Piecing blocks with directional fabric

April 21, 2016

I’m currently working a quilt using the Duck Duck Goose pattern from Summercrafter Patterns (edited my moi!).

Here are the completed duck and goose blocksduckduckgoose. See the ducks with the yellow/white ovals? And the goose on the second row?  Those blocks involved piecing with directional fabrics. It’s not difficult to do, but it does require some advance planning on your part.

SIMPLE STEPS

  1. Decide which end is up on the fabric – this will be the top of any cut pieces.
  2. Before cutting, study the fabric and plan the direction/sequence you’ll need to cut to make certain all pieces are oriented the correct way.
  3. Make sure you turn pieces the right way when sewing. Here’s a handy diagram I made to help remember which way to turn the fabrics when making corner units or HSTs. This example shows a snowball block:

TOP OF FINISHED BLOCK
(Directional base fabrics should be turned in this direction!)

cheatsheet.jpg
The arrows indicate which way to orient the top of the fabric squares to                          maintain a one-way design after sewing.

I often sew in the evenings after a long day at school. I don’t want to think too much about what I’m sewing. This diagram in my sewing notebook helps immensely!

**Goose block cutting changes if using directional fabric for the background** 
Cut two (2) 3″ squares of each fabric for the tail feathers instead of the single square listed in the pattern directions.

 

Curveballs

April 13, 2016

Sometimes life throws you a curveball.

How you react to it is totally up to you.

This morning, my principal announced her retirement effective July 1st. She is a beloved principal whom many folks followed to an “inner city” school to help turn things around. I joined the team last year at the urging of a mutual friend. I’ve never regretted that decision because I know I am in the right place for me. I am still processing the implications of her retirement at this point. Know what I’m most concerned about?  My kid sewing club and bringing Boomer to school.  Priorities, right?

One thing IS for certain – I will not put my creative arts business on hiatus again like I did from August – November.  I missed it terribly and quite frankly, it wasn’t good for business (library or sewing) in the long run.

So, I will keep on stitching and working on building the business that will follow me when I eventually hang up my school librarian hat.

 

 

Hacking my Janome 8900QCP

April 5, 2016

Perhaps MODIFYING would be a better term to use instead.  🙂

20160403_201441
Modified straight stitch plate (back view) for my Janome 8900QCP

Why did I want to hack my sewing machine in the first place? Because I wasn’t getting an accurate scant 1/4″ seam with the zigzag plate – even with the walking foot and 1/4″ sole. To me, the straight stitch plate offers greater accuracy with piecing, so I searched for a solution.

ISSUE #1: Cannot adjust needle position for a scant 1/4″ when the straight stitch plate is installed.

HACK:  Switch out the sensor on the back of the zigzag plate with the one on the straight stitch plate. Turn both needle plates over. See the white plastic thingie in the lower right corner of the photo? That’s the sensor that tells the computer which plate you have installed. If you unscrew the sensors and switch them correctly, your machine will think you have the zigzag plate installed when you really have the straight stitch plate on.  Take a photo with your phone before removing them so you can remember which way to reinstall them later.

I could now adjust for my scant 1/4″ seam, but I still couldn’t use the walking foot with the 1/4″ sole because I didn’t have a hole in the needle plate to accommodate the “right needle” position that stitch D95 requires…

ISSUE #2:  Lack of a 3 hole straight stitch needle plate for the base model 8900 so you can’t use the walking foot and stitch D95 on your “modified” straight stitch plate.

HACK:  Order a modified plate from a sewing machine dealer who specializes in modifying needle plates for this very reason (several were recommended on the Janome 7700/8900 Yahoo Group). I contacted one dealer who informed me the plates he needed to make the modifications to were backordered.  OR here’s my DIY solution: Take a 3/32″ high speed metal drill bit and drill yourself a hole on your existing straight stitch needle plate (or have hubby do it for you). You will also want to pick up some crocus cloth or super fine grit metal polishing sandpaper at the hardware store, if you don’t already have this on hand. That will smooth any rough edges on the underside of the needle plate. I can now get a perfect scant 1/4″ seam using my modified needle plate, walking foot with 1/4″ sole, with stitch D95 and an 8.8 stitch width.  Sure, the front of the needle plate is a little scuffed from the drill, but it doesn’t affect usability. When you go to sell/trade the machine, you can pick up a new needle plate for $50.00 or less.