Friday, September 5, 2014

Second September finish.........

On this Neapolitan quilt I wanted to test a method of quilting with my longarm.  My machine is one of the least expensive 18" models, not equipped like the fancy high priced ones.  I have a little gadget called a channel lock which I place over a wheel so the machine can only move sideways.  A friend who has the same machine told me it doesn't work very well and I found out that is true when quilting this quilt. 
I wanted parallel lines with random width spacing between them.
















The back is made from two of the fabrics that are in the blocks.  The 5" strip that is pieced in hardly shows in this photo.












I couldn't find a large enough piece of any of the fabrics in the quilt for binding so the search was on.  The pinks in the quilt have a slight peachy tone so most other pink fabrics just didn't go with it.  I couldn't find any browns that looked good either.




Then I found this piece that had the right kind of both the pink and the brown in it.  It took a half hour to load the quilt, a little over an hour to quilt it and 4+ hours to do the binding.  This was a tough batik that was hard to hand stitch through. 
It is 43.5" x 52.25" before washing.  I imagine it will shrink in quite a bit more in width when washed because of the style of quilting.

25 comments:

HollyM said...

Neapolitan is a good name. Pretty quilt.

Sewing Junkie said...

Looks great. One more notch in your quest to get things done. Anxious to see the next one. Chris

Quiltdivajulie said...

Like the quilted texture - sorry the attachment wasn't so great.

Batik binding IS hard to hand stitch!

Linda Swanekamp said...

I have a 17" longarm machine on a regular sewing table as I don't have room for rails. I could never finish a quilt in an hour. I am doing a queensize one now, and it is going to take many hours. I break my time up and go piece. Love the way it turned out. Binding colors are perfect.

Mary said...

It turned out beautifully and the binding fabric was the perfect choice.

Sylvia Anderson said...

Since I started following your blog, you never cease to amaze me with all you seem to accomplish during the course of a day, both inside and outside the home. As I was thinking about this yesterday, I thought of a phrase that I feel suits you to a T, and I mean this in a very complimentary way. You are wonderful, whimsical, wonky and whirlwind Wanda. Hope I haven't offended you, because this was not my intention.

With the cooler weather coming in, I will be spending more time outside, getting things done that are in dire need of some TLC. Hope you have a productive and enjoyable weekend.
lv2bquilting2@comcast.net

Lostinspace said...

I love the parallel lines with random width spacing, the effect is lovely. The gadget didn't work so you had to do stand over the machine and guide it manually? The lines look very straight to me! What I love is the inspiration, this could be done on a regular sewing machine with a walking foot.

patty a. said...

The binding is perfect. Only a bit more than an hour to quilt?! WOW, that is fast.

Roxanne said...

I love the textural effects of channel quilting. I did several quilts with a simple channel in the early 90s when I was still hand quilting, now I see lot of this and it's "modern". The random width you did is even better!
P.S. This pattern also reminds me of your H-block without the crossbar.

Vicki W said...

I wonder if yo could use padded binder clips as clamps in for and behind a wheel? I know that's what several longarmers I know use. The quilt turned out great!

Needled Mom said...

I think the lines look straight from the pictures. Very nice.

Sheila said...

Beautiful quilt, Wanda. Perfect quilting choice. Love the soft colors.

JJM said...

I so enjoyed every photo from the stitching to the binding. I love this quilt it is truly another precision masterpiece.

JJM

Nancy J said...

Another one finished, love those long lines, and the backing, suits to a T, binding, a long time to go round, Lovely from start to end. Cheers,Jean

Anonymous said...

I'm loving this quilt. As always I love all your quilts. I agree with Sylvia A. that quote fits you to a T!
And, being able to get as much done inside & outside is impressive too. I wish I had your energy!!!
Have a great weekend. Can't wait to see what you show us on Monday!!!
Happy Quilting & gardening!

Kay in Kansas

Elaine/Muddling Through said...

It really looks good, Wanda! The quilting is great and that binding fabric is perfection. Ah, the beauty of having an abundant stash!

Mystic Quilter said...

Looks lovely and I do like the colours. I am very keen on straight line quilting so love what you've done on this one.

Carla said...

Very nice!

Sandi said...

Can I ask, what didn't work with the clamps? I have a similar machine and I use clamps on both wheels at the same time. So far so good but because mine are plastic with rubber tips I wonder if they will lose their grab over time.

Sandi said...
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Sandi said...
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Elaine said...

I am not a big ping fan but I like it a lot with the brown- The channel quilting is new to me and I am going to try it-the random widths add so much to the overall character. A nice finish!

Featheronawire Sally Bramald said...

Your output never ceases to astound me.
I looked and looked again and cannot see any evidence of any difficulty in the quilting? I am asuming you found some other way round the problem? It looks great!

Diane said...

It looks great! I use the channel locks on both front wheels- my dealer recommended that. It seems to help I do find I have to go slower than I want to. I think that is just my brain thinking "it's locked so I should be able to just wiz right through this"

Lisa C said...

I really enjoy batiks but the hand-binding almost kills me. I've never heard anyone comment on it but you. So thanks for making me feel less crazy. I thought I was the only one who struggled with the hand-binding process. I think I've purchased every needle available to make it easier.