Spooky Stitches: Halloween In-the-Hoop Embroidery with Reen Wilcoxson (resharing!)

QUILTING ROBOTICS ON HOME MACHINES? - Resharing SMP video - home quilting

Poppies Blooming in the Flower bed!

I hope May is treating you well!

I have been enjoying looking at our Bread seed Poppies blooming in the flower bed each morning.

The weather is cool in the morning and gets hotter during the day, so the Poppies only last about one day, then new ones have been appearing!

I planted 4 varieties this year - the seeds were all originally from Baker Creek Heirloom Seeds. I saved some, and planted some from the seeds I had saved and one new packet variety from Baker Creek Heirloom Seeds. 

(Be sure to scroll down after the text to see the photos!)

They are all Breadseed poppies - all edible seeds that can be used for baking. I planted extra so I'll have more to use and save.

The Hungarian Blue Breadseed poppies and the Florist Pepperbox poppies bloomed first. There was one surprise in the Florist Pepper box patches - some Red and white striped Poppies! I will be sure to save some seeds from them!

Now the Purple Peony and Giant Rattle poppies are blooming also. The bees are enjoying them early in the morning. Also, spotted some Hummingbirds tasting them!

They were all planted in the Autumn - late October.

Florist Pepperbox Poppy (frilly variation!)

Giant Rattle Poppy

Giant Rattle Poppies

Purple Peony Poppy

Hungarian Blue Bread seed Poppy

Hungarian Blue Bread seed Poppy

Florist Pepperbox Poppy

Florist Pepperbox Poppy

Hungarian Blue Bread Seed Poppies

Hungarian Blue Bread Seed Poppy

I hope you enjoy this little flower show!

Many Blessings to you,

Denise A. Buchwalter-Losczyk

Practice quilting on the Little Rebel Quilting and Sewing machine

Hi!

Hope you are well today! Today I'm sharing a little of what I have been doing in my studio. Last December I received my Little Rebel Quilting and Sewing machine, which I had pre-ordered in August from Sewing Machines Plus and Grace Quilting. It was a bit of a wait, but I was very happy when it arrived! 

The Little Rebel has a built in stitch regulator, which I wanted for a sit down machine, to make my sit down quilting a bit less stressful! It also has a larger M Bobbin case (like a long arm machine), and a 13 inch throat space. It has a separate bobbin winder motor, and winds bobbins beautifully! Also different stitch speeds for sewing, and a nice assortment of stitch lengths to choose from.

I have been exploring the sit down quilting function with the machine. 

I have a Grace Qnique 14+ machine on a frame that I am used to quilting with, so I had to get reacquainted with quilting while seated.

Grace Little Rebel Sewing and Quilting machine

It felt a little awkward at first, I was just moving the fabric, stitching and getting used to the machine. Then I decided to follow a pattern in the fabric and it became very meditative and relaxing. (It also helps to practice drawing a quilting design before going to the machine, this way you have a pattern in mind when you sit down - something I didn't do at first this time!)

One of my favorite things to do when practice quilting is to quilt fabric, then make some placemats. Here are the ones I created while practicing:

Practice quilting

Practice quilting

                          Practice quilting


After quilting, I trimmed each piece to placemat size, then finished the edges using my Brother Serger. (It is a basic Serger that I've had for a while, I get it out when sewing and doing little home decor projects, such as this.) The new placemats have been brightening up our table!

It is good to practice quilt, to get warmed up for a project and to check the tension in your top and bottom threads. I have taken to using a Towa Gauge to set my bobbin stitches, and this has been very helpful. Then you only have to adjust the top tension on your machine until the stitches look nice. I like to use an 80 weight or 50 weight bobbin thread, and balance it with the top thread.

Also, pay attention to the thickness of your batting. If you have a thicker bat, it may be easier to hide a thicker thread, if you have a thinner bat, you may want to use an 80 or 100 weight thread for quilting. This is good to keep in mind, in case your quilt is not cooperating when you are setting the tension. 

Towa Bobbin Case Tension Gauge

I have noticed that when the bobbin is about half full, I sometimes need to readjust the bobbin tension. Always take a peek every once in a while to see how it looks on the bottom of your quilt, even if the top looks perfect!

I have the Towa Gauge for M size bobbins, but it is available for L size bobbins, also (the size bobbin used on many straight stitch machines). I did look at some videos on line to see how to use the gauge, it is not too difficult.

I almost always save my practice pieces from quilting or working on a project - I have used them for placemats, notebook covers, mug mats and coasters and have even made a needlebook from them. They are a fun reminder of projects I have worked on, and also very useful!

Happy Quilting!

Many Blessings to you,

Denise A. Buchwalter-Losczyk

VIRTUAL QUILT FEST DAY 1!🧵🤩💗Sewing Machines Plus (sharing this event!)

I'm participating in IGQuiltFest this year! Here is a bit of Info about it!

Hi!

I am participating in #IGQuiltFest2024 this month, March 2024! It is a 31 day Festival on Instagram, hosted by @amyscreativeside . 

You can take part too, there are prompts for daily posts - and weekly drawings for quilty prizes. It is a fun way to connect with other quilters on Instagram. 

I am a bit behind on my posts, I posted my Day 1 Introductions photo today, if you visit @amyscreativeside, you can see the list of posts for the festival, and more information about it.

I thought it would be fun to share this bit of information with you!

Many Blessings to you,

Denise A. Buchwalter-Losczyk (my instagram page is @dblosczyk)

First project finish of the year! Secret Lives of Pets Panel Quilt!

Hi, 

Hope your year is going well! I have just finished quilting and binding the Secret Lives of Pets Panel quilt (cat themed) and I just need to finish stitching on the label before I send it off to it's recipient.

Here is the project and some close ups of the quilting. It is quilted with my Qnique 14+ (15 inch arm) Quilting machine on a frame. I used my own quilting designs, it is all free motion quilting.

 

Full view Gidget and Chloe Panel Quilt

Corner View of quilt

Sulky Cat Yarn Ball embroidery design

Chloe Detail

I used a Towa Gage to set the tension in my bobbin and that was a great help. It is quilted with 50 weight Superior Thread and 80 weight Wonderfil DecoBob thread in the bobbin (it is my go to bobbin thread!). I wanted to use up a bit of my thread stash when working on the quilt.

The yo-yo embellishments were left over yo-yos with inserts from the Spot-on Pillow project I made for Love of Quilting magazine. (You can read about it in one of my previous blog entries! You can make one too!) 

This quilt has been a joy to work on, and I loved playing with color and fabrics in my stash.

You can read more about the process in my previous blog entries!

What are you working on? Leave a comment if you like!

I hope this little quilt brings some inspiration to you!

Blessings,

Denise A. Buchwalter-Losczyk