt showing
the alternating columns with stitching.

When I was nursing our son, I kept such detailed records of how long and from which side he nursed.  I made charts of the time and condition of diapers when they were changed.  None of that meant anything to anyone. The doctor never asked me for the information, but still I kept lists and charts.  Someday I will probably find those notes and wonder what to do with them...

So now I'm doing the same thing with this tumbler quilt.  Keeping way to many notes that don't really mean anything. But now I will type them in this blog.  It might be interesting to someone wondering how long it takes someone to quilt a tumbler in this design.

First, I'm using a regular pressure foot. It has about a quarter inch on either side of the needle that I am using to guide the stitching.  If I do this design again I will do all the straight lines first, then go back and do the angle lines.  I'll decide after the piece is washed if I use the regular pressure foot again.  There are still a few pieces where there is a pucker in the sewing.  Very small.  I am more sure these will be sort of hidden once it's washed.

I am sewing starting in the center of the quilt and then moving out, always starting at the same top of the quilt.  I'm sewing along the inside of a column of pieces, then skipping a column and doing the same thing on the following column.  Later I will go back so there is a line of stitching on either side of all the seams.

What I did today, I think I will need to do three more times to finish the quilting on the project.  So I have roughly 11 hours of quilting to go!

After 11.5 hours or quilting.  I think I'll have to repeat what I did today three times to have all the lines quilted.

Today I worked about an additional 3.5 hours on the project and finished about 15 lines of mostly angle lines on the quilting.  I have about 45 lines of quilting to go!  (That is how I figure I have around 11 hours of quilting to go until the quilting part of the project is done. (then it'll be the binding and label!))

Here are the detailed notes:
Got started and bobbin ran out, finished the line but didn't record how long it took to sew that first angle line nor to hide the threads and reset the machine up with the new bobbin.
First 2 recorded lines (near center) took 32 minutes - 16 minutes for each angle line.
Next 3 lines took 35 minutes - almost 12 minutes for each angle line.
Final 8 angle lines of the day (toward outside) took 81 minutes - around 8 minutes for each one.
The outside straight line took only 5  minutes to sew.
I'm now on the third full complete bobbin, have added 15 lines of mostly angle lined quilting and have spent roughly additional 3.5 hours.
Will start the next session by winding the bobbin that is now empty so it is ready when I need it.

Tumbler Progress: 168 more minutes of sewing plus around an hour more results in 26.5 lines of quilting

You can tell from my blog entries that I have been doing other sewing instead of working on my tumbler quilt! (Pillows, Game boards, Scraps!)

But today I got back to the tumbler for just under three hours of quilting time.  In that amount of time I finished all the second straight lines for the quilt, trimmed the thread and brought the piece downstairs for a photo!

After about 8 hours of quilting and working with the fabric, still using the third bobbin.

So it took me about six minutes to do each of the straight lines that go across the quilt.  How do I sort of know this?  I set  my phone on the stop watch app and clicked when I finished a line and then started the timer again when the needle was in the down position and in place to start another line for stitching! (So I wasn't counting the time to reorient the fabric to get it ready for the next line of stitching at the sewing machine.)  I'm estimating that took about 2 minutes each time so that's additional hour on the quilt.

I learned that I should have done all the horizontal lines at the same time.  The first day of tumbler quilting I had started with trying to do some of the angular lines, but when I crossed those lines with the straight stitching, almost every time, there was a bubble in fabric that I had to work to try to flatten.

Plus about 2 minutes per line or another hour for
turning and setting up to sew again.  That's
about 8 hours on the quilting so far.

When I did the orange peel quilt it felt natural to rotate the quilt after each line was completed to add a different color to the quilt from a different direction, but this did not work with the tumbler quilt.  

I'm thinking it would have been better to do all the horizontal, straight stitching in the tumbler first.  I'm hoping this will get the fabric so it is very firmly oriented where it's supposed to be in the quilt!

I did what I have done so far by starting in the middle then skipping a few seams and sewing again, then I went back to fill things in so there was one line for each seam. After that I went back and filled in the second lines.  I'm hoping when the piece is finished and washed that the bubble of fabric at these intersections will be more or less unnoticeable.

Gosh, my fingers are crossed that when I do the rest of the angular lines that I will not continue to have the bubbling fabric problem!  If I do, I will change the design of the stitching and will do straight lines coming down thru the middle of the tumbler shapes.  Candace at Saltwater Quilts did this for some of her tumbler quilts.  She posted a photo and wrote: I stitched a fourth of an inch above and below each horizontal seam and through the middle of each of the tumblers. This version of her stitching looks terrific, but I had wanted to do the version she did after this with the lines following all the seams so that is what I am trying for in the tumbler. We'll see what happens with my quilt after the next session of sewing!

I thought I had basted my tumbler project quite snugly and completely.  I taped the backing, the batting and the top down on this huge basting table at the adult education class. Then I used all my pins, but them in all the alternating blocks on the inside and in each of the blocks on the perimeter of the project.  But guess it wasn't tight or often enough to prevent bubbling... or maybe it got loose being basted for almost three years before I started the quilting!

I'm pleased with how the quilt looks so far.

Tumbler Progress: 1.5 Bobbins

Yesterday I straightened up the sewing room,  reset up my machine for FMQing, found the thread, half filled a bobbin, changed the needle, put the quilt under the needle and started putting the quilting stitches in the tumbler.

I started by doing one straight line, then turning the piece and going in the other direction with the angles - took 2.5 hours for all that!

Filled the bobbin and left things set up for today.

Today I was able to just start sewing! I think I did one straight and one pass with angles, then decided to only do the straight passes for alternating rows before considering doing more angles.  There were a few places where the fabric puckered, I just kept going.  Hopefully these puckers will not be noticeable once the quilt is washed.   Other than that, things went well.  I decided to go back and put a line at every seam before considering the angles again.

I did remember this second day to change the stitch length so it was shorter at the beginning and end of each line, so I'll be able to trim and not have to hide the ends as I did with the pajama bag!

It like going thru a sea of color and memories.  I'm enjoy seeing the fabrics again as they pass the needle.  I makes me happy to come across the fabric and decide, now that's my favorite.  Only to change my mind with another set of colors appear.


I don't remember why my then future DIL was with me, but I do remember she was with me when I got three different orange fabrics and she helped pick them out. Probably for the Block Lotto year.  And I'm glad when the fabric I used for pants for my son appear and remind me of those times.

I traded tumblers with an older lady in class so there are some really different for me fabrics, like flowers and these little bird houses. I've never noticed fabric like that when I have been to the store.  I can imagine it framing a window or on an apron when she was a young bride.  Fun.

I remembered when I got to a corner that the batting I used had a corner cut out so I had to cut a piece from another side and place it in the quilt sandwich, so there was batting in that corner.  It's secured pretty well I think.  I'll do some extra stitching there, perhaps with a label, before I give the quilt away. I should finish the quilt for my husband before I do that...

This batting a rather flat, it's warm and natural cotton I believe.  With the pins there is a lot of weight to this project so it seems wonderful.  I hope once it's quilted the weight will be nice for our friend.  It's a lot easier to remove the pins than it was to put them in!

Going to stop now after about 4 hours since I sewed thru a bobbin's worth of thread. This time I filled two bobbins so it will be a quicker change out the next time I quilt this. I'm not tired but do have some other work to do before my husband returns from work!

After 1.5 bobbins of quilting, and about 4 hours of quilting.

Tumbler - How to do the straight stitching?

I have pulled out my tumbler that I basted last year.  Might be I have to unbaste, iron and baste again - but I will try to just go with it.

Front - Accucut template sewn as leader ender project. Basted with pinmoors and curved pins.

Back Tumbler basted

I've been using Pinterest to find tumbler quilts finished the way I like them.  Instead of doing an all over design I would like to echo all the stitching lines.  I'm going to use black and blue thread so the stitching becomes part of the quilt pattern.

I have been leaving comments on blogs asking the folks for help.

I don't know if I start in the middle or the edge.

I don't know if I do all in one direction (the straight seams or the angled ones).

I don't know if I do an X to divide and do one quarter at a time.

I want to do the straight stitching for this quilt but can pick another edge to edge design and finish using a LeahDay design too. I would like this quilt finished so I can give it to our friend in Colorado.

I have been back from Boston since mid-August but only feeling like I have time to get organized to start new projects and finish old ones!

: )

I forgot to keep all the URLs for the tumbler I saw.  So many beautiful choices....
Here are the some of the pages I visited:
Holiday Dog Tumbler - http://stitchified.com/2013/11/27/wip-wednesdays-holiday-edition/
Holiday Dog Tumbler Angles at Edge - http://stitchified.com/2013/12/06/tgif-zig-zag-style/
Small Baby Quilt - http://embabiak.blogspot.com/2012/10/tumbler-quilt-for-baby-g.html
Tumbler - http://henhousehomemade.blogspot.com/2011/10/pretty-interlude.html
Tumbler different FMP - https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEizmPmsHNtKw8Wu-sIlu8QcbAg2k-OSh2iuDj5jye4w14L_yEE3nTWMdXDQLKA5btVfak3o4vNxF0WybzyX70LRQ1PMQ6ZC6HX-bMqG7OlJBGU46pRYauVmpijm6Ude3MH7UTOQ2ane-4Ph/s320/DSC01517+%25281024x813%2529.jpg
Tumber shows how to press - http://joanne-threadhead.blogspot.com/2011/12/tumbler-quilt.html
Tumbler -extra strips - https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiYypNnhBQgBL8PLmaveG9lZFsBe69UZ55XQ61Hpt3wdrZQ2oCuQeg1mFwDp37G3_U37jcuHVaMOiLDig_3WxAKG97a-vEzmnPIZE5R_70Vxgp3ANoP2BOBe5XyWFN013OL7bzvzwcnvtFI/s1600/DSC03291.JPG
Tumbler - http://www.modabakeshop.com/2009/09/sweet-baby-quilt.html

I don't really know how to use Pinterest, but have been collecting some sites there... it's really fun to look for different images...

Tumbler: How the top and sides will look

Subject to adding more rows in all directions - here is how I decided to finish the edges of the tumbler quilt.  I put one row at top and the bottom of all color blocks.  And at the side I added enough blocks so there is one column of all color - and then a straight edge with the beige that is in between the blocks in the center of the quilt.

I think I'll quilt by making vertical lines sort of echoing the zig zag of the pieces - so this will be done all in one piece - not QAYG.  Unless I decide to make the quilt larger.  Then I will use Sara's method of adding rows!

DH told me he saw a bunch of inexpensive tables at Lowes - think will check them out to see if one would be something I could use to baste quilts.

I'm pressing all the rows so they are in one direction.  There are a few pieces where the fabric flipped instead of staying put - but so far only one that got twisted.

Hmm.  If I had a design wall I would have worked more with the order of the colors - but I did clump them together so it looks like I scattered them on the top with some order....

I'm really surprised at how I'm enjoying putting this top together.  It would be lovely to be able to use it!

Tumbler Edges

Boy there are a lot of details to track when sewing.  But first, I thought about how I wanted to edge the quilt.  I found by reading blogs that by cutting a piece in half and sewing at the end, a straight edge would appear.  That sounded pretty good to me.  I sewed my rows so there was a beige piece at the beginning and end of each row - but then realized that I need to add another piece so the half pieces would line up.  I looked at it and decided I didn't like all the beige at the edge so decided to add so the edge right before the half piece of beige would be a color.  So some of the rows now start with two colors - or end with two colors.  It too a while for me to figure the new colors to use - as now most of them are duplicate fabrics.  So I did that, and added them to two rows - then sewed the rows together.  The second set went together quickly - but then I realized I had flipped the order so I ripped the row out, repressed and sewed it down again.  I finished a third pair now and think I have the hang of it.  I took one of the finished rows to the twin bed - it hangs over about 10 inches!  but right now it's shorter than a twin so I might need to add top and bottom rows.....

Tomorrow I will wear my fitbit so I can see how many steps I take to finish the next pair of rows.  I have the ironing board set up in the dining room area - as that is where I have my pieces laid out.  It takes so long to do, I will not have this done in time to use the basting table at the class - but know how much extra pressing I'll have to do if I fold it up so will keep it on the bed if I have to use the dining room table before I can get to the basting table.

A came by to see if he could recognize any fabric he had gotten me, but since we didn't exchange gifts last year I didn't get the fabric....  I pointed out the fabric I had made him shorts or pants with when he was little....

Now that I see how easy it is to get the straight edge, I think I will experiment with some of my remaining tumblers.  It might be interesting to  add a narrow strip and surround it by the half pieces.  I'm not sure.  I want to finish this up before I have to move it all, and put in boxes.

The fabric in the bottom left corner - I bought today at a thrift shop.  Got about two yards for $1.70!

Tumbler Progress

As I have time, I've been working on the tumbler quilt.  I realized after putting the pieces on the table that I hadn't counted the beige pieces so I will have enough for a lap quilt, maybe a twin even!

I decided to end the rows with a color - so then will cut some beige pieces in half and put on the ends to make them straight.  Originally I had ended both sides with a beige piece, but when I figured out how to make the straight edges, I didn't like the idea of having so much beige (especially since I may decide to add borders to make the quilt larger).

I didn't want the colors to be in rows so made it so there are some splots of color. I'm not sure if anyone can 'see' what I was thinking, but I'm going with it now...

I want to work on my speed in making projects during the next year. My family has been using sleeping bags instead of quilts for ever - 2012 will be the year they get quilts!

90*4 Tumblers - only enough for a baby quilt....

A couple of months ago, the Liberated Quilters Yahoo group held the first World Wide Swap.  I received lots of blocks in progress that I have been using in my Liberated Round Robin project.

I didn't (and still don't) have a lot of works in progress so I took fabric to adult education class and spent two long days cutting up different fabric using the 3 inch tumbler die for the GO.  It was really tiring, but I thought would at least add value to what I was sending on.  I also cut 5 inch charms in not as many fabrics....  I traded with a lady in the class to double the number of fabrics.

I sent along more than an equal number of plain beige tumblers so there would be enough I thought for a nice lap quilt.

I've been sewing them together as a leader and ender project, it's been very nice.  Since I can't find my fabric to finish the LibRR I decided to go ahead and put sections together.  Now I realize I do not have enough tumblers for my lap quilt - also I shouldn't have sewn them all together in fours as that limits the order in which I sew them together.  And I know I need to send my World Wide Swap partner some more tumblers so she can make something useful!  It occurred to me tonight to check the GO site and see how many pieces are needed for different quilts - I only found the baby sized quilt - and it requires 180 tumblers - it's 12 rows of 14 shapes - then cut 12 additional shapes in half for the edges - surround all with a 2.5 inch strip and bind after quilting.  The finished baby quilt is 38 x 40 inches.
The pattern is here:
http://www.materialgirlsquilt.com/media/uploads/2011/01/19/files/GO-Tumbler-Baby.pdf

I haven't been attending that adult education class, will write the teacher to see if the GO is still available for people to use.....

I'm so surprised to see how wrong I was about estimating the number of pieces needed for a quilt.  Before packaging the pieces to mail I had laid them out on the dining room table and kept cutting and trading with people to get more fabric - I really thought there would almost be enough for a twin size quilt before borders, etc.....  Oh well.