Updated 6/15/17
I previously posted on 6/2/17 that I had finished my Free Fall Quilt and wanted to update this post with photos of the quilt hanging on my staircase wall. This wall has been a big blank for the past four years and it's so nice to have a quilt once again hanging on the wall even though it can be treacherous getting it on the wall. The Free Fall Quilt is fitting in nicely with the other quilts I have hanging on the stairway and it really brightens up an otherwise dark area in my house since there's not too much exposure natural light coming in. It really is nice to make a quilt when you know you have a spot for it. To see the other Free Fall Quilts made, here is the link:
I'm very happy to share my Free Fall Quilt which is a QAL hosted by Sandra of mmm! Quilts (you can read about it here). This 38" square quilt was designed by Sandra and involved foundation piecing which is something I don't do very often. Despite not being able to print the foundation pieces and having to draft them myself, this quilt came together very well and I am glad I participated in this Free Fall QAL. The completion date and final link-up is June 15th and I'm ahead of schedule which is a nice place to be.
I have to thank Yvonne of Quilting JetGirl for the following trifecta of reasons:
- I joined the QAL because she posted about this on her blog, it was a monkey see, monkey do inspiration
- Yvonne's choice of fabrics for her quilt helped me to see I could use modern prints instead of batiks
- And the big reason, after finishing the top, the big hang up for me was how to quilt it. Fortunately, Yvonne completed her quilt last week and she machine quilted it with horizontal straight lines which I wanted to do but wasn't sure how it would look. After seeing Yvonne's quilt (you can see it here), I knew this was what I wanted to do and let her know that I was going to copy her quilting idea. Thankfully, she gave me the go ahead.
Sadly, the Juki woes continued with this quilting. After bringing my machine back to the sewing shop and figuring out the problem with the bobbin winder wasn't that they didn't install the new bobbin ring, (which it turned out they did, they just like to hang the replaced part on the thread holder) it was the bobbin itself, it was defective. I thought all could be forgiven now until I started quilting Free Fall; I was still getting grease spots even after I cleaned the walking foot and needle area so my annoyance with the dealer was rekindled.
Apparently, I should have cleaned the walking foot better with Q-tips. I couldn't believe how much grease was in there and wondering why all this grease. When I picked up the machine the first time, the repairman spent more time telling me that I was using the wrong foot and I had to explain that a Janome Walking Foot can be used on this Juki, especially if you do straight line quilting like I do. Maybe I don't know the mechanics of how this grease could have gotten there but I do know that I never had this problem before the machine was serviced. So, I don't think I'll be doing any more business with this dealer.
Needless to say, my Free Fall Quilt is far from being perfect, just like my other quilts, but I'm happy that it's finished and ready to hang up. Now to finish some other projects on my list now......
BTW, I haven't posted any new totals for my Minus 100 Yard Challenge lately which thanks to Memorial Day Sales, I'm sadly moving farther away from my goal. I'll post my new numbers once the packages arrive.
Linking up with:
Confessions of a Fabric Addict: Can I Get A Whoop Whoop
