Thursday, September 20, 2012

What Went Wrong?

Have you ever had a time when you were working on something and all of a sudden everything becomes a challenge.  How is this possible when just a moment ago things were fine?


Quilting can be like that. For example, I was quilting rays of beautiful bronze metallic thread and fill against a burgundy background and everything was going smoothly.  Then the thread began to break.  And break.  And break again!  Now I know metallic thread can be a little finicky, but it was working fine a moment ago.  What happened?  So, I check all the obvious stress points.  Threaded correctly.  Tension is good.  Take out the bobbin and reset.  Check for dust and lodged threads. Change needles. Change needles again. Stop for the day.  Ok, I've gone too far to rip it all out and I'm not far enough to make it work without the thread breaking.  Start again the next day.  I worked on a different section for a bit with different thread and everything worked fine.  Back to the metallic and the thread was breaking again!  Go through most steps again but this time I put in a new bobbin.  Better, but not good.  I spooled off some of the bobbin thread and presto, it's PERFECT!  Whew!  It was the bobbin all along.  Anytime I've had thread breakage it has been an issue with the bobbin.  In this case the thread had not wound evenly near the bottom and was not spooling off smoothly, causing the bobbin thread to catch and break the weaker metallic thread.

Life can be like this.  When we run into challenges, often we go through our check list, starting with the easiest things first.  But when the issue isn't resolved we need to dig deeper to the root cause.  It can often be something at our core that isn't right.  And no matter what we change at the surface, if we don't address the core issue the challenge persists.  So if the "thread keeps breaking" in your life, it's good to check the core issue early.

Monday, September 17, 2012

Glorious Fabric

Fabrics from SewBatiks for Summer Sunset quilt 


I love fabric, and especially batiks.  No matter what quilt shop I'm in I gravitate to the batik section.  The luscious hues, and the textures create beautiful movement within a quilt.  And as you can see I enjoy the mix of bright colors that pop against dark backgrounds.  

These particular fabrics are from SewBatik, a great company with quality products and wonderful owners.  I picked these fabrics up at a quilt show in Wisconsin.  Diane was very patient with me as I had fat quarters and half yard cuts taking up a whole corner of her booth while deciding on over 25 different colors and combinations.  Afterwards I walked around the showroom floor with the fabrics is a clear bag (good marketing)!  I had many comments on the color combination, so I think I did good with my final choices. I love all the friendly quilters one meets.

When I am out and about at a show or quilt shop I enjoy observing others and the choices they make.  Everyone's personal style and preference is very intriguing to me.  While I like intricate, striking quilts, there are just as many women who love traditional, or bright simple quilts.  And the Modern Quilt movement is another  example of a style that is gaining strength with solid colors and elemental designs.  Isn't it wonderful that one "craft" can encompass so many different styles and still be appreciated by all?  Useful art.  I love it!