Deborah Louie : So good to be back.....

So good to be back....

Yep, so good to be back teaching.

At my first class for the year at My Sewing Supplies within 5 minutes of instructing new BERNINA owners a feature of their machines I got the AHHHHHH... from the ladies...

These light bulb moments we all yearn for when teaching... yes , I am making a difference in someones stitching life.

THIS I missed terribly when 2020 when ISO was happening..

Miss Molly does not answer me back when I am sitting at the machine at home.....

Gone with that time , only onward now ....

My teaching schedule has been updated.www.deborahlouie.com.au with regular classes, once off and speciality classes.

Unfortunately my New Zealand trip to BERNINA SEWING CENTRE Tauranga and EYE OF THE NEEDLE in Taupo have been postponed again. The uncertainty of covid in our two countries and the possibility of hotel quarantine makes this situation impossible to plan. 2022 it is !!!!!!

Ditching

I get asked all the time, do I have to ditch every seam? You don't have to do anything, its really up to you and the look you are after for your quilts.

But my quilts YES I ditch all seams whether they are straight, curved or even applique seams they get stitch in the ditched. This makes my quilts strong, defined and long lasting.

Look at the photos below for an example:

The top yellow daisy has been appliqué and sandwiched with batting and backing ready for quilting.

The middle yellow daisy has been clear ditched on the base white fabric with Mono. poly thread around all petals and the centre circle. See how nice and defined the flower now is. Brings the flower to life.

Last photo once the background filler is quilted all of the shapes then are popping beautifully.

If only the outside background was ditched the flowers would pop as a blob, but with the ditching inside each flower and leaf they sit beautifully.

Yes it is a lot of work but soooooo worth the effort.

All of my applique is stitched in the ditch.

So therefore stitch in the ditch is not just for piecing it is for applique as well.

Of course all of my pieced seams no matter how small are ditched before any of the free motion work is started. But straight ditching can be achieved using the free motion foot.

Want to know more about walking foot ditching ? My latest book Let's Quilt - The Theory of walking Foot Quilting is available now on my web site and is comprehensive essential guide to quilting your own quilts on a domestic sewing machine. www.deborahlouie.com.au

Come home with me as I walk you through step by step the walking foot quilting sucess

Detailed information and photos

How to sandwich your quilts together with 8 easy to follow steps

Easy to follow instructions

Even piecing dos and dots for perfect ditching

NEW WORK COMING ALONG NICELY

I am working on a series of 3 children's quilts. A girls garden quilt, a boys transport quilt and a day at the beach.

They will all have the same size blocks and can be interchanged to make your own style quilt.

Im a bit slower theses days taking longer than I hoped for.

These will be pattern skill building books and I hope to have them all finished for a pre Christmas 2021.

A sneak look at the first quilt named Miss Mollys Flower Garden. Skills include sketch free motion applique, machine free motion quilting. Free motion ditch quilting and joining blocks together.

Miss Molly as yet to be quilted view

Watering can from same quilt and fully ditched and background quilted. What a difference the quilting makes.

See the pin that's where I missed ditching the centre of that one flower. I always come back at the end and stitch errors or left out shapes. I suggest you inspect the quilt thoroughly from the front and the back views just before finishing the quilt. I try and have another set of eyes look over it as it is very easy to miss a shape or two.

I really like the quilting detail around the heart on the watering can, this is still in the Mono.poly thread which is absorbing the sky blue colour of the fabric. Effective as it is a solid fabric, using a print will not show the detail as clearly.

Students work

Some beautiful work has been dome over the months, here are a few photos of students work or working at their machines.

How wonderful to see beautiful quilts pieced, or appliquéd and fully domestic machine quilted so professionally all by one person..... Makes my heart sing.......... Great work..........