Enter Circle of Life. This quilt is taking me to edge and beyond of machine quilting. And one of the many lessons that it has been teaching me is that stitch in the ditch is a good thing. It helps stabilize the quilt sandwich. and helps those rays in the New York Beauty arches shine.
The work on the right has been stitched in the ditch. The left side is yet to be done. See how the rays stand out so nicely.
My current workhorse sewing machine is my Janome 7700 (Horizon). Besides having an 11" harp size, it has the built in AccuFeed system. This system is slick at moving the quilt sandwich evenly and smoothly. No bunching up at the end of a seam. There is a special SITD foot, but I much prefer using my open toe foot.
Very nice
ReplyDeleteI love my 6500, but I covet these new machines with the dual feed. (About as much as I covet the Featherweights! haha) Maybe someday I will upgrade. I just cannot swallow the cost yet. Your ditch stitching looks great for those rays. It really makes a difference. I think a lot of people combine...use ditch stitching to stabilize, and then come back in an do FMQ to add texture and beauty. You are doing just great with this, Maggie! I'm so impressed. And it is so beautiful! What thread do you like to use for your quilting?
ReplyDeletei have a janome 6600 and i love it...
ReplyDeleteIt's looking ready great Maggie!! I think half the battle is trust in your relationship with the machine and what works for you and the job at hand.
ReplyDeleteJust love your work.
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