Saturday 17 May 2014

Rainbow Scrap Challenge week 20: 3½ blocks


Three blocks for the Rainbow Scrap Challenge finished this week



and one waiting for a pale green to make the side pieces. The only pale green I have is too blue to go with the yellowy green I've used for the coins. Just imagine that the design wall, complete with threads, is a beautiful pale green: the colour of the polka dots but without their darker background.


Further this week I have been practising dot to dot quilting, as I mentioned here




If I thought it would be easy doing straight lines with free motion quilting I had another think coming! I moved clockwise around this square sandwich, starting at the 3 o'clock position in this photo. The last square I quilted is at the 12 o'clock position, and is definitely the best. This would probably be so much easier with the Fine Line Rulers several fellow bloggers have recommended. Unfortunately I understand they are not compatible with Bernina machines. If anyone knows otherwise, or of a ruler that does fit with the Bernina, please let me know, and no, I'm not going to saw a piece out of my BSR to make it fit the ruler!

I believe, however, even without a ruler, the lines are getting straighter (maybe wishful thinking) but the extreme bumps are where the fabric got caught in the space between the arm of the machine and the top of the table. It's a question of adjusting the height of the platform that the machine stands on so that the arm is a couple of millimetres HIGHER  than the table top, rather than LOWER, as at present. It wouldn't be a difficult operation if it were not that the machine has to be removed first, and of course put back afterwards. That is the difficult part: aligning the the bolt that goes through the platform with the screw-hole in the bottom of the machine.

I'm linking up to:

Soscrppystitch by stitchPatchwork Times

So head over there to see what other quilters have been making this week.

14 comments:

scraphappy said...

Great progress on your free motion quilting. It is amazing how much difference practice makes. Love your RSC blocks. They are such happy shades of green.

Deb A said...

Your green sampler blocks look great. FMQ of straight lines is difficult. Your's look good.

Kate said...

Your sampler blocks look great!

Nell's Quilts said...

Great job on the RSC blocks. Keep practising the free motion quilting. They tell me you get better with practice - I'm still waiting for that to happen to me. ;)

Angie said...

Yummy greens! I am on the verge of starting some free motion quilting practice - thanks for the inspiration!

Melinda said...

Great progress on your sampler. I love the assortment of greens that you have. Good luck finding the right green for the coins block.

Carla A Few Of My Favorite Things said...

Love your green blocks. I gave up on machine quilting long ago, but the rulers having me wondering if I should give it another go. Like anything else I think practice is the key to success.

Vera said...

Oh, you are going to have beautiful rainbow quilt one day :) Nice practice piece too!

Vireya said...

Free-motion in a straight line is not easy. But I think the irregularities are just part of the individual characteristic of it - a bit like hand-writing is not perfectly smooth. Practice makes it better, but it will always be more "human" than computer printout (or computerised quilting).

Quilting Stories said...

Very lovely green blocks! Eager to see your quilt finished!

Sheila said...

Cute sampler blocks. Fun to see others make them : )

Lisa J. said...

Having attempted this myself I can say that yours is pretty good. Having seen your big block has made me want to practice and try to finish mine as well. Maybe in the next FAL quarter.

Jo Ferguson said...

I adore the green blocks. It's not easy to do straight lines, in free motion, but you've done it beautifully. I really like the pattern you've created.

Andee said...

Love your green blocks, I messed up my Thrifty and yours just inspired me to try again, love it!