Primitive1 Posted April 19, 2011 Report Share Posted April 19, 2011 Does anyone else have a problem lining up those backtracking lines on the baptist fan boards? I just don't understand why it won't stay straight...seems to be perfect on the center of this rather large king size quilt but the lines get out of sinc on the sides...could it be my leaders? They seem straight...ughhh, this quilt is making me want to pull out all of my hair!!!:mad::mad::mad: I find that the only way to make it look good on the ends is to quilt the arc and then run around to the front and use a ruler to make sure that the backtrack is right on.......uggghhhh! I think I'll just quit for the day and maybe tomarrow it will go better! Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
GrandmaLKB Posted April 19, 2011 Report Share Posted April 19, 2011 Some days it is just better to stop and try again another day. My stitches wouldn't stay in the ditch where they belonged today either..............try again tomorrow and maybe my eyes, hands and Millie will cooperate and work in sync ! Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Guest Linda S Posted April 19, 2011 Report Share Posted April 19, 2011 This is one reason I like the CL Boards better. There's nothing to line up. They are supposed to have a bit of space between them, but if you're stitching at high speed, they just about touch and look great with no backtracking. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Schlick Posted April 19, 2011 Report Share Posted April 19, 2011 Vicki, I have the baptist fan boards by Quilt EZ and I could not get the bottom of one row to line up all the way across with top of the previous row. I tried it once and decided it didn't look good and it was time consuming. Now I love the BF boards, I quilt the rows but I don't stitch the little tail that hangs down. Then when I'm ready to sew the next row, I roll the quilt and line up the bottom of the row to be quilted 1/2" from the top of the row just completed. I use 1/2" because that's how far apart the lines are on my baptist fan. Then I quilt the next row and continue on. My rows are not connected to each other, but you really can't tell unless you look for it. They look a whole lot better than when I tried to line up the rows. I'll take a picture of one I did with the BF boards if you want to see how it looks. Renee' Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Primitive1 Posted April 19, 2011 Author Report Share Posted April 19, 2011 Thanks for the idea Renee', I'd love to see a picture! Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Georgene Posted April 20, 2011 Report Share Posted April 20, 2011 I just used the CircleLord Baptist Fan boards today. I've never had a problem lining it up. I did a throw size quilt (54 x 54") in no time. Just placed the stylus in the "line up" hole, advanced the quilt, then stitched. Quick and accurate. No fuss at all. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Robin Posted April 20, 2011 Report Share Posted April 20, 2011 Vicki, I had a little bit of an issue with that when I used the boards also. I'm thinking you mean the little back track that joins the second row to the previous one. I just backtrack to barely fill in the line to the top fan but not any further. It's so hard to even describe this with words. What order do you sew the fans? I know there are many different instructions out there. I am wondering if we do it the same way. I'm sure I found the instructions on this forum. I'll try to locate that and get the link to you. Another thing I do when I use the BF boards is to keep my quilt tighter on the frame than usual and that helps to keep things lining up a little better. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Robin Posted April 20, 2011 Report Share Posted April 20, 2011 Vicki, I found the link I used that I found on this forum go to http://home-and-garden.webshots.com/album/558465342CeudcO Picture #8 shows the quilting path order that I use. In fact, I advance the way she does and I start on the second arc like she does. I know when I was trying to figure the thing out I went over and over her webshot pictures and finally got it figured out. Be sure to notice written comments from picture to picture. I had purchased my R&S boards from a private owner and didn't get instructions. I figured R&S would send good instructions with the purchase of new boards??? Not so??? I also experienced a little play on the edges of the quilt and I figured it was my leaders being a little stretched. What I finally did was just backtrack to the top arc and not beyond. That way if it didn't line up perfectly it wasn't as noticeable. I also use thread that blends with the quilt top to help hide where the thread backtracks as it is less noticeable if it doesn't line up perfectly. Oh, I wish I could come visit you and help you get the hang of this. P.S. Sorry, I didn't notice your U2U until just now. I never notice those darn things!! Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Robin Posted April 20, 2011 Report Share Posted April 20, 2011 I just checked my link and I noticed picture #11 shows the connecting stitching. That is exactly how I do it. Is that what you are doing?? Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Primitive1 Posted April 20, 2011 Author Report Share Posted April 20, 2011 Robin, Thanks so much for the visuals of the thread path, this is the one that helped me to figure this out... I was doing the outside arc first and then hoping that my little areas of backtracking would meet and they weren't. I really like how this particular fan comes together and looks when it is finished. I knew it would be better the next day! Thanks! Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Quilting Heidi Posted April 20, 2011 Report Share Posted April 20, 2011 Vicki I did a couple of u-tubes on the Baptist Fan template from the front but I would guess that you can apply them to the back as well. It is more the stitching path that makes the difference. I used a board from R&NS http://www.rns-design.com/What's%20New.htm Part 1: Part 2: Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Sandra Darlington Posted April 20, 2011 Report Share Posted April 20, 2011 I never had a problem lining things up with my Circle Lord boards and I use the Baptist Fan a lot. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
blair8904 Posted April 20, 2011 Report Share Posted April 20, 2011 Vicki, Thanks for starting this discussion. I got the Quilt EZ BF boards when I got Millicent, but have never used them. This really makes me want to try them. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Primitive1 Posted April 20, 2011 Author Report Share Posted April 20, 2011 Thanks Heidi, I watched those as well...they were helpful too. Barbara, I think it is just the ones that have backtracking that are more difficult, anything that does not backtrack would be easy peasy to do. I just like these boards as they have a more traditional look about them although they are a little more difficult to use...but I am not afraid of a challenge and am going down to face them!!! I'll post pics when I finish which I hope will be today. OK here I go...... Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Primitive1 Posted April 20, 2011 Author Report Share Posted April 20, 2011 Thanks everyone for your input, just checking in to let you know that in following the thread path as in the above picture, it works perfectly! Thanks! Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Schlick Posted April 20, 2011 Report Share Posted April 20, 2011 Vicki, It sounds like you've got it figured out, but here's a picture of how it looks when you don't connect the rows. About 1/3 of the way down you'll see the row between the rows. And here's a picture of why I don't connect the rows. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Robin Posted April 21, 2011 Report Share Posted April 21, 2011 Vicki, I'm glad the visual helped. Again, I'm sorry that I didn't notice I had a u2u from you. I need them to flash in red or something!! I assumed that R&S would send good instructions with brand new boards, but not so, evidently. There is a learning curve with these baptist fan boards, but boy do my customers love the traditional look. I, too, like that they connect like the real thing and there isn't a space between them. Sorry that you had to struggle so much before help arrived!! Happy Easter! Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Primitive1 Posted April 21, 2011 Author Report Share Posted April 21, 2011 No problem Robin! Thanks again for all of your help! I'll post pics as I am finished but just going over the quilt for any "oops" that I need to correct from the first several rows before I "got it"... Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
LFQuilts Posted September 14, 2011 Report Share Posted September 14, 2011 Vicki, I'm bringing your original post from April back to the top to add what I've learned from my attempt with the Baptist Fan boards. While I used the thread path outlined in the URL posted by Robin above, I also wrote R&S Designs and asked Sharon for her suggested path. I'm including her picture and a cut & paste of her email so that the forum will have a complete record. Note - I asked Sharon's permission to share this info. ********************** Lynn, I am attaching a drawing that shows how I stitch out the design. When I am at the back of the machine the small part of the arc is closest to me. When I advance the quilt I think I work to get the valley between the 5 and the 9 to fit at the joint at the top of the arc that I have already quilted and then check placement before I quilt. I tape down my boards very securely and I can also quilt from the front of the machine as I peer over to the board and I will press the fabric a little to get a better match. Another hit is to try to get your top as stable as possible because the fabric has a give and the pattern board doesn’t. As you have found out … It can be tricky to get a perfect match when you roll your quilt to quilt the next row. Happy quilting Sharon *********************** Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
LFQuilts Posted September 14, 2011 Report Share Posted September 14, 2011 Sharon from R&S was gracious to share her suggested thread path for the Baptist Fan boards. Of course, I wrote her after I had already started using a version of the path suggested by Robin's post. I was most unhappy working away yesterday since my tracebacks were just awful - without even looking at where I was trying to join the rows of fans. I mean, really people, using the boards is supposed to make us look good, not inept. I knew that the problems were 'user error', not the boards, but . . . . . . which user error? 1) As Sharon notes in her directions, you have to really stabilize the quilt top. I did find that running a tighter quilt sandwich than I normally do was critical. 2) I was using a poly thread. I think a thicker cotton would have helped hide the fact that the tracebacks weren't perfect. 3) I quilted from the bottom of the quilt to the top . . . about 1/3 of the way up, I quit trying to connect the rows of fans. That made life easier. I think the fabric on the quilt is so 'strong' that only I and other quilters who look hard will realize I quit connecting the rows. 4) MOST IMPORTANT LESSON: This one really made all of the difference in the world. When I originally set up my boards, I had put them fairly close to the back of the table, just so that my needlebar never hit the level bar. Really, really dumb thing to do. After trying everything else I could think of, I moved the boards about 4" toward the middle of the table. This meant that I was stitching more toward the center of the space between the bar with the quilt top and the level bar. All of a sudden my tracebacks weren't perfect but they were acceptable. Even with a fairly tight setup, the quilt top seems to jump a little more up close to the level bar; it isn't much but it is enough to make the tracebacks look awful. By quilting in the center, the top is more stable and the tracebacks looked much better. So, the pattern is an old Thimbleberries pattern from around 2003. I bought the fabric for the pattern way back then, but then chickened out because I knew I couldn't quilt (well) a 88"x96" quilt on my DSM - and I didn't know what a longarm was back then. The batting is QD Cotton, deluxe loft, and was a truly a dream to quilt. The thread is a poly in straw gold. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
quilterbee1 Posted September 14, 2011 Report Share Posted September 14, 2011 THANK YOU girls for all the help on the BF! Love this forum, Amie Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
MtnBarb Posted September 14, 2011 Report Share Posted September 14, 2011 Sometimes I wonder what I'd do without Utube videos. I'm one of those that need to see it to understand it! lol Thanks for posting! Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Primitive1 Posted September 14, 2011 Author Report Share Posted September 14, 2011 Lynn, Thanks for bringing this back up again, that is a good hint about moving the boards closer to the center, I agree, these are supposed to make our lives easier and more efficient, not be frustrating! Sounds like we'll get it down eventually! Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
LeeAnn Posted September 15, 2011 Report Share Posted September 15, 2011 Well those youtube videos were a light bulb moment for me. I, too, had troubles lining it up. Was good on one end but not the other or vice versa. Thanks Heidi for taking time to make those videos. I am a visual learner too! Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
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