Tuesday, October 5, 2010

Aaaargh!!!!


In the spirit of full disclosure, and because a little empathy always seems to help me feel better, I'm going  to share with you the crappy crafty day I'm having. As much as I love the tons of inspiration I get from reading blogs and cruising Flickr, sometimes I just have to wonder, are these people human? Some of these ridiculously talented crafters never seem to have a pucker, hole, bump, missed seam, chopped off point, crooked line or unintentional wonky quilt block in all the hundreds of gorgeous projects they endlessly churn out. And I have to love them, because the only make me aspire to be better. But I happen to be a mere mortal, and all this crafting is for me, a journey, as cliche as that sounds, of learning.  And the thing I love most about crafting is the process. But today, I would really rather be perfect!!! I just don't have time for this and I really wish I could be making forward progress instead of having to backtrack over all these mistakes! 
I thought I did quite a nice job basting my Dream On quilt and set out to try out some straight line quilting. I went really well on the City Weekend baby quilt and I thought I was finally starting to even like my walking foot. But damn it! PUCKERS! I don't know if this one is just too big and is tugging too much with it's weight, or if I just suck at straight line quilting. I have a Bernina 440 QE and it should be able to handle this. I'm bound and determined to get this one perfect. So I'm spending this morning during Lucy's naptime unpinning all 300 pins and tearing out the quilting I already did. Not my idea of fun. I'm trying to go without spray basting since we're trying for another baby, but I may just have to get out the gas mask and douse this thing full of toxic goo.


The other large pain in my arse today is my Kererra WIP. I've been making such progress and I've really been enjoying this knit - until I got to the shoulder. Take a closer look:


Yikes! I've tried picking these stitches up three times already and the join looks like absolute crap. So this afternoon I'm off to my fabulous new LYS to be rescued. This shop just opened a few weeks ago near my house and I was thrilled to find the woman who taught me most of what I know is working there! So I pray Annelie can help me move past this, and hopefully I'll even learn something.

If anyone out there has any advice to offer, I would love to hear. But first, I'm taking Lucy on a nice long walk on this blue sky morning to blow off some steam and look for some motivation to tackle these projects again. And if any of you need a to vent a little crafty frustration, feel free to let it go here:)

And if you haven't entered in the City Weekend giveaway yet, it's still going so pop into my previous post and leave a comment!

42 comments:

  1. I can totally sympathize with your crappy day!! I also am a "mere mortal" when it comes to the craft biz....I did a blog post with some of my puckers a while back, so don't feel alone!

    Can I help make your day better? I just picked my winners for my giveaway, and you won!!! Shoot me a quick email telling me which of the 2 pouches you prefer, and your mailing address, and I will send you a bit of cheer :-)

    obsessivecraftingdisorder {at} yahoo {dot} ca

    Hope that helps a bit, Megan :-)

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  2. I'm right there with you. Last night I some how lost a 1/2 inch on a quilt block I was sewing for the VQB I'm in. Darn it! Now it's gonna get an extra broader to make it big enough. That's after I get some more thread 'cause I almost ran out last night. Goodness!

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  3. Omg, I totally get it! Nevermind that they're perfect, but they churn things out so quickly! "Got this top together in just 2 hours" really chaps my hide bc cutting, piecing, and trimming should take a person longer than that.
    They are really inspiring, though... :)

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  4. oh man - I can totally relate. Yesterday I spent all morning trying out this new apron pattern and it just didn't come out right...looks ok but I'm not loving it AT ALL! I think part of it is the pattern - but part was my execution...left me totally frustrated...so Instead I started re-organizing my fabric...now my craft room is a huge mess...and so is the rest of my house :-)

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  5. Oh honey I've never sewn anything, ever, that didn't get acquainted with my stitch ripper. We just gloss over those parts (and thankfully all of those little holes disappear in the wash!)

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  6. Strange that you post this b/c I commented on two other blogs this morning something I learned last night that made my head swirl... There is a way to adjust the pressure on your presser foot - watch this video: http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Ox8qRhWF3CI (There is long-windedness here but stick with it.) Most of my summer dreams of getting quilts done were ambushed by puckering - even after lots of time pin basting. So, after ripping out two small quilts worth, I spray basted and though it's better - I am starting to get puckers. After more searching and getting this information on pressure - I changed mine and played around with some scraps and batting and I do believe that lighter pressure will help alieviate puckering!!! I hope it helps you. Bugger. Oh, and 505 Spray and Fix works great (I didn't notice fumes and I used it inside.) Good luck - may a walk help - I'm going for one now!!

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  7. empathy empathy empathy -

    I've just been blogging my sewing a straight line and cutting frustrations!

    - nothing I ever make hasn't been unpicked/bodged/left to one side for a while until I cooled off ...

    All in the end is harvest ...

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  8. I'm right there with you! Striaght line quilting on ANY size quilt strikes fear into my heart! I thought it was just me but apparently not. I have a Janome and no matter what I do it seems that the backing fabric always gets fed in a little faster than the top...and then I look at quilters like Red Pepper Quilts and she always has the most beautiful straight line stitching I've ever seen, so I know it can be done but obviously I don't know the "secret". :)

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  9. Oh, I feel for you. Like nearly everyone else who's commented, I've had to undo and redo steps in everything I've ever made at least once or twice. I once sewed sleeves on the wrong side of a shirt before (so the seam of the sleeve is on the outside...oops!). Last night, my mistakes were cooking-related, and after making three chicken pot pies (little individual ones) that fell apart in various stages of filling, pinching dough, and transferring to cooking sheet, I ended up tossing the rest into a casserole dish and laying the dough on top. :) It all works out in the end, and you learn something in the process.

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  10. Thank you, thank you, thank you!! Amen girl all the way with this post:P I am having trouble too right now with my straight line quilting too! There is some puckering that I resewed three times and finally settled the last time because the pucker should be hidden by the binding at this point;) I am doing flying geese and it is REALLY hard to get over those darn points safely with the needle too without using every word you are not supposed to use as a Christian-LOL!

    I think people just don't like to post about their blunders and only their victories!! We need to post some bad days with sewing!!! That way we can all feel Human and not be lying awake at 3 am thinking about how to fix a not so straight line the next morning (not that I do that EVER!!)

    Take a deep breath girl and know that you are not alone--whatever mistakes happen, someone IS going to LOVE that quilt ANYWAY!!

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  11. oh dear...it is good to know these things happen to all of us

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  12. It very reassuring to hear that I'm not the only one who spends more time stitch ripper than i'd like. It's very easy to think that everyone else just rustles up a perfect little something in the spare 5 minutes between creating a wonderful Nigella-esk 3 course meal and juggling dozens of equally perfectly executed tasks.

    Every thing I make has areas that are ripped and redone and it is so frustrating when a simple enough technique just doesn't work, is it me, is it the machine aaaargh!

    I finished the top of my first quilt months ago but I'm too scared to try and quilt it so it just stares at me from the top of the shelf :)

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  13. I was going to tell you to check your pressure foot tension but I see someone above already mentioned it. It will make a big difference. Try, try again.
    Besides, it is about the journey and the process, right?

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  14. On some projects it seems I do more unpicking than actual sewing. I don't think that's technically possible, but that's how it feels! ;)

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  15. Oh dear...truly sorry! Sometimes I have days like that...I've even taken scissors viciously to the finished product and thrown it away. =)

    Hope tomorrow is better!

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  16. Girl...join the 'Crappy Quilter Club"! We all have those days. Can I give you some advice on the puckers?? I teach a machine quilting class. If you tape down the backing with mailing tape at the top first, then barely pull it and tape the bottom. Do the same side by side. The other key....is lots and lots and lots and lots of pins. This is where most people go wrong. If you pin it to 'death' you won't get puckers.
    If you go to my blog and look on the right side of my page you will see my original Meet Me in Paris quilt (Moda Paris Flea Market fabrics from about 6 years ago)...I quilted that on my Bernina 125. It's a 100" X 100". So it can be done.
    Hope this helps. Email me if you have any other questions.
    Hugs to you across blogland!

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  17. oi oi oi Megan! You are amazing!!!! EVERYONE has crappy days but for some reason the "famous" bloggers tend to gloss over or ignore them. Which is why I don't read them anymore ;) I like to know that everyone has bad days and honestly? My bad days FAR outweigh my good days. My seamripper & I are bff...can I tell you that I have 2 quilts that I made last year as "quick fun projects" that I've literally quilted and unquilted now 6 times each? That's stupid and totally not normal. So today I sucked it up, marched my happy little ass down to JoAnns & bought a completely crazy thread and I'm just going to quilt both of them. And wash them. And love them. BECAUSE THATS THE POINT OF A QUILT! Hahaha. They just want to be loved! They don't care if they are perfect!

    For straight line quilting I pin the DEATH out of things. Like one pin per inch. When I quilted my 5&Dime with all the dense quilting I pinned like, a half inch apart. It was kinda overkill and everyone said I was crazy but I don't have a single pucker. AND. The weight of the quilt can sometimes "pull" the machine, especially if your machine has the little table, I got terrible puckers on a baby quilt a few weeks ago and I realized it was getting them because the safety pins were getting stuck on the table. nice.

    sheesh. I wrote you the great American novel here ;) chin up ms. megan. mistakes can always be fixed. and cookies can always be baked to cheer up a bad day. xoxo

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  18. Oh Megan! I am so sorry for your bad day! I think all of us have those days/weeks/months/lives - we just don't always admit it! I'm getting ready to teach a quilting class tomorrow night and one of the things I'm going to tell them is that quilting is fun, but to expect a lot of frog stitching (rip-it, rip-it), tears, frustration, yes, even cussing - even when they get good at it! I still chuck things across the room sometimes! And I think every quilt I've ever made has some "creative adjustment" in it! PS how about finding a friend who can live through the toxic fumes so you can work on a spray basted quilt?

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  19. Oh Megan, I sympathise. You have summed up what happens to me so many times. You create a perfect top and have this idea in your head for how to quilt it and then BAM. You blow it. I too, get caught with straight line stitching. I just can't get it right. I'm OK one way, then the other is puckered. That's why I'm on stippling at the moment. Till next time. Don't give up. I would unpick too if it's any consolation. Happy days. :)

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  20. I know what you mean Megan! Things have not been going well craft-wise around here. I feel that same as you - I love all the inspiration that I find on Flickr and blogs but sometimes feel like a complete failure because my things aren't as prefect or I'm not churning them out at the same rate, ugh!

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  21. I hate it when that happen!! IMHO the key to no puckers is getting the backing perfectly taut by taping it to a wooden floor or table before layering on the batting and quilt top. Then pin every few inches. This does the trick for me! When i sew the straight lines, I alternate directions. Chocolate helps too!

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  22. Oh no! Sorry to hear your troubles! I know what you mean though, sometimes it feels like everyone is perfect at everything!

    I had this same problem with my plus quilt. When I went to do the horizontal lines that cross the verticals I had a lot of puckers. It took me half the quilt to figure out how to avoid them. Totally something you're told not to do, but it worked and the bottom half had no puckers at all. I gently pulled the quilt from the other side through the machine while quilting. That little bit of extra pull did the trick! I have no idea why, but hey, it worked!

    Good luck sorting out your knitting as well! It looks beautiful so far! :)

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  23. Oh, I think everyone has a day or two like this. Sorry...picking out stitches is not fun. You might try loosening the presser foot to 1. And I know what you mean about the weight of the quilt pulling on your stitching. Sometimes I have to throw my quilts over my shoulder. I like to use longer stitches as well when I do machine quilting...and go slow with straight line quilting. I think that is all the advice I can give. Hope you have a better day tomorrow:)

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  24. I totally understand that feeling. Not only are everyone's blogs overflowing with amazing projects but Flickr is like overload! lol It really makes me feel at the bottom of the heap a lot of the time. My sewing time is between the hours of 10pm-2am, so my sewing is sporatic and not always in the best light, lol. Sometimes it helps to just walk away from the project and work on something else for a bit until you feel like tackling it again =)

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  25. Thank you! That is exactly how I feel. I feel like my projects take SO long and I'm constantly having to fix them or just live with that fact that things going going to be wonky. When it's really bad I just have to put everything down and try another day.

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  26. just found your blog - love it - especially love the wonky brick road quilt!

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  27. you know the thing is... you will be happier if you take the time and undo it and redo right, and the end result is well, perfect...that I think is what I continue to learn with my projects. When I just blaze through, skimp, don't really care etc...they are never as nice and I ultimately am disappointed in myself... these mistakes prevent the futures one and pretty soon, at least I hope, we are slamming out prefection at top speed. Thanks for sharing

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  28. Spray baste is the only way. Is their anyone you can ask to do it for you?
    *Tip for the walking foot, make sure the 'arm' is on the needle bar. If you have it 'laying' on top.. you are hooped.. it won't work. Just speaking from experience, denim #80 needle?
    -Theresa

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  29. wow - what a rough day at the machine and with the needles!! I have not done it myself yet - but the I believe the Madelinetosh group over at Ravelry - or if you look at the pattern page there for the Austin Hoodie - there should be some tips on cleanly picking up those stitches. My friend has made it and used the advice, and it worked! It looks like a similar technique. A day like this is enough to make you break up with a project - glad to hear you are pushing forward - the sweater and quilt are too fabulous to let them be WIP's for long:) Have a better day!!

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  30. Seriously, your quilts are amazing. Any mum who has a young child and doesn't sew would be floored at what you manage to make.
    I would never ever pretend anything I make is anything approaching even 80% perfect. My quilting is always puckered, I just straight line quilted a doll quilt and the lines are all slanted (but not slanted enough to say that that's what I intended) But I rarely unpick and re-quilt as I know I would just hate it and curse and make an even worse job of it because of that. Mostly I am more than happy to live with the mistakes.
    These are hand made items at the end of the day - they have personality unlike their mass produced machine made counterparts.

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  31. Blue painters tape around to hold all the layers smooth for pinning, and LOTS of pins! Good luck!

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  32. I am sorry that you had such a bad day. It sucks when if feels like everything you touch falls apart. Hang in there. I hope things work better fo you today.

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  33. amen girl.....I feel the exact same way every time I try to free motion. It's like it's not in my DNA to do, or something. I get so frustrated because it seems like everyone and their mother can free motion a quilt in a few hours, when I just spend those hours pulling out all my stitches!! And don't even get me started on the points lining up thing. I can't get all my points hit for the life of me, but I have gotten over that battle. I figure no one will ever notice as much as me, and the quilts are made out of love (isn't that what matters?!). I have also learned that pictures are deceiving!! Anyone can make a quilt look beautiful in a picture, so I try not to let myself get too carried away with comparing my quilts that I look at in reality and those that I only see through the computer.

    On your straight lines, I work on the same machine as you and have learned a few tricks. so let me list them, just incase they work for you too.

    I lower the presser foot tension down to 20 when quilting. I think our machines are preset at 47. this makes a huge difference in the puckering.

    I raise my stitch length to 3.0, it seems to be the right length for the lines and doesn't get those tiny little stitches from the pulling weight as easily.

    I never let the weight of the quilt hang. I keep the quilt in my lap and almost prop the part I am working on up on my chest to prevent it from weighing down.

    Gloves. I use gloves to give myself a better grip on my quilt. this really makes a difference in how consistent my lines are.

    And lastly, remember that there is no such thing as perfection!!!

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  34. Hey Megan- I can't contact you because your blogger is set at no-reply. I need you to email me your mailing address to send you your prize! Please indicate which pouch you would prefer. I am off on holidays in a couple days, so let me know asap so I can mail it off before I go.

    obsessivecraftingdisorder{at}yahoo{dot}ca

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  35. Maybe a different basting method would help? I'm brand new at quilting - the lady at the local fabric store highly recommended this method: http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=bhwNylePFAA&feature=related

    She said she taught everyone at the local quilting club how to do it, and now they're all using this method.

    Hope this helps!

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  36. Hmmm - I don't think that link works - just search youtube for Sharon Schamber hand basting and it should be there.

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  37. oh I'm always a wonky woo & queen of the quick-unpick too ;) I always think it's a happy accident if I get straight joins or perfect points! lol! Keep enjoying the process Miss M, no one sees the imperfections I promise.Your work is gorgeous, just keep having fun doing it. A chopped point here, an uneven join there, ah, who cares, it's a quilt that will be used and loved because it was made by you with love xxx

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  38. I feel your pain! Check out my blog post for today. I am struggling with the same straight-line quilting. :)

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  39. Yikes! As a so-called "famous" (?) quilter I want you to know that I spend countless hours every week sewing (which I absolutely LOVE), I too get to spend my fair share of time with the seam ripper and am familiar with tucks and puckers when straight line quilting.

    I guess my advice is very much as has already been said in the preceding comments, as well:

    I am a fan of pin basting, and from my own experience know that puckers are often due to poor basting technique. If your quilt top and the backing have not been basted at the same "tension" then there will obviously be excess fabric either on top or bottom resulting in tucks.

    What I do know is that over time you do get better at basting, you get a feel for how "tight" to pull the backing when it is taped to the floor (although I've not learned as yet how to enjoy basting!).

    And, pin - lots and lots of pins.

    Most important though, is to enjoy what you do, don't sweat the small stuff, no-one is perfect.

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  40. Don't worry Megan! You always do such lovely work - and the fabrics are really pretty. I'm sure you will get the puckers "Ironed out" so to speak! I have yet to start on the quilt that I am imagining in my head - but I am sure it will be a challenge. I'll come cry on your shoulder if it collapses in a heap. LOL
    Take you time with the knitting - it is sure to work out in the end. You go girl! :)

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  41. OH this made me laugh! How many times have I been sitting at the sewing machine muttering under my breath "AND I DO THIS FOR FUN?" or calling the seam ripper 'my best friend'? Do you know how many times I have sewn two pieces of fabric together, be it a quilt or other item, only to find out I sewed right side to wrong and have to rip the whole thing out? How about the time recently when I did it TWICE on the same project! (it was a pillow case so I was allowed to throw it without causing any damage).

    I don't have advice, you probably figured it out already anyway! Sometimes it's good to just go outside and leave the sewing projects alone for awhile!

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  42. That's some dedication, unpicking a quilt. My munki munki quilt gave me terrible problems. Lots of puckering. Lots of uneven stitches. At the end of the day I decided it wasn't worth stressing over. A good wash and dry does wonders camouflaging imperfections. And I've decided that Rita of RPQ is not human. :)

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