This post is mostly for Janome 6600 owners because of my “fix” to the dual-feed open-toe foot, but maybe others will be able to glean something from it about satin stitching.

I LOVE the line created by bold satin stitching (a very dense, tight zig-zag stitch)–to me it is an additional design element. Some people may think it is tacky (think cheezy sweatshirts with cheezy appliques), but used in the right way in the right place, satin stitching creates a beautiful, bold line. I used it a lot in my quilt, The Tide is Hire (above). Here are two close-ups:

I outlined the satin stitching to “crisp it up”–I imagined a light source above the “waves”, so I used a lighter shade of the thread above and a darker shade of the same color below the satin stitching. This outlining is very time consuming and tedious, but it creates such a subtle yet dramatic difference that it is, to me and in the right place, worth the significant investment in time. On The Tide is Hire, I think it took eight hours of stitching just to outline the satin stitching on the waves. Yeowza!

When Janome came out with the dual-feed open-toe presser foot I thought that it would be the bee’s knees (in other words, really cool). Here is the foot (not attached):

And here it is in place on the machine:

Well, not quite. A regular open-toe embroidery foot has a “scooped out” portion on the bottom, which permits thick / built up stitches (like in a satin stitch) to pass underneath it without jamming on the cross-piece. Alas, the dual-feed foot doesn’t have the scoop-y out-y part.

Enter the Dremel tool! I took out my trusty Dremel drill and attached a grinding tip. I then ground away a portion (maybe 1/32 of an inch? not a lot) of the under side of the cross piece, and then swapped the grinding tip for a polishing top to smooth any rough spots (which could snag and fray threads). BETTER!

Interestingly, when satin stitching this block, I used the dual-feed open-toe foot as made by Janome for the first two and half corners. Then I took the Dremel to it. The remaining section seemed to lie flatter than the parts first stitched (not to mention a lot less heartburn and snagging, like none, on the inside points of those leaves…ALL those blasted points!). The block (below) is blue fused onto a white background; both squares are about 19 inches. The block also was stabilized from edge to edge with freezer paper on the bottom. I’m thinking that by carving out the opening (the scoop-y out-y part, to use my highly technical term) there was less stretching of the fabric going on, as well as permitting the built-up stitches to pass underneath more smoothly. Cool!

And as a reward for reading this long post, here’s a picture of what I’ve been working on…a block for a Hawaiian-style quilt that will be a pattern in my book (how’s that for a wicked tease?…can’t say more yet but I will as soon as I can).

And here is a close up of the satin-stitching, with “on the fly” (as you are stitching) tapering (the spots with pins are places where I think I’m going to rip out and improve):

Sometimes a magazine from a subscription arrives and just about wows you from cover to cover. I love Threads magazine, and have been a loyal subscriber for more than a decade, but this recent issue (it says March 2007 on the cover, though it obviously arrived in January) just sang to me. Even though the magazine is mostly about garments, and I rarely make them any more, I learn something from every issue that I can use in my sewing and art quilts. Click here to subscribe.

In this issue, which arrived just a few days ago, the best article (to me at least) is one my Lois Ericson, whose patterns and innovative manipulation of fabric, edges and openings has inspired me for years. I’d love to see what she would do with an art quilt. More to the point, I’d like to take what she does and apply it to my art quilts. You’ll have to find an issue (if you’re lucky at your grocery, and most likely at most Barnes and Nobles and at Borders) to read the whole thing, but look at what she does with a leaf and some imagery, like the noshi or bundles ribbons image (note–all photos should be clickable so you can see a larger image…if you’re on a PC try a right click and open in a separate tab or window in your browser):

And look at these garments…WOW…talk about inspiration for both garments AND quilts:

There were two awesome tips in this issue also. First, how about using a revolving, upright spice rack for small notions on your work table? I could see adapting this for quilting, leaving the lids off some of the jars and sliding in smaller scissors or rotary cutter (the 18 or maybe 28 mm size), another one to hold marking pencils, another for the seam ripper (just don’t spin too fast and send everything flying!):

And then…brilliant! using clear vinyl tubing from the hardware store as bobbin thread tamers. I bought two feet of the 5/8″ outside diameter (o.d.) with 1/2″ inside diameter (i.d.) for all of 76 cents. It cuts with scissors (my paper / utility ones) and a bit of hand strength. I think I might also buy a foot or so of smaller size tubing for when the bobbin gets low:

And then there was this cool article about adapting a single pattern by adding seamlines. This is fantastic for us quilty types, because we can then piece, insert applique panels or pieced blocks and segments:

Can you believe ALL of these jackets came from the same pattern?

To find out more, buy a copy…. oh, and the resources / adverts in the back are wonderful…tons of inspiring websites with all sorts of common and arcane sewing stuff!

Yep….I’m a long-time subscriber and lover of Threads magazine!

Hi all! Yesterday while I was on my first day of Jury Duty, visitor 30,000 surfed in! If you are from Logan, Utah(or somewhere near it) and found my site bygoggling “circle quilting templates long arm” you win the free pattern! THe only other things I know are that you surfed in via Explorer on a WIndows XP platform, and the ISP was Comcast, and you were on at about 12:42 your time.

Since visitor 30,000 came via Google and may not come back, I’ve decided to extend the prize to a second visitor: number 30,001 who surfed in from somewhere in or near Denver, Colorado, also on Windows XP and Explorer (version 6.0), at about 12:44 your time, and was also from Comcast ISP.

If you are either one of these visitors, write to me at sarah@sarahannsmith.com and I’ll iron out where to send which pattern!

THANKS to you all!

I’ll try to get that post about the Threads issue written today…it has been crazy busy here! And will continue…I’m on a one-day jury trial on Monday, but it actually looks kinda interesting. Will be able to share more after my entire jury duty is complete in early February.

A Lazy Girl, that is! I’m happy to report that Joan Hawley has featured my Mt. Fuji and Cherry Blossoms totebag on her blog! Thank you, Joan! I’m so glad you like it!

Go check it out here, and then if you like this pattern (or any of her other patterns) go visit her website! Her bag patterns are here and the Bag-e-Bottoms are here.

As I mentioned in my earlier blogpost, the pattern was very easy to follow and to make. It’s a good example (for me especially) that things don’t have to be complicated to be nicely finished and customized!

A while back, when I reached my 25,000th visitor, I offered a free pattern to the visitor from Berea, Kentucky. Alas, even though I’d seen a visitor from Berea before, no reply, and haven’t spotted that town on my site-meter since. Bummers. So will try again… we are barrelling in on the 30,000th visitor since February, when I started my site meter!

So, sometime this week I expect, we’ll hit that magic number. If you’re that visitor (I can post date, time, and general area you are from…sometimes folks “towns” show up with the name of a neighboring town) you’ll be able to pick any pattern you want from my website and I’ll send it to you as a thank you for visiting!

And now for the mini rant—-if you love the book Eragon, don’t go see the movie!!!!!! We DID go to see the movie Eragon, with high hopes. UGH. HORRID. How to ruin a great book.

Paul and Eli enjoyed it, because they didn’t read the book (Eli will, but it’s a bit beyond his bright 8-year old brain to read on his own, more suited to age 11-adult). Joshua and I (who have read the book multiple times…me twice, Joshua about a dozen, literally) kept muttering to each other about how they’d destroyed and twisted stuff. I can’t remember ever walking out of a movie, but I was so disgusted that if I hadn’t been with the family I would have left.

If you’ve read Eragon, DON’T go see the movie. If you haven’t read Eragon, and enjoy fantasy adventure type books on the line of the Tolkien and Narnia books, or Anne McCaffrey dragon books, READ THE BOOKS (Eragon, its sequel Eldest, and the forthcoming final book in the trilogy). Skip the movie. Think I felt strongly about this one LOL? I’m so sad for author Christopher Paolini…he has written what will be a classic, I think, in the vein of the hobbit books.

What is most annoying, is that the filmmakers could have been true to the book so easily, but instead chose to make MAJOR plot changes, and messed up on innumerable easily-fixed details. For example, the elf Arya is dark-haired. The actress cast in the role is willowy and has great facial structure for the character, but is a strawberry blond. Can you say “hair dye?” or “wig”? And then there is Murtaugh—in the book he actively resisted going to Farther Dur, the stronghold of the Varden rebels, because his late father (whom he loathed) was the arch-nemesis of the Varden and he knows that he will be suspect (if not killed for being Morzan’s son). In the movie, he is all gung ho to go there. Why in heaven’s name would they butcher a major plot line?

I understand that they had to eliminate sub-plots and details to fit the movie into 2-3 hours, but to alter major and minor plot lines and, in countless places where they could easily have made the movie true to the story with (literally) cosmetic changes, chose not to do so… well,
FROTH!
ANGER!
SPITTING!

Let’s just say that where they succeeded in making major movies true to the story and spirit of the books in both the Lord of the Rings and the Narnia movie, in this case they have given a textbook example of what NOT to do to a book.

Off soapbox, end of rant. Next post we will return to our regularly scheduled quilty and family doings! Grin!