Sunday, May 29, 2016

Finishing edges with satin stitch

Ever spent a long time closing the edges of a quilted project with the satin stitch?  Well I found a good way to help that become an easier way, it also looks better.  
Well, it's pretty simple so give it a try.
Once your project is ready for a 'binding' which will close off the raw edges and pretty up the piece, get out some clear  Sulky 'heat-away' stabilizer.  Cut about a 2.5" wide piece to cover all the areas.  I measured my project and had two sides 12" and 2 sides 8", irregular shapes- so my strips were cut 12x2.5" and 8x2.5".  I used a touch of basting spray to one side of the stabilizer, and applied it to the underside of the project, with about an inch hanging off the edge.
Pick the stitch you want to use and go around the piece.  What I found was that the stabilizer gave the needle a place to land and it held much better than when it has nothing to go into on the outside edge. I did go around the project twice and had nice coverage.
Follow the instructions for removing the stabilizer.

Give it a try and let me know how that works for you.
Happy Stitchin'

Wednesday, May 11, 2016

Ft. Lauderdale

April 15, 2016

Landed in Ft. Lauderdale to a very strong rain storm, mixed with lightening and thunder.  Tomorrow Michelle and I will be boarding The Navigator of the Seas- a Royal Caribbean Ship-
and greet our newest group of cruising quilters.
I love the Caribbean Sea,, it is the most beautiful sapphire blue you have ever seen. On this trip we will have an excursion on the West Indes Island of St. Kitts.  A great Batik shop is on that island, it is also the Batik factory- of which our quilters have the opportunity of going behind the scenes. Each student is able and encouraged to try their hand in performing the traditional method of adding wax in areas that they don''t want color, making a design and then dying the cloth. They will go away from Caribelle Batiks with a piece of their own making. Each time I take the group there, they all tell me it was the favorite of the whole trip.