Wednesday, February 8, 2012

FMQ Week #5 Stippling in blocks




My arms really get tired. But I guess everyone's do.



Here is the eyelashed back.....darn!!





But the front looks better.






This back is also eyelashed.






But wow!! The front looks better.






8 comments:

  1. Hmm...Most of the eyelashes seem to be happening in curves so try increasing the speed of the machine just a bit, but keep your hands the same speed.

    Here's a tip for better speed control with your foot pedal - take an old telephone book and put it to the back of your foot pedal. Rest your heel on the phone book and operate the foot pedal with the center part of your foot. Your toes will likely hang off the top, but this will give you more control over your speed.

    Just an idea! Keep stitching!

    Leah

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  2. Hang in there -you are getting better! I have many hours of FMQ logged since January 1 and I actually see an improvement! I like Leah's suggestion - I'm going to try it! You are very brave to FMQ in a different color of thread. I am now matching my thread to the fabric - that's probably the improvement I've seen!!! ~Jeanne

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  3. Placing your foot as Leah suggested worked for me. It helped control the speed quite a bit. I've learned a lot from her in the recent months. I really love her web site.

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  4. I had those eyelash problems on my quilt too and discovered that it doesn't happen with thread made for "machine quilting". I was using a thicker thread that didn't seem to work as well tension wise. I also found that using a small piece to run a few quick stiples on before I switch to the real thing works good for me. I'm loving the FMQ project! Thanks Leah and thank you for showing your progress. It's truely inspiring.

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  5. shellima....you hit the nail on the head. I was using some old thread that I bought on some pre-wound bobbins, that I thought would work if I wound them on my bobbins. Wrong. The thread makes lots of fuzz and is probably the culpit.
    Thanks to you and Leah!!!!
    K.

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  6. Nice job, Kathi! So many variables that can affect FMQ! Needle, thread, speed, fabric, tension, stitch length - I almost need a check sheet to make sure I've covered all my bases!

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  7. I must admit that at the moment I'm just not looking for the eyelashes!At the same time that I'm learning so much from Leah, I'm also getting used to a new machine,and that's enough to think about. Leah said somewhere that if the stitches are all right on some parts of your work, then the tension, threads etc are basically OK - I'm sticking with that, and assuming that the eyelashes will gradually lessen - I do find that if I do a larger piece things improve as I go on and find my rhythm.

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