Mainly because the new walking foot I had to buy to replace my broken one doesn't allow me to position the guide bar to the left of my needle. In fairness, I'm not sure that the last one did either in an official sense, but I was able to manipulate it slightly and the guide would stay in place to the left meaning that the bulk of the quilt remained to the left throughout the process rather than having to be crammed, coerced and downright bullied through the not-terribly-large throat of my machine.
The result of the substantial manhandling of this Bee Blessed quilt is that the wonk of the crosses has now been joined by a significant wobble in the spiral. It's very hard to keep the curve smooth when there's so much hauling going on. This 70" square looks a little more like a wobbly puddle ripple than I had intended. Fingers crossed that the washer and dryer will help improve the look before this quilt is passed on for donation.
So, clever peeps out there, I have a sneaky feeling that there must have been a way for me to quilt the spiral with the guide bar to the right of the needle without all of this heartache (shoulder ache and backache too). Was I doing something wrong? Could I have helped myself by doing something obvious? I do have a tendency to make life difficult for myself at times but I started this quilt 6 times and I just cannot see here how I could have changed the process without changing the guide bar position. Any ideas? Does your guide bar work both left and right of the needle? Is this just a quirk of my Janome model that the bar will only sit to the right? Any helpful suggestions will be gratefully received because I do like to quilt in a spiral but would honestly not want to go through this 'right of the needle' process again!
Sorry if that got a bit technical. Back to quilts.
I've stitched up the hipBees concentric box blocks into a flimsy and I really like how it has come together -
Then, I worked on piecing a back from some fun fabric with a ziggy siggy panel down the middle.
So yep, that makes another one basted and ready for quilting - not a spiral though!
No idea what you should do. My walking foot comes with seam guides for right and left sides. Never had to think about it. Sorry! But in all honesty the spiral looks really good from here. I think you might be a tad over critical of it. You've done good.
ReplyDeleteBoth the finished and nearly finished quilts look fab. Have you tried going the other way with the spiral?
ReplyDeletewhat I was going to say has been said by the other two. Mine has two alternative guides, and, perhaps you could have spiralled in the opposite direction? Other than that, it looks fantastic anyway, so no worries!
ReplyDeletethanks for reminding me I have a seam guide with my walking foot, have been using it without it and drawing on the lines! I think the wonky crosses and spirals look pretty amazing. The concentric blocks have gone together so very well.
ReplyDeletedoes the walking foot have a seam guide on a janome? I will have to look, I generally follow pins or go freehand. The spirals on the quilt look fine.
ReplyDeleteI think your spiral quilt and quilting look absolutely amazing. Be proud of that beauty!
ReplyDeleteAw so sorry you've had spiral problems with your machine. The quilt looks brill though! Have you googled your Janome model to see if there are any discussion forums re the walking foot?
ReplyDeleteThe spiral looks great, Sarah. I tried this on one of my quilts and had exactly the same thing at which point I gave up. My walking foot only has a right hand place to put the guide too, but it's not an official Janome foot, so I can't be of any proper help really, except the others mentioned spiralling the other way which I hadn't considered!!
ReplyDeleteSeriously, Sarah, you're your worst critic! Those spirals look amazing!
ReplyDeleteI'll be keeping a close eye to see what people say as I have had exactly the same problem twice now. I found using an adjustable seam foot to be an alright alternative to a quilting bar. Never tried going the other way and sewing backwards the whole time, I'm scared that my machine will break or I turn back time or something!
ReplyDeleteIt looks amazing from where I am sitting!
ReplyDeleteI think the spiral looks pretty good! My bar goes to the left or right on my Pfaff, but I still manage to go the wrong way nearly every time I do a spiral and end up with the bulk going through the throat!
ReplyDelete