hera marker
Showing posts with label hera marker. Show all posts
straight lines
This week I've been doing little bits of various projects, all somewhat near completion.
I enjoyed doing a little bit of straight line quilting using my trusty hera marker:
If you've not used a hera marker before check out my tutorial for cross hatch quilting to see how I use it.
I love this Lighthearted Text print and those little penguins on the selvedge!
Tonight I'm back to doing some hand quilting, providing me with some much needed relaxation and quilty therapy.
cross hatch quilting tutorial
I am going to share how to do simple cross hatch quilting, some helpful tips and what to avoid. In the past I have tried various ways of doing this; using different basting methods, various marking tools / pens / machine guides, different stitch lengths etc. This is the best method I've found and I love the results. Cross hatch quilting is really effective and looks beautiful on quilts, it is also a great way to add texture to cushion covers.
1. Spray baste your quilt - generally I prefer to pin baste but cross hatch quilting requires a lot of marking and those pins will just get in the way. It is also important that your quilt is well basted and the spray is an excellent way to ensure that, I use 505 Spray Adhesive.
If you don't feel happy about using spray you could use fusible wadding instead.
2. Use the longest ruler you have, it will make life easier! My 6.5" x 24.5" ruler is perfect for this and I use it often. How you chose to line your ruler up may well depend on your fabric. For instance if the print is directional you might want to make your first quilting line follow the pattern, there may be gaps in the print where you want your quilting lines to be or you could line the 45° mark on your ruler with the edge of the fabric to get an angle. For this project I used the X print as a guide, angling the ruler so the 1/2" mark on my ruler ran through the Xs.
3. Mark your quilting lines - I use a Clover Hera Marker. This scores the fabric, leaves a neat straight line and I find that using a hera marker seems to further baste the quilt.
You use a hera marker in the same way as a rotary cutter; hold the handle (the thicker end), align the edge of the marker with the ruler, press down and push forward along the length of the ruler while maintaining the downward pressure. The curved edge runs smoothly along the fabric (make sure you aren't using that pointy side!) in the same way a rotary cutter would.
To create a perfect line don't move the hera marker forwards and backwards and try to get continuous lines as much as you can. I usually do this on a table or on the floor, pressing forward as far as my arm will stretch, then lifting the marker, realigning the ruler (if necessary) and repeating.
Make sure the first marked line runs through (or close to) the centre of the quilt as you can then work out from this and it will help avoid puckering later.
4. Decide on the spacing - you might want to create a small or wide grid effect, again this is probably best determined by your fabric choice. I used Cotton and Steel Basics XOXO in Night Owl and you can see marking the lines every 1" works perfectly. Only mark one set of lines (going one way), do not mark out the full cross hatch yet.
5. Quilt - I use a stitch length of between 3 and 4 (I have a pretty basic Janome sewing machine), you might want to experiment on a quilt sandwich to determine what exact length works best with your machine but it does need to be a longer stitch than you use for piecing. I always use my walking foot for straight line quilting.
Starting at one side, use the marked line as a guide and stitch along the line. When you reach the end do not travel back up the next line, you need to clip the threads, move the quilt and start back on the same edge where you began quilting. It is far better to quilt in the same direction!
Always quilting in the same direction helps immensely to stop those mother puckers. In the photo below I changed the direction of my quilting lines in the centre, so you can see in between those middle quilting lines the fabric is far more rippled. In the next step you will be quilting across the lines and that baggy channel I've created means that I am more likely to get puckers.
I am using this piece for the back of a cushion so I wasn't that bothered and wanted to show you the difference. Again you could experiment with a test piece to see what works best on your machine, quilting one way or doing the lines back and forth.
6. Repeat - when you have quilted all the marked lines you need to repeat marking the lines across in the other direction. Using the hera marker after quilting the first set of lines again helps keep everything straight and neat. Quilt those lines then sit back and admire your cross hatch quilting and the gorgeous texture you've created!
You can create brilliant effects using this method - square cross hatching, or diamonds like I have done here - you could also experiment with using irregularly spaced lines and different angles.
Please link back to this tutorial and leave a link below so I can see your projects if you use this method and find it helpful! I would love to hear about any other tips you have too :)
having creativity
**Be sure to enter my GIVEAWAY! Open worldwide, end 1st March** Thanks to all of you who have left such nice comments so far, I have been giggling at some of the stories!
Inspiring words from my favourite poet. My sewjo tends to fluctuate but when I'm in the zone I have so many ideas I could burst and I just want to play with fabric!
I finished this Day Lily block for my Green Tea and Sweet Beans quilt:
And have had a lot of fun picking fabrics while planning my next couple of blocks. I think creating eclectic and beautiful (to me) combinations is my favourite thing to do.
I have also been working on some quilting for a cushion I am making, simple but effective:
Wishing you all a creative week!
so fresh and so clean
My husband had the urge to spring clean over the weekend and the downstairs of our house looks much brighter and a bit less cluttered (ignoring my sewing stuff and the kids toys!). It must have been catching because I cleaned up my blog a little... I'm liking the fresher look, it feels like Spring.
This week I got these adorable Rocket Age prints from Fluffy Sheep Quilting. I think these are just so cool and I love the retro look. Rockets and space... obviously my son loves them too! I have to think of something fun to make him, maybe shorts for the Summer?
As a bonus when I ordered I used up some of my reward points. There's a clever computer thingy in the site that works out your reward points when you make a purchase and you can check the points in your account and use them any time. In my book that's basically getting free fabric (or Aurifil, or perle or any other lovely thing in the shop) for buying fabric and it's amazing how quickly those points add up! Head over and take a look, there's lots of fabulous fat quarters, all under £3!
As a bonus when I ordered I used up some of my reward points. There's a clever computer thingy in the site that works out your reward points when you make a purchase and you can check the points in your account and use them any time. In my book that's basically getting free fabric (or Aurifil, or perle or any other lovely thing in the shop) for buying fabric and it's amazing how quickly those points add up! Head over and take a look, there's lots of fabulous fat quarters, all under £3!
I recently ordered a frixion pen
because I know other bloggers have recommended it. I wasn't convinced and still felt nervous but oh how wrong I was! This pen is awesome. It writes so smoothly with no dragging, it's really easy to see on the fabric (I bought a black one) and you just iron the quilt and it vanishes. VANISHES. Even under the perle thread?! I don't really understand (nor do I actually care) how it works, it just DOES! I even scribbled out a line where I'd messed up and it completely disappeared. Hello me drawing loads of embroidery patterns, quilting patterns and whatever else I want not to be permanent. Very clever pen.
There's a new theme over at le challenge, this month it is NATURE. Are you working on anything that fits the theme or are you inspired to make something new? The link party for finished projects is 15th May. Head over to check it out, there's a random winner every month!
Too Far Quilt
Here it is, my finished How Far Will You Go quilt. Huge thanks to Jess at The Elven Garden and Jess at Scrappy n Happy for creating such beautiful blocks and running such a great QAL.
I'm calling this quilt Too Far, despite the fact I actually didn't complete all the blocks in the QAL I chose the name because I'm giving it to a wonderful friend who lives too far away from me. Hopefully it will be a reminder of how much I love her and it is a small token of how much I value her friendship.
The quilt measures about 52" x 62". A nice size for snuggling on the sofa. I used my hera marker to mark out the straight lines and am pleased to say that despite taking a long time to quilt it those marks stayed put!
I love how the stitches blend nicely with the backing. So much so it was tricky to get a picture.
I used Aurifil cotton wt 12, 3840 to hand quilt it. The pretty variegated purple is gorgeous. It was from a sample pack and look how much I have left! I was so glad I got all those lines done and it just shows how far that little reel can go.
This is another tick off my FAL list so for Quarter 3 I actually had 5 finishes out of 6 and the one I didn't complete was my feathers quilt but I did finish the top so I'm still feeling good! Roll on Quarter 4, I need to get thinking what to put on my list!
I'm going to start working on my Le Challenge project tonight - I really can't wait to share it with you, the theme this month is THRILLER and I'm super excited to see everyone's interpretations. If you don't know what I'm talking about go and visit Le Challenge and link up with us on October 15th for your chance to win a $25 gift certificate to the Fat Quarter Shop.
Linking up:
keeping my crossed fingers busy with sewing
I have my fingers crossed and am chanting 'everything happens for a reason', believing positive things must be on their way after a bout of crapness.
Head down sewing time is good therapy and achieving something feels great!
Here's Sheila's blocks for the Bee A Brit Stingy Bee (I promise they are straight, just my bad rushed photography)
and Alice's block for the Amaranth group in Simply Solids Bee
Then last night I had a workout. Seriously. Hands and knees basting with pins in this heat?!! It was like some crazy hot yoga class. I had already given my arms a workout by marking the quilt with my hera marker but it had to get basted or we'd have no living room!
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