I have spent the last couple of days working on quilting Lemon Twist, working on it around housework and other chores. I was able to find the Dream Bamboo Batting (available at Fat Quarter shop) that I wanted. Formerly called Dream Orient, this is a blend of bamboo, silk, cotton and tencel which is soft and lightweight, perfect for a summer quilt. When I last posted, the quilt was loaded and ready to begin.
I wound bobbins with white Bottom Line poly thread, and threaded the machine with Glide in white. The pantograph is a favorite one of mine called Plumeria Garden designed by Lisa Calle at Urban Elementz.
It is nicely dense, yet the quilt remains soft due to the batting. On a quilt like this one with wide negative spaces, it fills the space nicely with beautiful flowers.
It is a complex design, with lots of direction changes, so I have to pay attention. It takes about 15 minutes to do one pass, not including time to advance and reset.
It is looking good!
Changing bobbins, I checked the tension with the Towa Gauge, and set it to 180, the ideal for my machine with poly thread. Then, I began the next pass, but the first little section had a problem, and I had to take out a few stitches. All was fine with the stitching on the top up to that point. But then, three passes later, another problem with the machine hanging up, and I stopped to unwind the quilt on the rollers to see the backside. I was horrified to find this. The frustrating thing is the machine seemed to be stitching well and the top side looked good.
But then, I noticed a few tiny loops on top so I checked the last four rows since the bobbin change. I was dismayed to find horrible stitching on the back for the entire section, a laddered mess. For four bloody passes, over an hour’s worth of stitching. I almost cried.
Here things were going so well, and I was on target to finish the quilting this week. But now I’ll have to spend time removing four rows of a dense pantograph stitching, then reset the bobbin and figure out what the problem is. Hours of work down the drain, and more to come as it will take days to remove all this bad stitching and re-quilt it. The other quilt I have to quilt will be pushed back at least a week, and additional projects pushed even farther. So disheartening, I didn’t even want to start the ripping out process, so I turned off the machine and left the sewing room. Thankfully, I have the month of August to get it done. So, today I begin the tedious process of fixing it. It won’t be a crisis if it isn’t done in time for the Mountain State Fair, but it will be disappointing if I can’t get it done on time.
From My Carolina Home 
sending up ripping prayers for you.
I usually climb under the longarm to rip while my sister rips from the top. It’s never fun, even with 2 people.
I am sorry Carole I hate when that happens and it has happened to me a couple of times. It almost makes me want to quit quilting my own quilts – but I did say ALMOST ! Sending good vibes to you.
Oh Carole! I feel your pain. If it’s any consolation, it is a beautiful panto and will be so pretty on that quilt when it’s ready. Makes me want to go buy that design from UE!
Carole, yes, it is very disheartening to have to remove quilting lines. And, maddening, too. I recently worked on a project and was not happy with the quilting at all, so I took it a majority of it out and started over. Mine was a 24′ x 24″ pillow, but it still took me about 2 hours to take all that stitching out, remove all the threads, eliminate the needle holes and restitch. My finished project looks much better! I can only imagine what work you have ahead of you on this! Good luck! We’re with you in spirit!
Oh, I’m so sorry about that misfortune. It’s no fun taking out the quilting. Also, it seems like it takes much longer to remove than the time used to put it in. It’s very disheartening – sending virtual hugs ((())) and a 🍸 if that would help lift your spirits.
You are a master and will rise to the challenge.
Well, the upside is, it can go quickly by pulling that bobbin thread. It’s my preferred LA thread problem if I’m gonna have one.
Boy isn’t that the truth- one hardly needs to rip- just pull those loose bobbin threads!
That’s the kind of stuff that absolutely made me want to quit sewing!
It is beautiful!
I empathize. I don’t have a long arm, but as a sewer I have been in similar situations. All that work for nothing. So sad. But, in the end it will be beautiful.
It’s heart wrenching to think things are going along well and find something like that! I’m like you…I have to shut it down and leave for a while. I am with you on the batting too…that is my favorite batting of all time! I purchase it by the roll from Battingsupersale.com. It goes on sale about every 3 weeks. Just get on their mailing list. Hope the unpicking goes quickly!
The quilt is beautiful, so sorry about the stitching issues! It is so frustrating when any machine messes up, but especially so when you have spent so much time quilting!
That is so disappointing, I felt my heart sink for you. I hope that removing the stitches goes quickly and you can get your bobbin settings happy before you get started again.
Aaaw, sorry! Looks like some TV time unsewing. It is a gorgeous quilt. Charlie
What a disappointment. Guess it’s a tension problem? Or a machine-threading issue? Whatever, I’m sure you’ll figure it out and get it finally finished. It’s too lovely to toss aside for another day …. Enjoy your day!
Oh, how frustrating to have this happen. I hope you get it done in time for the State Fair it’s a beautiful quilt. I have never seen this batting and I love the thought of something that is soft and snuggly for aa quilt. I have used bamboo and silk battings but not a blend like this. I will have to order some when its back in stock and try it out. I like that it has no scrim. I love your blog, it teaches me something new.
What a disappointment!! I feel sorry for you.
So discouraging. Find a good Netflix movie and settle in. Will be done by the end of the movie. This is such a beautiful quilt. If it was one I wasn’t fond of or did not have a deadline looming I might set it aside for a while. I just sent two quilt tops to a shop that is collecting quilts, tops and blocks for Texas flood victims. They’ve been on a hanger for some time. Just not as exciting to me after the finish as they were at the start. This way they will get finished and be used. Good luck with the Ripper!
Oh no so sorry that happened. Sometimes you just can’t tell what it is doing on the back.
Oh, how frustrating, Carole! Yes, sometimes it’s better to just walk away. I hope you can figure out what the problem is and that it’s an easy fix. The ripping out has to be frustrating and heartbreaking. But it will be so gorgeous when it’s done.
Oh dear. That’s never fun when it happens. And it’s happened to me more than once, most recently on a log cabin quilt for my son. Un-quilting is a real downer.
Oh, I am so sorry that happened, because the quilting was looking so good! That design is perfect for the light and summer-y look of the quilt. Hope the ripping is going okay. That’s one of those things where you need to put on your favorite movie or audio book while you do, to keep yourself entertained!
My quilting sympathy. Hopefully it rips out quickly from the backside…
Wow, I am so sorry. I know you are meticulous about using your tension gauge for the bobbin. This is exactly why I am afraid to quilt anything I spent a lot of time and energy making. I have a frame with a 9″ throat, and the very last thing I did on it I ripped a hole in trying to pick out stitching. I haven’t touched that machine/frame since! Definitely time to walk away when the tension acts up! I know you will work through the problem and the thread picking and all will be well. Your experience as a Long arm quilter will shine!
Grrrr. That is so frustrating. As they say, I feel your pain. It does look beautiful with the quilting in the negative spaces. Mary
Frustrating when you think things are going so well only to find out the opposite. Hope you can complete it in time. Carol
I bet the air was BLUE! Hope you are soon back to it and the thread snarl is soon just a memory. 😤
Mary :))
Oh shucks, I am having sympathy pains for you, that is a whole lot of ripping. I don’t always check after every bobbin but know I should.
Carole-
I’m so sorry that mess happened to you! I feel your pain! It is disheartening!! Thought I would share these methods for ripping with you, in case you haven’t seen them all. The second one is my favorite method for unstitching. Good luck! Play your favorite music, sip some wine and try to relax while tackling this awful chore!
Jodi
Such a disappointment. Yes, best to walk away and calm down. It’s good that you have time to complete your quilting, trying to rush would probably invite more problems. Your quilting looked lovely BTW.
Hi, Carole, I’ve had that happen on my long arm too — it’s sooooo frustrating! Hopefully it won’t take too long since the bobbin thread looks pretty loose, but it’s still not fun. It will be beautiful when it’s finished 😊😊😊
oh goodnesses, I would cry. That’s so frustrating!
the quilting pattern is beautiful
sending lots of hugs
Hi Carole,
That is a time sucker for sure. Sorry that happened. I am learning how to do edge to edge quilting on the domestic machine with a digital pattern and I too had to remove some stitches last night. It was in a spot where the thread 100% matches the lighted fabric on the quilt top.
I know how you feel! I had the same experience about a month and a half ago. There was no sign of any issues on the top, but the back was ugly! I ripped out a couple of rows but haven’t put it back on the frame yet. I couldn’t get the tension correct for anything. I did all the troubleshooting and cleaning routines I knew to do, but decided it was about time for a maintenance checkup anyway. Turns out there was an issue with the spring in the tension disc area and somehow it was recessed. Didn’t make sense to me, but hey, as long as it was fixed, I don’t always have to understand. I have picked it up but haven’t had the time to load a quilt to test it yet. I’m sure she’ll sew like a dream! Too many other things with priority right now.
Well, good luck getting it all ripped out and quilted again. I’m sure you’ll have it finished in time for the fair. Hope you win!
Which brand of longarm to you have? I have a Janome QMP 20. I bought it at the Houston International Quilt show a couple of years ago. I’m still learning how to use it because I don’t quilt as much as I thought I would at this point. So the learning continues!
I hope you have a good day!!
Lisa
Carole,
I took a beautiful red, white and blue Trip Around the World quilt off my longarm because I made a big BooBoo. Can’t get inspired to pick out many rows of stitches and start quilting again. I can feel your Pain!!!
But quilters are very resilient. So some cool winter day, I will pick out the stitches, reload on the longarm, and happily enjoy my quilt Next July.
Love your blogs.
Vicki C
Carole,
It’s disheartening to think you are making all this progress and getting your rhythm only to discover tension problems. I hope this fix goes faster than expected and that you are back up and running soon! Sending unpicking magic your way.
Jo Anne