* PLUS * Spider Hanging by a Thread Autumn Harmony Banner Cosmic Fusion Baby Quilt Wool Applique Snap Bag Selvage Bag(Husqvarna VIKING’ Lexa eMC ead aE Mothev's Day. Rea U AZo Deen aa aoc eat Cee ace! Sienna aes ca d CN oe) eee ae ad your heart desires! ona Seat ener ad eee a ees Peres ed Cee eects os See eee Cee et nent Ces GUase a Ca pacaaristae ial papcinas apinguraat See ee eerste ea I keeditor's letter Good quilting Is in the details, and there's no greater feeling of accomplishment when points match or seams lay flat when making a quilt! There's an extra bounce in my step when this happens! Accuracy takes a little practice, and the application of every nugget of information discovered through tutorials, lessons, and friendships make a world of difference. What an extraordinary age to be living in, with an incredible amount of information at our fingertips and delivered in less than a second! Last fall, | was struggling with my quarter square triangles on a baby quilt | was making with mom, which led to my request to quilter Elaine Theriault to share with QUILTsocial the way to perfect quarter square triangles every time. Every tip, tutorial and project we lear from enhances cour knowledge of quilting, giving us more freedom (and should | say power?) to make well-made quilts. | hope every issue of QUILTsocial quenches your thirst for knowlege about techniques, sewing tools and sewing machines. To be armed with these is to be able to do some serious good quilting. Cheerfully, oll MMU ME OR QBS QUikliociata [issue 3| Teociak == Ton Deca, Cats A Cronica Alsi De Fico ‘Atte eunber of ped copes ef sock areavaate forpuchse a slec cult tops and spect srs Ak ore a shon Godel nat salable biter uur stor you se reste canying QUEIecan oust pase fraljorascul etc Desgnes another trout who would eo be fonsdeed fue sues please ena coueouLiocalcon ‘eth espton ol our wstand your roped poet daily blog weekly giveaways monthly newsletter ALL quarterly magazine ! Facebook page Pinterest page > ALL of the above! SIGN UP today at www.QUILTsocial.com and receive a free ebook Elaine’s Quilting Tech Tips! eres 65 ANeedle Pulling Thread Magazine 15 Brother 86 Business Directory 57 Coats 25 Gitermann Creativ (02 Husqvarna Viking 35 Northcott 04 QUiLTsocial 88 UNIQUE Sewing and Quitting BRAQAQK 4 QUiLTneciatas | issue 82) UI LTeociat issue 8 Cc 06 21 22 26 50 66 70 78 84 ontents Making a Cosmic Fusion Baby Quilt Playing with the Brother NQ3500D's Built-in Decorative Stitches Hooked on Books Spiders Hanging by a Thread Banner A Quilter's Review of the PFAFF creative 4.5 3 Creative Uses for WonderFil's Eleganza Thread Reduce Bulk in the Seams of your Quilt Block The Epic Features of the HV Designer Epic Autumn Harmony a Log Cabin Quilted Sampler A Calm Winter, a body pillow wrap Quilted Hand Muff QUILTbooiatn | issue 8 56 Making a (amie Fusion baby quilt! e @ @ 9 © @. “ 2 6 © ° e o The seams are pressed tone side. Jean Boyd | received this wonderful Cosmic Fusion fabric by Northcott! Ihave fabric from the green colorway, but there are also orange {and purple colorways in this collection. You can have a look atall the fabric on the Northcott website, Watch for Cosmic Fusion! You can find ‘out which quilt shops and online retailers carry Cosmic Fusion by using the Product Finder link atthe top of the page on the Northcott website I decided to make a moderstyle baby quilt using 9 ~20"pieces from the collection. The quit wll be 38°x 48" when finished Ifyou would lke to make this project with me, here's how to get started. From each 20" pieces, cut 3 or 4 strips in varying widths from 24to 4" wide, Make sure you cut the strips so the longest side ison the lengthise grain ofthe fabric (parallel 0 the selvedge edie). This wll help prevent the strips from stretching as you sew them together Sew 9 different fabric strips of varying widths together to make a strip set. Don't worry ifthe top and bottom edges are uneven = they will be timmed later. Press seams to one side. The strip set will be about 20" 24"wide. Sew 9 more strips of varying widths together to make another stip set. Make sure to sew the fabrics together in a different order than in the fst set. Sew the 2 strips sets together, end to end, to make 1 Tong strip set Make 3 more long strip sts like Follow along, Il show you how to put these stip sets together tomake the quilt top. Youll have your modern baby quilt ‘made in no time. tm sure youll agree that this Northcott Cosmic Fusion fabric is fun to workwith, Protay lean Boyd QU Tneciata | issue 8Lining ue strios of fabric easily for a mbdem baby quilt Use theineson your tule telp you straighten the edge ofthe tp set ‘A sneak pek a the Moder baby quit made with Northcot’s Cosmic Fusion fabrics Straighten one edge of the strip set. like to use one or more ofthe lines ‘on my ruler as additional guides to make sure the ede is realy straight. Just align the line on your ruler with one of the seams before cutting, Use the diagram as a cutting guide to cut your strip sets into units. Pay careful attention to the orientation ofthe stiipsin each strip set. You may have to add 1 or 2 more strips ifyour strip sets arent long enough. Once the units are all cut ou, its a good idea to put them on a design well Cr on the floor, so you can check the overall design Try to avoid having 2 identical fabrics next to each other. Sometimes you can just turn a strip, tend for end, to avoid having this happen. Here are my units on the design wall all ready to sew. Hove working with this Cosmic Fusion fabric! Northcott fabric always excellent quality and the width is usually a full 44,Du [F sew rickrack to your quilt like an expert . S This gives you a. good idea about how your ‘modem baby quit willook PS @ a ea : ‘efor sowed the units together [pinned some Fikrack trim over the seams onthe design wal see howit would look eee Here are my units on the design wall all ready to sew. The colors in this Northcott Cosmic Fusion collection blend together so well and the strip design looks very modern. You can go ahead and sew the units together just lke this, or you might lke to try my variation below using rickrack trim. The sewing method for joining the units will be the same whether you add the rickrack trim or not. ‘As Lwas looking atthe quit pieces on the design wall wondered how it would look ifthad some kind of accent or tim on the main seam ines. had Somme %rckrackin my cupboard {ithad been there fora very long time!) and 1 thought maybe | had finaly found a use for it. Before started sewing the units together, | pinned some rickrackon my auilt and decided | really liked it. It would g0.0n topof the finished seams, butt would take some planning to figure out when to add the rickrack. Youll need about 6% yards of rckrack trim if youtd like to try this version thas sewn, Leavethe restof hanging lose or pinto the tip set 8 QUilTinciats Tissue 8‘verte sea, Sew units 6 tothe top of the quilt, So here's how to sew it together! "Note: if youte using rickrack trim, press the joining seams open. fyoute not using the rickrack tim, press seams to one side Using the diagram on the left as a guide, sew Unit 1 to Unit 2 Cutan 8' piece of rckrackand pint (on top of the seam. With thread that matches the rckrack, stitch close to ‘each edge, using a slightly longer stitch than normal. felt it would be better tohave this double line of stitching so the rickrack trim would stay lat. Tim excess rckrack. Sew Unit 5 to Unit 6. Sew a 31"plece oftickrack over the seam, using a double stitching line. Sew Unit 4 to Units %6 using a partial seam. Start sewing atthe top and sew about halfway down the strip sets Press the sewn partof the seam open Cut ado’ piece of rckrack and sew ‘over the completed part ofthe seam, leaving the excess rickrack hanging lone @ Sew Unit 3 tothe top of Units 4/5/6 a @ Sewa piece of rckrack over this seam. Sew Unit 7 to the right hand side. \ Sew tickrack over the seam. ‘Sew Units 8 and 9 together Sew . Fickrack over the seam, —= Sew Units 8/9 to Units 5/6/7. Sew - rickrack over the sean, / Yourmodern baby quits eadyt0 be quilted! Finish sewing the partial seam. Finish @ sewing the rickrack over the partial ‘seam, Sew Units 4 to the top of the ‘quilt. Sew rickrack aver the seam, QUikloosiata Tissues 9apy the way you make your quilt binding Here's an interesting way to make the binding. The finished size of the quilts 38°. 48% I's sized so that you just need ‘one width of fabric 54”Iong [14m You could also use the leftover Cosmic Fusion fabric to make a pieced backing, Layer backing fabric, batting and ‘quit top, making sure to center the quilt top on the backing, Baste the layers together. Quilt as desired Trim excess backing and batting to square-up the quilt top, For the binding | decided to use the leftover dark blue and green fabrics. like to use as" fnished- size binding, so cut strips 3° wide XWOF (width of fabric). cut ‘enough strips so they would go all around the quilt with about 8° extra Here's how you can make this binding too, Cutthe ends ofall binding stips (on a 45° or 60° angle. Sew the 3*binding strips together, ‘end toend, to make one strip long ‘enough to go all around the quilt. Press seams open Fold the strip in half lengthwise with wrong sides together. Press. wer - a id e e . Gira binding sips ke ths using 245 0760 degree angle Start sewing on the bieding using ascont i" seam allowance, ay Sewing binding on the first comer Finshirg the binding Press under "on one angled end Of the binding, Lay the binding on top of the quilt so the folded cut edge is approximately at the center of one side. Align the cut edge of the binding with the edge of the quilt. Starting about 10"from the comer and using a scant ¥4"seam allowance, start sewing the binding, Stop sewing ¥s'from the ‘edge of the quilt and backstitch to secure, TIP Usea walking foot or even-feed foot. Fold binding up and then back down on itself to create a mitered commer, Sew from the edge of the quilt toward the next corner. Stop sewing J from the comer and back stitch to secure. Continue sewing the binding on the remaining sides inthe same way. When you come to the last side, sew fora few inches and then stop. ‘Tuck the unfolded end of the binding inside the folded end, ‘Adjust the binding so it fits along the edge of the quit. Trim off excess binding Finish sewing binding, Fold the binding over tothe back and hand-stitch in place. At each corner, fold the binding to create 45° mitered corner. This can be stitched down or not, as desired. 10 QUILTbeciata [issue 6Colorway variations of the "Medom Baby Quill” I have shawn you how to make a modem- style baby quilt using the green colorway of Northcott’ Cosmic Fusion fabric. This collection alsa comes in purple and orange colorways. Here's how the quilt would look if you Used the purple colorway and orange colorway. Just by using different colors, you get a completely different look. Ihope you enjoy using this great Cosmic Fusion fabric collection by Northcott! Jean Boyd wuwepatternsbyjeanboydcom 4 Modem baby quitusing the orange Cosmic Fusion fabri frm Neo QUillaeciat [issue = 11Playing with the Brother NQ3500D built-in decorative stitches iv im having a blast playing with the Brother NQ35000 = it's not often | get to just sit and play on the machines. |im discovering, though, that reviewing a machine is comprised of equal parts poking buttons, tial and error, and (gasp!) reading the ‘machine's instruction book, While developing these articles I found most of the tools and buttons very intuitive, However, some tools were new to me and I had to look them up in the book. Brother actually produces really good user manuals, so that part Brother NO3SO0DS ‘Machines these days boast so many built-in stitches, yet Iso often hear,“ never use them! Sewing and not using your decorative stitches is like cooking and never using any seasoning! Embellshing is my second-favorite sewing pursuit and | feel that small-scale samplers are a wonderful way to stash- bust and experiment with all kinds of less is not more - the more filed with stitching itis, the more beautiful the result. The book Stupendous stitching by Carol Ann Waugh is a wonderful Inspiration for this, and you'll definitely see her influence in the final results of the sampler shown here. Im going to turn my creation into a slim case for my reading glasses. Bust a small bit of your stash Here's a quick ist of materials if youd like 10 follow along and create with me: ‘© cotton fabric backed with HeatnBond (Non-Woven Craft Weight Fusible Interfacing) to use as a base (| used a 6°x 7" square of a very subtle print 0 show off the stitching, but suit your style ~ everything from solids to wild prints can work beautifully!) FRERFRFRFRFRFRFRFRFRFRFRFRFRFRFRFRFRFW stitches, techniques, and threads without being overwhelming, And with samplers, + applique scraps to coordinate, backed with HeatnBond (Vfke their Light Weight) + anassortment of decorative threads land couching yarns + a bobbin filled with your regular sewing thread + flannel or oft cloth for lining (an eyeglass-cleaning microfiber would beeven better), backed with HeatnBond NQ35000 exploration time | showed you the stitch panel under the machine’ top cover, here's the home sewing screen where we can access all of those built-in stitches. innovis (On the NQ35000% sewing home screen, the Blue stich area hosts uty stiches.and the orange ‘area's populated with decorative options. I decided to tart with applique. This way Ican use some coordinating seraps of fabric to set the tone and colorway of my panel. siced 2 piece of my fusible web- backed applique fabric into afew random ‘curves and fused them into place isn'ta hardship, First upis to applique an edge down with a satin stitch. | chose and tested a zigzag from the first menu (1-10).1 had to reduce my stitch length dawn 10.0.1mm ta get the coverage | wanted, and Im not shy to tell you that | held my breath during the whole row thinking that it would jam with such a tight stitch. Nope - it fed beautifully and gave me perfect results then tried a random- width satin stitch (7-16) on another edge ‘and discovered that the length and width settings were fixed - I couldn't change them, but | eally liked it as it was. The third stitch I tried was a feather stitch (6-4 stradaling the ede. Tiree diferent applique fishes satin stitch, ‘random satin anteater sch Now heres where it gets relly cool - and Iget to show you that UR Shift feature lrave about Phas by Li tey 12 QUiliiata Vissue 8Because stitch patterns execute in the center of a presser foot, aligning the applique edge to the obvious center ‘Quide isn't practical - here you can see how the right stitch ofthe pattern is too far away from the edge instead of hugging itasit should (used the open toe embroidery foot to ave you a clear view of the needle positon). By default, sitzheslocatein the center ofthe reser foot, not always the optimal locaton for easy guiding Offsetting it would really make life easier and that’s what the LR Shift feature does it lets you move a whole pattern left or ight by 0.25mm increments! we This the manual agjuster 1uQ35000 -amangather. heres where you can Shift your stitch kt or right. I chose three stitches: blanket stitch (10-20), one of the hemstitches (3-05), and a blind applique (1-34). | played with stitch length, width and that awesome UR Shift 1 achieve just the look | wanted and that blind stitch is barely visible ~ so perfect! The precision that feature offers me for edae works fantastic! For the next little while fm just going to play with stitches and try out the tools in the stitch screen and the editing screen, These screens offer some neat options; so let me give you a quick primer on what they contain, starting with the stitch screen Traétionaland contemporary quer’ applique stiches the nea nvisble ind applique, blanket stitch applique and he angled blanket sich The stitch srean mates the most baie but usta stitch too! convententy available Most of the icons on this sereen are self-explanatory; along the bottom row, however, we have fram left to right # auto-pivot:| love this one! It's an ‘automated substitute for the knee lifter. With it highlighted, whenever you stop sewing, the needle sinks, the foot rises, nd you can adjust your fabric direction. I's so helpful when navigating curves and corners! fm keeping it turned on for this project! + auto-reinforcement: | use this alot, more on this later, + auto-thread cutter: another favorite of mine that well employ in the next artide. + save to memory: developed the perfect stitch settings or stitch combination? Save it to memory to use again and again. + image: this key shows you an ‘enlarged image of your selected pattern + edit/stitch switching key this one gets you inand out ofthe editing screen), Touching the edit/stitch switching key from here gives you this screen: Innovis Keeping your mos-needed took at the ready the 16035000 sith screen sclearand intuvely setup. Now this screen holds the stitch toys, which are well-detailed in the manual: + free motion mode: this sets the presser foot height fr free mation work (must lower feed dogs to use this corecty) + mirror image: horizontally mirror image most stitches + backto beginning: partway through a pattern and want to start over? Press this button! ale/repeat mode: sew continuously or just a single pattem Using this + size selection: choose between preset /S pattem sizes where available variable key: this one changes depending on the selected stitch; it can offer pattern elongation, density, or character spacing control + step stitch keys: this key uses the sideways feed to shift patterns left or ight Sonow, after a couple of hours of playing with all of these goodies, I now have a nearly-complete sampler Ive left some room for next foray). QULibesiate | issue 8 2 FRERFRFLRARF REL ER ERR LER FRERFRFRERFRGF: BFRERFRFRFRFRFRFRFRFRFRFRFRFRFRFRFRFRFW 4 & Whenever tested a stitch setting Iliked, added ito my panel, aligning the edae Of the presser foot up to a previous row of stitching to keep my spacing even, Ive discovered how much like the ‘open-toe embroidery foot fr this can realy see where Im going! “The scissors tool is also a eal winner in my book. Timming is neat and tidy, and iteally keeps the thread tails under control. My sewing area isnt nearly the mess of threads it usually is! Some observations made while playing + some menus seem to repeat patterns foundin other menus + some stitches don't let you adjust thestitch length or width, and others have preset large and small options. ‘+ the maximum speed seems to vary with the stitch pattern - some seem distinctly slower. The stitch quality is impeccable, so perhaps that’s Brothers way of optimizing ‘quality control"? fared better when using the foot control on some stitches = my steering was certainly more consistent when I could control the start, stop and speed with my foot and keep my hands on my fabric. + alight touch on the fabric was all that was needed to steer around the curves. The feed dogs and presser feet are elongated on the NQ series for better control, and thats definitely evident in how responsive itis. ‘Nearly done = withustencugh space toadd in some tly nga SIS IS ee: ppaspanbDesosansassonioscs #89222 : 5 the extra-large, sideways motion stitches are really cool, but trickier to steer.| did use one of them, but most were too large for thistle sampler. = combining stitches from the decorative stitch menus isso very easy just select one stitch, then another. Can you find the combined patterns in the above picture? + metallic thread posed no problem, even at full speed, though I did have to lower the upper thread tension significantly. Of course, | was using the supplementary spool guide as recommended. So... Ifyouve been playing along with me, you!l now have an embellished panel, too | hope you've left some room fora few more stitches, because im going to show you how to create your own stitches in My Custom Stitch. I might even have to add some couching, because I just love the look and texture of t. | have had so much fun exploring these tools, and really enjoyed sharing them with you. Ifyou have indeed been playing along with me, Im sure everyone ‘would love to see your creations. Keep reading, look forward to touring another exciting facet ofthe Brother NQ35000 with you all QU Tneciata | issue 8Get your game on! Bring your quilting and crafting to a whole new level. Create your own unique quilts, wall hangings, games, placemats and so much more with Brother's Q-Series sewing and quilting machines, and ScanNCut home and hobby cutting machine. Brother's ScanNCut comes fully loaded with an exciting collection of quilt block patterns so you can design your own one-of-a-kind creations with the push of a button! Now, cut your favourite material into any shape — no matter how intricate — without ever touching bulky design cartridges or even a pair of scissors. Brother's ScanNCut and Q-Series sewing and quilting machines — the only thing limiting your creativity is your imagination. ScartCue2 Create your own magnetic, quilted tic-tac-toe board like the one featured here. See how at brother.ca/tic-tac-toe Visit brother.ca/findadealer to find your closet authorized Brother dealer. Styist-O Series sewing & ating Nachos IB Age Acl=\ sy Ulel\} someting 9 connate Por i Jean Foto eae ange wo hak © 206 Bebeneratee Caen Cane NOOSE aFRERFRFRFRFRFRFRFRFRFRFRFRFRFRFRFRFRFW 16 Brother NQ3S00D Well explore something new. Well, kinda new: Brother machines have sported the My Custom Stitch™ feature for many, many years nov. yet i's such an underused tool (or should I say toy’? Hike to consider My Custom Stitch™ an advanced Etch-A-Sketch, and have a sneaking suspicion that 'm dating myself by saying that. With My Custom Stitch™, you can create your own stitch patterns by plotting points on a grid. The section devoted to itin the manual is quite small, but it eally doesn't need to be larger = it contains all the detall you need to begin designing your own stitch patterns {And among the accessories included with the NQ3S00D isa set of paper grid sheets 50 you can sketch out your ideas with pencil and paper before teaching them to the machine, | was looking fora specific stitch, and | ccouldrit find it among the built-ins. One was close, but not exactly what I wanted, s0 | hand-drew my idea on one of the ‘ids to remind myself of the first one | wanted to create, And because Im funny that way, leven dotted the points that | want to set My fest sketch ofa simple design, ready t0 twansfer toMy Custer Sttch™ It's playtime So, let's check out this cool feature! If you have a Brother sewing machine, there's a good chance that you have this hidden gem. Why not polish your stitch designing skills by following along with me? From the nowfamilar sewing home screen, touch the pencil button along the bottom row to open up My Custom Stitch™ Youll see this screen, or possily2 variation of itf you havea different mode This ie what the My Custom Sten sezen looks Iie. but dente timidate you! This screen looks more complex than itis — but most of itis taken up with, arrows! So rather than diving into a ‘ea of technical explanations, let's just enter the frst point. Referencing the drawing on paper, | think | want to work horizontally rather than vertically - the button in the top left takes care of that Nex, Il use the arrows surrounding the set button to move the peneil on the rid up 7 points to match my drawing When it'sin the right place, touching set places the stitch Still using the arrows, lust keep moving the pencil and setting the stitches where | want them, continuing Until made one full repeat of my pattern. The top of the screen keeps track of how many stitches Iset as well, asthe pencils current stitch point and its grid coordinate. Design your own decorative stitches with My Custom Stitch™ arplennch peenoneayentylecten key" Custom Sttch™ Lonly needed to enter si stitch points for this pattern (some are top of each cther, in the middle of the'y) before it repeats itself The Test button displays a preview of my creation innovis A preview ofthe My Custom Sitch™ sith pattem shown asifeontinuously stitched ‘My own creations from My Custom Sttch™ ‘And here they‘ tested out for real Viewing from top to bottom, the first row is as | designed it, and the others are the result of making simple width and length adjustments. You can see that Im really having fun with My Custom Stitch™! The fst of many My Custom Shich™ creations ‘ocome! QU Tneciata | issue 8I wanted to see what my fist creation ‘would look lke with a heavier stitch, so linput the same stitch points again. This time, though, | used the tiple stitch setting on all advancing stitches. You cant see a difference on the editing screen except forthe stitch count, but in my actual sew-out below, you can clearly see the weightier stitch version (Sth row; it really shows off my pretty threads! ‘And then I got carried away (who, me?) and created a few more. Itied afew of my own design, one from the machine ‘manual anda couple from the book My Custom Stitch™ by Barbara Skimin, published in 2002. That could be a toughie tofind, butitstilla great reference. LLU LLL LLL eyeeeuteutdoraccecbie ett csabaeseaeccectucegeee caacececeeeceee eect eoboeokeketeoeiok apapieeeeee RED ght gtigtgigt EEE EEE EERE (Geting cared amay is easy with My Custom ‘Sch. How many can you create? Kee Now, while My Custom Stitch™ isn'tnew, though, think youll agree that it's pretty cool ~ Brother has added something new starting with the Q-Series: you can now edit existing built-in stitches as well as previous creations. So, of course | had to ty it out It's very similar to creating your own stitch, without having to start from scratch. Again, | was impressed at how easy it really was to do. Theres no need to worry about messing up the originals; your edited versions are saved a5 copies You can save up to 15 ‘custom stitch patterns tothe machine's intemal memory, or s many as you like on a USB stick. And forthe tecchles ‘who just need to know: stich patterns save as numbered pm files, which you may rename at your computer. Your ‘computer wor't be able to open these files, ut ifyou set up a folder for them, its a eat place to store a growing collection. Just pop em on a USB stick when you want to play with them on your machine While were on the topic of saving stitches, of course I saved all my ‘creations (okay, the ones | liked) sol ‘could use them to finish off the sampler. They dont look like much on screen, but they sure stitched out pretty! a Innovis i] B Saved pattems dont lok very excting-ogoed reoion to make stitched “ible ofellyour slitehes. They lookso different an fabric! Retrieving My Custom Stitch patterns from either your machine or the USB sticks as easy as selecting other stitches ‘on the NQ35000.-from the sewing home screen, touch the drawing icon next to the pencil, choose the source (machine ‘or USB stick) and folder (oPocket isthe default but l renamed mine justto see if the machine would read it it i), and ‘choose your stitch. Touch Set! and youre ready to sew, with all ofthe regular stitch editing options of the built-in decorative stitches, So now its time tofillin the last few blank spots on the sampler we began before, Can youspot my’ stitches in the final piece? Some of them are kinda tricky, | think! was over-exuberant and did't leave myself as much room as | thought! ‘A Sate panel topped up wih. il My Custom Sitch creations {really had fun playing with My Custom Stitch™ and I know Il be looking at anything patterned with new eyes. | might even take a second look at some ofthe hand embroidery stitches Ive dismissed in the past because | don't have the patience to hand sew. hope thatif you have a Brother ‘machine, or plan on getting one, youve bbeen inspired to check out My Custom Stitch™ and maybe design some stitch pattems of your own. It’s amazingly easy, and even a tiny bitaddictive! FRERFRFRFRFRFRFRFRFRFRFRFRFRFRFRFRFRFW QUittieciat Tissues 17Having explored a range of the fun features of the NO3500D its a good time to knuckle down and investigate the core sewing basics Incredibly easy threading Iim still marvelling at that now. Ive never experienced anything easier to thread than this! Especially the needle ~ you've just got to watch the video. Here itis, we've SLOWED it down for you Watch as real magic happens: hutps//youtu be 3 MiGrfOE Pre-set straight stitches for all sewing genres A straight-stitch is probably the single most important stitch on a sewing machine, and it should come {85 no surprise that the NQ3500D_ offers plenty of options. No matter, your sewing pursuit, you're sure to fing a pre-set straight stitch that will become your “go-to’ You may remember Brother's NQ3S00D main sewing screen which included several straight stitches. Some may find that confusing, but it’s actually pretty cook. Take a closer look and see if you can spot the differences FRERFRFRFRFRFRFRFRFRFRFRFRFRFRFRFRFRFW Brother NQ3500D (One ofthese thingsis not lke the other... can you felthe ciferences beeen the straight stiches? Stitches 1 to 4 are each thoughtfully pre-set with a different combination ‘of needle positions (left or center) and reinforcing style (traditional backstitch or in-place lockstitch). First, note the placement of each stitch in its display box on screen:a stitch shown on the left stitches on the left stitches pictured in the middle stitch in the center. Handy, but it gets even better: simply by changing the stitch width setting, one can access all 15 straight stitch needle Positions. That's 7 places on either side Cf center! If that isn't enough = you can adjust them further with the L/R Shif. Stitch 5 isa triple straight stitch, perfect for seams needing extra-strong stitching, But wait frit... theres even more! Take a lookat stitches 29, 30, and 31 from the stitch card, below. See the lttle‘P* footnote? These are set up specifically for piecing (quilters, this means youl) They are shorter stitches, and are positioned respectively from the Tight edge of the standard sewing foot, in the center, and \ from the left edge of the standard sewing foot. Someone ‘was really thinking! Top 1 0 practical sewing features of the nsso0D such panel Convenient automatic seam reinforcing and thread trimming Now, above, | also mentioned reinforcing styles; these correspond to the securing buttons near the needle. But again, someone really had their thinking cap on: use these stitches (or any others) with the tools along the screen's bottom row and you have some really time-saving conveniences. Envision this in your mind as I do this: select stitch 101 and activate the Auto Reinforcement the U-turn) and Auto Thread Cutter (the scissors) tools on screen. Begin stitching. The machine takes 3 stitches, backs up 3 stitches, then proceeds until you press the Usturn button near the needle. Then itimmediately backs up 3 stitches, forwards 3,and trims the thread. told you = it's “automagic"! These functions work on all stitches, and each stitch secures itself appropriately to the stitch type. Heres few to show you = beautiful stitch quality, and clean, precise reinforcements. Don't you just loveit? 18 QUILTaeciat [issue 6The nQ235000 doesalovelyjob of fishing. Shown here autosecuring andauto-i resus Knee Lifter tim a huge fan of the knee lifter. This handy tool is inserted into its port on the front of the machine, and offers hands-free control of the presser foot lifter. A nudge of the knee can raise or lower the presser foot, allowing you to keep your hands on your work for better control. It's often found on industrial machines because when properly used, i's a huge production-booster. little bit of practice and its usage becomes second nature Pivot function ‘The Pivot Function can do much the same thing as a knee lifter, only automatically. With it activated, every time you stop sewing, the needle sinks into the fabric and the presser foot rises, allowing you to rotate your fabric. So handy, especially fyou can't get the hang of the knee lifter! And, of course, theres more (theres always more)... It does something else that I really like: when you have the auto secure and the auto trim turned on with iit raises the presser foot for you after securing and fmmning, How cool is that? ‘A whopping 13 presser feet included Allof the basic necessities are included with the NQ35000 to get you sewing in style. Many of these feet are‘ switch; they snap on and drop off with the touch of a lever. Several of them, meant for techniques requiring a more stable hold, screw securely on to the presser foot bar ‘A grearcolection of presser fet 0 row into! From top to bottom, left to right: 2igzag foot (with leveling button), monogramming foot, blind hem foot, ‘overcasting foot, zinper foot, open toe embroidery foot, stitch quide foot, open toe quilting foot, non-stick foot, button sew-0n foot, embroidery foot, adjustable ipper foot, and the buttonhole foot. These all store in the side-on accessory tray surrounding the freearm, ready to be attached ina flash. Hassle-free fabric feeding with the ‘AHA® Feature No more strugaling with varying fabric thicknesses... wien the Automatic Fabric Sensor System is turned on, the NO35000 automatically and ‘continuously senses the fabtic thickness and adjusts the presser foot pressure for you. OF course, you can override it, but ‘wihy would you when it works so well? Automatic buttonholes Slip your button into the back bracket Of the buttonhole foot and snug the holder in place ~ that’s allt takes to measure your button perfect! Then ‘choose your buttonhole and lower the sensor lever. Push the start/stop button and the machine does the rest It really ‘couldnt be easier! There are buttonholes forall weights of fabri, even a stretch buttonhole, and a tracer for bound buttonholes ‘Sip the buttn inthe racket on the foot, sug it Jnand youre ready to sew. ‘The button seven fot jus finshed sewing on ‘button, Hidden gems on the buttonhole menu ‘Also on the buttonhole menu are a few related stitches that just beg to be ‘mentioned, since | included them in the above stitch out: 2 mending stitches, a bar tack | made two of those in diferent sizes), an eyelet, and a button- sew-on program. They've really thought of everything! Built in sewing fonts The NQ35000 has 5 sewing fonts buit ns block, script, double block, Crile, and a Japanese font | took few minutes to play with the block font; it was easy to enter and quick to stitch, and t'm quite pleased with its clarity. | like this, and can see usefulness for smaller labels and the like, but !m glad that this machine also. ‘embroiders ~ !m definitely partial to richly embroidered lettering, Stl. FRERFRFRERFRFRFRFRFRFRFRFRFRFRFRFRFRNSRW Getting caried awayis easy with My Custom Stitch How many can you create? QULlaeciate Jissue8 19‘My bonus “faves” {As | was stitching out the samples for the pictures above, of course | was using the very tools | was speaking of But... there were other features | relied tupon that really deserve their own, special mention again, | wanted to use the NQ35000 at home while standing at a high counter So didn't bother using the foot control this time =I exclusively used the start/stop button and the speed contral slider. While Ilike the foot control for larger projects, the freedom of not needing it was great! Project time tim going to turn the small panel ‘embellished over the last couple of antici into a fancy litle case for my ‘eyeglasses. Ifyou missed the supply list, please go back to the article, Playing ‘with the Brother NQ3S000's builtin decorative stitches. ‘My glasses are only a slim pair of magnifiers so | don't need a large case. Follow along with these steps, using your ‘own glasses to measure: 1.To make my pattern, | wrapped a Piece of paper around my glasses to determine how wide | needed to cut ry panel, factoring in about a "seam allowance. | added some curve to the bottom and top far interest, like this: FRERERFRERFRFRFRFRFRFRFRFRFRFRFRFRFRFW My pattem piece on top of my fabric the ules forasize reference, 2.1 layered my stitched panel and fusible-backed flannel right sides together and cut them out according to my pattern leaving the bottom curves uncut fornow. 3. Matching the top curves, stitched (Gsing stitch 1-29 = the right-hand piecing stitch) around the top curve only, Since I sewed fusible side up, | used the nonstick foot. And Iwas 50 intent on sewing slowly and carefully around those tight curves, forgot to change thread colors! At least this seam will be on the inside ~ unseen after this And you wort tel, will you? 4. clipped the curves closely. ar Stitch along the top edge and chip the ‘curves closely. S5.Then I turned it right-side out, smoothing the curves with my fingers and pressed it, fusing the flannel ining to the wrong side of the panel {snow tumed and fused with ight ides facing out 6.Next step was to fold it in half lengthwise and now cut the bottom curves. ‘Match the edges carefully and then cut the orem cunes 7. \ cheated and used the overcasting (@ foot with left straight stitch 1-01 and stitched along the edge as shown, using the guide on the foot to stay an even distance from the edge. OF course, tured the auto secure and auto trim on! TIP Using the overcasting foot (G) and the leftmost straight sitch wil give you a lovely 1a sear allowance. B.Last chance to trim away any pokey threads, and then overcast the edges with 1-16 -llike this overcast — is quite pretty So here’ the final little project (hope the picture's in focus, | took it with my ‘lasses off) ‘Stitched and stuffed (with glasses), this ‘case is complete! Ithas certainly been a wonderful experience getting to play so intensely with the Brother NQ35000; it's certainly ‘a machine with many fantastic, covet- worthy features. t's advanced enough to satisfy experienced sewisis, yet intuitive and easy enough to learn and grow into. Definitely a winner! Cheers, and until next time: happy sewing! Liana Kirkey Tana@thatseningplace.ca 20 QUILTaeciat [issue 6| tater ae | Upper Gonade Quer Celebrate Canada Ree Hanes Crane Sle The ewes boo om Nelle ard Csi fetues Two guasandsnaker pects suchas ana welanging and tote bg nace wing Noten Oncada be ofan Fuca cyt these neuen Pages BBN 780573518337 tet naa Quit ore bing anata gl saps oie ct. srwuppercnosat wonscany Sosathoaton Caley - hooked on books - ‘Make Precut Quits 10 Dazzling Projects to Sew Favonte Dene recut projets rom favote designs Quiing wih recs easy sand fun Feature your favor fbi collection nthe 0 prec Friendly designs using charm packs yer cakes, andjellrelstips Te vesatle patter om top designers work wih vat of pints ad sok tnd beginner and intemecate gers yl ove the ihe ond eral desgns. This velerpacked bool features ayecake patterns an 3 for charm squaes and recut tpe-perlec fr anyone ‘who wantstojumpstaghtite seg ‘Make Baby Quilts TO Adorable Projects to Sew Favorite Desires ‘The cues baby quits yout ever Jump ight in and ge ewan! Wt che bootet of 1 baby ult patterns from {op designers youl isa perfect style for every bby Cute and fun appiquepaternsare mixed in with right and cheerful patchwork wth designs ‘anging rem vadltional to moder. And with eear Insructons,lustratons and howto patos, even beginner quilters wil be whipping ou these Ques innate stall Never wonder what tomake for thatnew baby again +2 pages SN 731617854205 Seanboots Intentional Piecing ‘anyFnend Lt’ get fussy about abi Fab choice can make fr beak a cult design and cutters are aways Took for ways to spot ther favorites Fabric hasan uneary abity to tansorm a project ‘woke amood tnd delve whole, ner level of Satsfacion to todays quer Las to fecuson precise inaful work and havefun with fussy Ecting ath ntrtonal lecing Fron uty Cai 12 Foundation Peeing, by awaréwinang alter Ary Frend, Amy extablshes haw to make te fat the starofaveryqultn spied, modern projets yout tse every cy "eDPoge 5 S7--.24055. 185 Lick Spoo! ‘wthomasalen co ‘Make Table Runners 10Delicious Quits to Sew Fverte Designers ‘runner for every table Dress up you table wih 10 col table runners fromton desners Whether you peer apmligae (or patchor, action or modem, fancy Nolo {Geometc desgrs youre sutetafnd something youve Ang with able toppers quick enough Take n a weekend, you can sutch up your decor ‘ry timeyou feline Ths value patted booklet issue ta become your new go-to for es, seasonal Secoration and quek fun pojeetsto use UP yOu" sah panes BSN 978 8145-486-8 Srahoooks cipubeom DRUNKARD’S ‘ANew Spin on Drunkord’s Path {2 Innovative Projects « Deceptively Simple Techniques Jin fubiiee Thinkyoule sen allyoucan make with the DrunlardsPath block Tink aga Open your tye 09 rew take on cures piecing with ting teacher John fubiice Go beyond thebascs th 12 innovative projects based ona clase ater Dacover how using re-pleced us he al ences hasqure tangles, and sateen-patches can Completely change up the Duna ath ook Tahettastp further wah creative sshings an bec-ons toate the foes layout The end est iooks complex buts actualy 35) 0 se Booger SAN 978--6NAS 014 Stanbooke eubeom QUililacciat Jissue 8 2122 epiders Hanging BY A TATE A macinie It really doesn't get much better than this when it comes to taking a quilted wall hanging right outside the box, or in this case off the web! This sweet spider quilt will mesmerize anyone when you see that last spider hanging on by a thread! ® Photos by Jackie White QU Tnociatan | issue 8finished measurements 11" x54" materials +5 fat quarters + Yaya black rick rack medium and small + HeatnBond Feather Lite ron-On Adhesive + Two Ws yard different pieces white/ black print fabric for background fabric + fat quarter for binding + 1yd batting +1 yd backing + 10fun buttons +12 15%embroidery thread to match spider webs Template used to create sper web Using your fancy ten shapes fom 2 diferent fabric pieces fora total of Gatheratl your tools ‘and supplies yout need forthe quited wall hanging: instructions Making the cobweb The fist thing we need to do is make ‘our cobweb template. You do this by ‘measuring 45" across and a center point 5° down, hich is 2in the mile, Cut Cut of earaboard up from the bottom point, cut ofthe litle point Using your nice template, cut 4 patterns ‘out from two different pieces of fabric each so you have a total of 8 fabric template pieces. Alternating the fabric, sew four wedges together. Press, Laying each "circle on the cutting board, trim off any points Con the flat edge so you get anice clean straight line. Sew the 2 halves together matching the center point and press ‘Trim all the little end points. One cobweb done! Make 4 more cobwebs using your different pieces of fabric. Cut five 119 squares from the ‘background fabric Cut ¥' strips of HeatnBond Feather Lite Iron-On Adhesive and then subcut into 34" strips and apply to the outer ledge of each of the cobwebs following ‘manufacturer’ instructions. Center the cobweb on each background square and press. ‘Sew using black thread and create fun cobweb patterns in each of the cobweb blocks. You can do different quilting patterns or the same one for each cobweb. chose the same linear patter as my fabric & quite colorfuland busy so wanted something simple to offset the cobwebs. Ctalong the edge of cobweb to ensue you have nice clean ie ‘Apply tps of HeatnBond kon-On Adhesive t2 border of cobwebs tm Lissue 8 QuitMaking spiders for your quill blocks and sew the blacks together Leave the lost block thro spider ont Sitch around body of spider ‘nd sttch bend n spider eos tohold shape, Let's finish things up by creating our black spiders! Cut five 44" squares of black fabric. ron (on the Heatnond Feather Lite on-On Adhesive Set one aside. Free hand draw an oval four different sizes. You can doit on paper fist then cut out and trace onto the paper side of the adhesive, or draw directly onto that These ate going to be your spiders. Cut twenty four 31" pieces of rick rack. These {are going to be your spider legs. Taking one black spider 6 pieces of rick rack and one cobweb block. Lay spider ‘out on block and tuck 3 ends of rick rack under one side of spider and 3 on the other side. Press. Repeat for 3 more spiders. Stitch around the body of the spider securing the rick rack legs in place and attaching them to the block. Bend the rick rack as you stitch down each leg, creating bent spider legs. (One block won't have a spider. Sew the blocks together in a vertical row with the last or bottom block not having a spider onit For the fifth black fabric square, cut out the spider shape from that fused piece ‘and cut the same shape out of another piece of black fabric not fused. Remove paper, sandwich together right sides out but do not press. Tuck legs into spider sandwich and then press creating a spider on its own, Stitch around outside of spider to secure legs. Kink the spider legs to cause a bend {and stitch the fold in the rick rack to hold in place for each leg. Set this spider aside. Pin backing and batting to top and get ready to quilt. Using black thread, quit fun patterns in each of the spiders. Quilt in the background as well I quilted by echoing the shapes of the cobweb. Put on the binding as well (On each spider add cute button eyes. simply had to add polka det buttons. (On the last block stitch down a 10 - 12 piece of embroidery thread starting somewhere on the last cobweb and hanging down off the quit, then attach to the back ofthe final spider. fyou find it's too imsy take a piece of cardboard slightly smaller than your spider and glue to the back ofthe spider then tape the piece of embroidery floss to it Sewa sleeve to the back. Hang your spider quilted wall hanging and get ready for the compliments to roll in! ‘Atach embroidery thvead tothe cobweb and then tothe spider to he's hanging ofthe quit Jackie White Jacwhite@amtelecom.net fabotquiltblogspot.ca/ twitter com/jackiewhitel21 24 QUiliieaata Tissue 6A fine, strong, high quality sewing thread for hand or machine sewing, no matter the stitch type or fabric. Giitermann 50 wt. Cotton Quilting thread is made of long staple 100% Egyptian mercerized cotton; it’s versatile and gives seams a natural character. Suitable for hand or machine sewing; the perfect thread for your quilting projects + Larger cone sizes are excellent for long arm quilting machines ‘Available in 100m, 250m, 400m, 800m, 3000m and 5000m spool lengths 186 stunning solid and variegated shades + Ideal for ornamental stitches, decorative seams and embroidery Soft and supple with tear and abrasion resistance Colorfast: fade resistant to UV rays and multiple washings26 A Quiltovar Review of the PFAFF creative 4.5 PAE oaaaie AS semana machi This machine is a dream come true for machine embroiderers, No question it hasa lot of features to let your creativity run wild, But what about for the intermediate quilter? How could benefit from the PFAFF creative 4.5? Let's shine the light on some of the features that make quilting on this machine a joy ule NeecleTheoder in poston, QU Taociatan | issue 8 Set up and Sew This machine doesn't juststitch for you, it dogs all the litle things to make quilting ‘easier too. Threading the machine is easy and threading the needle is even easier as the built in needle threader actually works well | haven't manually thread my needle yet which is really saying something. When | got my frst machine many years agol went to the department store fora get to know your machine class | was shown how to use the automatic needle threader and did it approximately three times at home before forgot how and gave up. esl threaded by bull needle threader Sarah Vanderburgh ‘his time I aught myself with the excellent PFAFF creative 45 manuall The manual is truly your best fiend as you start to explore this machine. The labelled diagrams and explanations make it easy to figure out how to do things on the machine you expect to do ~and things you may never have thought of The manuals ako available inthe machine — touch “iin the bottom task bar on the Color Touch Screen and it brings up an information menu Bobbin Winding isa Breeze ‘There's a bobbin winder builtin to the top of the machine = you use it with the top thread you have on the vertical spool holder jut lke norma, but you can aso wind a bobbin with asecond spool on a horizontal pin and keep your machine threaded, This is especially handy when youl using two different color threads Winding Bobbin wath second spool of fsa Pots byBobbin winding popup ‘Maybe it's just me but prepping bobbins feels like a chore - something you wish ‘would just be done for you so you wouldn't have to think about it. Well this machine comes close! The machine actually winds the bobbin for you = this ‘raphic comes up on the large display screen once you lock the bobbin in place in the winder. You can adjust how fast the machine winds the thread - then just press the go button! It stops when the bobbin's full or you can stop it by touching the stop button, Thepop-up warming toremedy bobbin angst (Ofcourse | had to take @ photo when | got the offical sound and digital \waring that my bobbin was running low. And it wasn't so low that | had to panic! This was one of the features | have heard quilters praise in quilt shops ‘and guild meetings. Again PFAFF has come to the rescue of bobbin angst ) Ihave been very impressed with my own experiences using it. IDT System [DT system engaged fr sttching inthe ditch Ireally noticed the benefits of the IDT system when | was quilting in the I could feel that the machine had a stronger grip on my aut than my regular machine and the results are Visible too. {DT System wating to be engaged Another feature ve heard about that seis PFAFF machines apart is the Integrated Dual Feed System = the IDT for short The manual describes how the system works"As on industrial machines, the DT System feds the fabric frm the top ‘and bottom atthe same ie. The materials fed precise, eliminating puckeing on seams the system prevent layers fom shifing while sewing keeping quit ayers aligned” Sstehes on beck ofmin quit The stitching on the back of my quilt are just as even as on the front. QUILTieciatm Jissue8 27When | used the IDT System to quilt on larger quilt | noticed that the *bump* that tends to show up as you near the end of a row of quilting — didn't! What did show would be hard to find and was probably a result of me not pinning close enough Button Love The buttons located font and cencer ‘The more | use this machine the harder Ifall for the ease these buttons add to my quilting ‘The needle down button makes quilting so easy, I's located the farthest tothe fight. Again, it lets me focus on the uiting and not operating the machine. When its engaged (it lights up) the needle goes down and the presser foot lifts just alittle off ofthe quilt sol can maneuver the quit. The scissors isthe thread snips button When touched it cuts both the top and bottom threads and brings them to the bottom of the quilt This one has ‘changed how I machine blanket stitch as I don't have to think about saving thread by moving from one section to another before cut the thread, This feature has made my quilting more efficient. 28 QUI Tciatn | issue 8 ‘The presser foot has two buttons located in the same convenient place. The up one raises the foot the regular distance and touched one more time itlifts even more to put a quilt through the space without worrying about getting pins caught on it. The down one | engage while quilting because it ‘automaticaly lifts just alittle bit - with the needle down button engaged too = letting me keep both hands on the quilt to turn it to change directions. The manual calls this a pivot toggle. The button beside the presser foot buttons is to start/stop embroidery. Two buttons | havent used yet are the immediate tie-off - to the left of the snips ~ and the stitch restart ~ to the left of the needle down. Lots of Room for Quilting The PFAFE creatves.s awars my regular machine Thathardcaseisprotecing 2jewelofameochine! | quess this could have been # 1! There's double the throat space compared to my usual machine - notice the machine itselfis almost twice the size! Twin size quitin the larger throat space Quilting is more enjoyable without the anxiety producing rolling and pushing of the quilt through a smaller space. | also dortt have sections of stitches that are too tight because | was shoving the quilt through a small space. ‘The creative 4.5 lets you focus on progress and not process which also makes for a happier time quitting, LED Ights improve quling process ‘The bright LED lights combine with the larger space to make it so easy to see and quilt! Itmight seem like Im focusing on a lot Oflitie details but the result ofall the little things is that fm quilting more and tending to the machine less. Plus the machine does these things really well = which results in quilts that are crafted beautifully ‘As an intermediate quite, fm embracing the opportunities the PFAFF creative 45 is giving me to create accurately pieced ‘quilts with my personal creative touches.Using decanatve atitches, tu make w aelsage prajech Thete ate so many stitches to explore fon the PFAFF creative 45 that i's hard to know where to start! My default *playgroundt is creating with selvages and then its pretty much follow my fancy This article goes through my play process with the stitches and my selvages. Stitches created with PRAFFcreative4.5 Withso ‘mary stiches to choose from you may want to create slvage fabric with thera day! Sen requres stabi Selecting Stitches Itumed on the machine and opened the stitches file. Istarted selecting different ‘ones to see what I iked, The manual also has al of them listed out with photos and the stitch numbers The Color Touch Screen on the PFAFF creative 45 gives icon details for every stitch selected ~ from what presser foot to use, if you need stabilizer and where the needle will startin the stitch. The screen showed me that most of them require using 2 stabilizer Underneath - it's the white rectangle icon above the stitch. I figured that the layer of cotton | use asa backing for the selvages could count as a stabilizer. used a fat quarter from my stash with the wrong side up as my foundation/ stabilizer. | chose selvages that are from fat quarters or longer yardage. Ihave my selvages sorted in a couple of diferent ways and chose to use the ones with no white strip, dats, or words for this project. | wanted to try creating my own selvage designs with the stitches! "Next raw sevage edge tucted under preceding lone firishededge Stitching Selvages Together I started with a sehage with the raw edge atthe right edge of the stabilizer and tucked the raw edge of the next selvage underneath the other edge. As Yyou can see in the photo, played with Quite a few stitches before a plan started to formulate on how I could use this piece of stitched fabric These selvages are lose to the end of my piece. After the pink ladded one more ‘wide selvage to get to my desired length, Thegreenplussign ndeates needle start postion Next picked a stitch - stitch 43.19 to be ‘exact! Youll notice that the screen has a green “plus sign* that shows where the needle wil startin the stitch. lalso made sure Ihad the cortect presser foot ready ‘on the machine, in this case foot 2A, rrr Sach star postion ined up under needle Line up the bound edge of the selvage with the middle ofthe stitch to be sure that the stitching will actually go across both selvages. ‘The machine will guide the stitch - you should guide the fabric with your hands bbut the machine may move the fabric backand forth to complete the stitch. a Pinkselage seam stitched The PFAFF creative 45 rakes it easy to play and create with stitches. With so many to choose from, it's easy to adda personal touch to any project. QUikloocata Tissues 29.Ponpect: preanor fect ta, make w zippered case Is easier to keep your creativity flowing with all of the possibilities provided by the variety of presser feet included with the PFAFF creative 45. tm going to turn my stitched selvage piece of fabric into a finished project using several ofthe feet. Assemble Project Pieces I kept adding selvages to my made fabric until it Presser feet included with PEAFFceatve 45. ‘measured least 8"long. Then I cut two pieces 8"long Theres one for almost every purpose! x 7*wide. | have a piece of stitched selvage fabric let over for another project t00, Then | found a zipper in my stash that coordinates ‘with my selvages and cut itto the same width, Now it's time to click the zipper foot onto the creative 45, Zipper Foot The PFAFF zipper foot can be attached to the left or the right of the needle to help you sew zippers on a variety of projects, Here | have it attached to the left. The photo shows my project pivoted out from under the needle so | could close the zipper pull before continuing down the seam. The extra pivot lift provided by the presser foot button came in handy here too! g Zippertoot atached othe left ofthe needle Stichedease wth zpper 30 QU Tissue 8Fancy Stitch Foot The IDT System engages with many of the presser feet provided with the PFAFF creative 45 to ensure even feeding of fabrics and smocxh stitching, After unzipping the zipper about half way sed presser foot 1A to sew the side seams, then the bottom one closed. Blindhem Foot Nex I switched tothe biindhem foot with IDT System and used itto overlock the seams so they wouldn't unravel with use Its the first time Ive used this foot and found it interesting — usually just keep going with a regular foot because it's easier than switching, With the PFAFF creative 45 its easy to change feet - ‘you simply push down on the foot to release it and push it up to attach itto the machine. No unwinding a screw and making sure it doesnt roll away! used stitch 1.2.7 Closed Overlock and, the blindhem foot to overtock the side and bottom seams. You could also do the same to the two zipper seams, but! didnt. Quick to Make Zippered Case All that left to do is turn the ease right side out, close the zipper and it’s ready! The case is perfect for packing my cutting tools safely to take to a quilting workshop or retreat. The selection of presser feet with the PEAFF creative 45 helped me create this quick project in no time. ‘Presser Foot 1A Fancy Sich Foo wth IT Syst Sitch 127 the loted Overlock Sites (Quick ipperedcase project QUiLTaecat [issue 8 3132 Embraidening quill: label with tho PFAFF creative 4.5 ‘The PFAFF creative 45s uimately an embroidery machine. While it does all of the litte things this quiter wants it to do amazingly wel it also led me to ‘experiment with embroidery for the fist timel Quick. As a quilter what's the first thing you think of to make with an ‘embroidery machine?! A*quilt label" of course! Erbroery Unit on PFAFF creative 45 Creating stitches with Sewing Programs ‘Atapered repected stich There ate several sewing programsin the PFAFF creative 45 to help you create Unique stitches. You use these programs in the sewing mode. | used the tapering program and the single stitch program to create the design for the border of my quilt abel. QULibeeiate | issue 8 “Tapering increases or decreases the width ofthe stitch during sewing to create symmetrical or asymmetrical tapers" (from. the awesome included manual) Taper angle choices popup You could spend a lot of time exploring the options in this machine! Personal Sttches Fle ‘Once you've created stitches you like, you can save them into personal files to use again. You can add any stitch to these files which makes it ‘conveniently quick to continue work on 2 project without spending alot of time recreating stitches. reer) cerns ‘Sstch conversion popup When you select one of your designed stitches in embroidery mode it gets converted toa single embroidery stitch, Now you can move it around the screen and duplicate it too. PEAEE yl | found using the included stylus made moving the design around on the Color ‘Touch Screen easier than trying to use my finger. The stylus came in handy when selecting letters too,‘Adding Words AQ Conese 2 Embroidery fonts In the embroidery mode you can see all ofthe fonts available on the creative 45. The first three in the left column and the first two in the right are available as stitches in the sewing mode too. Youcan design a variety of quilt lab with all of these different fonts! pow y sew Joy Crestions Design tostten Out This photo shows the progress of the machine on the embroidery. ma litle ahead of myself here but wanted to show you the detailed screen information. The large cross shows where the needle isin the design. The ‘numbers inthe highlighted green box letyou know the position and color of thread being used. Yes, you can program the thvead colors for each section ~ each letter even! The litle green half cicle isthe speed contr forthe embroidery Lets just say tht full speed intimidated this quilt | had to slow down the machine a bit so could watch itin action) kay, So thas making the design. few more photos to show getting the machine and fabric ready! Embroidery Unit Theembroidery unt bag The embroidery unit came in its own box Which included this travel bag. I store the unit in it when not in use - you can see how bigitis! Hoops stored n bottom of bag Some of the packing material from the box gets transferred into the bag to store the hoops as well. This unit comes with three sizes of embroidery hoops. Dynamic Spring Foot QUILTiociatm [issue 8 33Dynamic Spring Foot Select the embroidery stitch out option in the task bar menu and the machine will tell you to attach the embroidery unit. It wil also tell you to put on the Dynamic Spring Foot. Again, the trusty manuals your best fiend here Hooping the Fabric Its easy to click open the hoop and put in the fabric with stabilizer underneath. (One more click to clip in the top part of the hoop. The Color Touch Screen shows 10 use the 120x120 hoop for my design Of course | couldn't use ordinary white fabric to play — I chose pink insteaa! [Now its time to use the Start Stitch button - the one beside the presser feet buttons on the front panel. | will divulge thatit tok me fonger than necessary to figure this out - what a newbiel Remember, manual = bff ‘The machine creates the design in the order it was created Threads are automatically snipped on the long stitches. ‘The design is finished! You can see that the threads weren't snipped between the leters sol carefully cut them with some small scissors. Then Il cut the label to my desired size. My ftst embroidered quilt label isa success! Not too bad for my fist time Using the PFAFF creative 45 embroidery machine. already started planning to Use different designs to make labels that coordinate with my quilts - Halloween, Christmas, hearts, tulips! The options are limitless, too bad my quilting time isn't! 34 QUILTieiatn | issue 8 Heap attached toembroigery unit Design being soiched out Design irshedBA Lee eee SESQUICENTENNIAL Celebrate Canada’s Sesquicentennial with Northcot (Over 100 quilt shops across Canada have made free block patterns using Northcott's Cana uicentennial collection. Starting February 1st you can travel to participating shops and collect the blacks. There are also two exciting challenges to participate in! Mrs. Bobbins and her friends will be travelling to every participating store collecting blocks, Sesquicentennial fabric, Provincial Pins and Panels, Their journey will be narrated on Northcott's Trans-Canada Block Party Facebook Page - www.facebook.com/NorthcottTCBP CANADA < SRS el ap ZEISHI ai) S{; JORIEB OB SEK TERISEISEL EH q a Tee SEISEISE] aS bap apt VSRIZE Sb Zpyt JERPOLRI SB OnLS TeRStlcelspy: OBISblobPIShi: > G Collectible Pins & Panels a7Pins S5Schee “ie ® i+ ONTARIO CANADA 43 Provincia Panole http://bit.ly/NorthcottTCBP for: eeaenic aves eae i eeeys Ei cusor vals Caeu cratenae aor Vane 3) woiuises Northcott's Canadian Quilt Challenge details, Free Sesquicentennial quilt pattern TWans-Canada Block Party TC kx BE