Pregnancy nesting has had a favorable result on my quilt completion. I am pleased to report that I finished my One Monthly Goal for April, a wonderland quilt I designed using EQ7, which was inspired by Cotton + Steel's Wonderland collection designed by Rifle Paper Co.
The blocks are a combination of traditional piecing, machine appliqué, paper piecing, improv, and curved piecing, set within a non-standard grid.
As you may have seen in my planning post, I quilted selected poems from Alice in Wonderland and Through the Looking Glass using 12 wt Medium Red #5002 Aurifil thread. As this was a new technique for me, I learned a few helpful strategies.
- Adjust the tension while practicing on a sample quilt sandwich 12" x 12" square of layered fabric/batting/fabric miming the actual quilt.
- Use a size 90 needle.
- Use 40 or 50 wt that matches the color of the top thread in the bobbin.
- Increase your stitch length and decrease your speed.
- Hold onto the top and bobbin threads really well after pulling the bobbin thread up to begin sewing.
- When tying off threads, refrain from popping the knot into the batting, and instead pull only the thread tails through before clipping.
- Use a busy (colorful and patterned) backing or one the same color as your 12 wt thread.
- Order the large spool, as the small spool of 12 wt runs out before you know it.
- Do not backtrack directly; go alongside.
- Forego the automatic needle threader.
I also chose free-motion designs to highlight each block. In the background space lacking words, I did some composite quilting consisting of swirls, pebbles, feathers, and paisleys in 50 wt Aurifil Avocado #2886.
