Sewing

I think I have a bobbin tension problem with my sewing machine. I can sew just fine in straight lines, but when I try one of my cams to get a fancy stitch, it’s all cattywompus. Scott’s t-shirt quilt turned out so well, that I’m thinking (or it was suggested to me) that we can have a little in-house industry there. That’s really scary. Taking other people’s stuff and cutting it up and . . .

But I’m trying to quilt inside the squares of my quilt and it’s not coming out well. The top stitching looks ok, though uneven, but the back is a huge mess of loops, etc. I’m not sure what to do about it, or who would know how to fix it. I guess I should take it in to a shop and pay for a lesson on my own machine, but . . . yeah.

It’s a good old machine. I’m happy I found the cams that go with it. But I need a lesson, or to spend more time working on it. I’ve tried to sit down and do a zig-zag stitch to secure iron –ons, but I can’t manage it neatly. I’m really not sure if it’s me or the machine. Maybe the machine is not precise enough for that small detail work. Maybe I’m not skilled enough. Even going slow with the zig-zag cam and foot, it’s not working.

I kind of feel like those are the skills that will take me to the next level as far as making things for people. I feel like I’ve mastered the quilt-making – at least the simple, straight blocks, then either using the backing as binding, or RST and flipping – both the not-official, lazy ways to do it, but effective nonetheless. I can straight stitch quilt inside blocks (or placemats). But I’d like to start making shirts for gifts. I have the interfacing and the tools to cut out shapes. But I know, even though it’s supposed to stay on with an iron, that it won’t. I guess an option would be a small, straight stitch inside. I may try that, but I like the look of the zig-zag.

I haven’t been in my sewing room very much because it’s terribly messy and Millie wants to meddle in there when I’m there. When she gets older I need to get in there and sew. I have so much fabric. I need some inspiration to start using up some of it. I liked the granny square scrap quilt. I have a lot of Halloween fabric and a lot of Christmas fabric. I need to figure something out, but now I’m focused on the garden.

I got in the room during the second group of snow days and finished my quilt. I wish I were more excited about it.