Back To School Blog Hop Day 8 - How to Solve Loops in Free Motion Quilting

Thanks to Sam Hunter for inviting me to be part of this blog hop.

I love to free motion quilt.  It truly is one of my favorite parts of the process of quilting.  However, I always know when my bobbin is getting low because I will get small loops on the top of my quilt.  Then it's time to break out the seam ripper and rip and wind a new bobbin and start again.

OR IS IT?

This is what I'd wondered.  Is there a way to get rid of the loops and save time?  

YES!  And it's super easy.

Start with a self-threading needle.  There are many brands available and they all work well.

Here is the loop (below red arrow).  It's really hard to take a good picture of a loop, but trust me it sticks up about 1/8 inch away from the surface of the quilt.  This quilt is destined for show and I can't have that!

Step One - Put matching thread in a self-threading needle.  Put the thread through the loop.  Take the needle OFF and leave the thread so it goes through the loop in the middle leaving two about equal length thread tails.

Step Two - tie a knot with the thread.

Step Three- Put the self-threading needle back on BOTH thread tails.

Step Four - Bury the knot just like you would any other knot on your quilting project.  This will pull the little loop into the batting and save lots of time and effort ripping for one little loop (which of course I never see until later...).

Step Five - Trim your tails.  Complete!

I hope this helps you avoid the seam ripper!

I hope you get to quilt today!
Suzy

Minnesota Quilter's Mystery Quilt 2019 Revealed!

If you are participating in the Minnesota Quilters Mystery and don't want to see the final quilt yet, sorry!  I have to share these amazing quilts!  They are turning out so beautifully!  I supposed I should get mine quilted....lol!

Ann's

Wendy's

Lori's

Mary Jo's 

Colleen's

Wendy's

Laura's

I hope you get to quilt today!
Suzy

Back To School Blog Hop Starts Today!

Day 1 – September 1 – Sam Hunter: Sewing Long Seams Without Stretching – huntersdesignstudio.com

Day 2 – September 2 – Susan Arnold – Joining Binding the Easy Way – quiltfabrication.com

Day 3 – September 3 – Angie Wilson – Fussy cutting tips and techniques – www.gnomeangel.com

Day 4 – September 4 – Andi Stanfield – No-Mark HST: Let your machine be your guide – truebluequilts.com/blog/

Day 5 – September 5 – Bobbie Gentili – Say YES to Y-seams – geekybobbin.com

Day 6 – September 6 – Mel Beach – 5 Reasons to Say Woo Hoo! to School Glue – pieceloveandhappiness.blogspot.com

Day 7 – September 7 – Laura Piland – 7 Ways to Use a Laser on Your Sewing Machine – www.sliceofpiquilts.com

Day 8 – September 8 – Suzy Webster – How to solve loops in free motion quilting – www.websterquilt.com

Day 9 – September 9 – Tara Miller – Accurate Stitch-and-Flip Corners – quiltdistrict.com

Day 10 – September 10 – Latifah Saafir – Accurate Seams Using Masking Tape! – latifahsaafirstudios.com

Day 11 – September 11 – Sarah Ruiz – The Magic of Glue Basting – saroy.net

Day 12 – September 12 – Jen Shaffer – Ways to stop your ruler from slipping while cutting – patternsbyjen.blogspot.com

Day 13 – September 13 – Cheryl Sleboda – Basics of ruching (a vintage fabric manipulation technique) – muppin.com

Day 14 – September 14 – Raylee Bielenberg – Choosing quilting designs for your quilt – www.sunflowerstitcheries.com

Day 15 – September 15 – Jen Strauser – Accurate and Attractive Machine binding – dizzyquilter.com

Day 16 – September 16 – Jane Davidson – Matching points for all types of intersections – quiltjane.com

Day 17 – September 17 – Teresa Coates – Starch and starch alternatives – teresacoates.com

Day 18 – September 18 – Jen Frost – Benefits of spray basting – faithandfabricdesign.com

Day 19 – September 19 – Sandra Starley – Getting started with Hand Quilting – utahquiltappraiser.blogspot.com

Day 20 – September 20 – Karen Platt – Drunkard’s Path Made Easy – karenplatt.co.uk/blog/

Day 21 – September 21 – Kris Driessen – All Kinds of Square (in a Square) – scrapdash.com

Day 22 – September 22 – Sarah Goer – Planned Improv Piecing – sarahgoerquilts.com

Day 23 – September 23 – Kathy Bruckman – Organizing kits for on-the-go sewing – kathyskwiltsandmore.blogspot.com

Day 24 – September 24 – Cheryl Daines Brown – The Secret to Flat Quilt Tops: Borders – quilterchic.com

Day 25 – September 25 – Cherry Guidry – Pre-assembling fusible applique – cherryblossomsquilting.com

Day 26 – September 26 – Laura Chaney – Getting started with English Paper Piecing – prairiesewnstudios.com

Day 27 – September 27 – Ebony Love – Cutting Bias Strips from a Rectangle – lovebugstudios.com

Day 28 – September 28 – Tammy Silvers – Working with heavier weight threads in your machine – tamarinis.typepad.com

Day 29 – September 29 – Kathy Nutley – Create a perfect facing or frame with 90 degree angles – quiltingsbykathy.com

Day 30 – September 3 – Joanne Harris – Using Leaders and Enders – quiltsbyjoanne.blogspot.com

Island Batik Ambassadors Star Light Star Bright Challenge

Who doesn't love a rainbow?!  I had such fun making this original star quilt using Island Batik's Moroccan Bazaar collection.  I cut all the pieces on my Accuquilt GO! Big cutter which made piecing this quilt a dream.  I love not having to trim dogears off half square triangles.  It uses Hobbs 80/20 Cotton/Poly Heirloom Batting and for the quilting I used 28 weight Aurifil Thread.

To start the quilting process I decided to do all the colored pieces in my gray Aurifil.  I chose the thicker thread so the quilting would stand out a little more against the colors.  I thought about changing colors and matching, but that would've been 20 color changes and it seemed a bit overwhelming!  I'm happy with the final results.

I chose to do a continuous curve on the pieces to minimize stops and starts.  Ruler quilting and I don't always get along so I did these free form and I'm happy with how they turned out.

For the edge I did some loose spirals.  You can also see that I chose to topstitch my binding down.  I like the way it looks and I don't have to worry about missing the ditch.

To get a different texture in the middle ring of the quilt I used these curvy radiating lines.  You get the same effect of straight lines with a lot less worry about whether or not they're perfectly straight.

Here you can see the continuous curve of the middle and the swirls I put in the background.

I love how the colors play in the final quilt.  Thanks to Island Batik, Hobbs, Aurifil, and Accuquilt for the amazing products!  I had a blast.

I hope you get to quilt today!
Suzy

Minnehaha Falls Inspiration

My older son and I went walking at Minnehaha Falls the other day and had a great time.  We saw lots of beautiful flowers including the ones below which were almost as large as a dinner plate!

I hope you get to quilt today!
Suzy

Island Batik Ambassador's Star Light Star Bright Challenge - Top Complete!

The top for my Island Batik Ambassador's Star Light Star Bright Challenge is complete!  I'm sew excited to get started on the quilting!  With back to school week for teachers next week I'd better get going!

Round One - the center

Round two - the first border

Round three - the final border

I love the Moroccan Bazaar collection with this beautiful rainbow from Island Batik!  It was all cut with my GO! Cutter from Accuquilt using the 8 inch Qube and companion cube sets.  It makes it so slick!  It was also stitched with my favorite Aurifil 50 weight thread in gray.

I hope you get to quilt today!

Suzy

Ukulele Inspiration

I was at my son's guitar lesson the other day and saw this set of Ukuleles.  It's a great color combo for a quilt!

A curtain

I love the wood grain on the back of this sign!

I hope you get to quilt today!
Suzy