Berny Posted October 10, 2006 Report Share Posted October 10, 2006 I am a real newbie with my CQ so please bear with me with my questions and frustrations. I tried a small baby quilt and thought I had the measurements correct but when I came to the end of the quilt I had about 2" left without a design. I had lots of batting and batting fabric left so I just quilted another row with half of it on the batting then trimmed it off. The last row had only half of the pattern. What did I do wrong and what do I do next time? (lucky for me this was not a customer's quilt!!) Now I'm scared to try a customer's quilt incase this happens again. I would appreciate any suggestions. Berny Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Darlene Epp Posted October 11, 2006 Report Share Posted October 11, 2006 Hi Berny, (in Alberta?) It's possible that you stretched the quilt as you were rolling it, so it was no longer the length that you told the computer. This happened to me on my first one too. I had an inch more than I told the computer, so before I did the last row, I just told the computer that my quilt was 45" wide (no change there) and 10" long. It adjusted the pattern from 9" to 10" and it's impossible to see the difference! I was VERY impressed with how easy it was. Be very careful about nor overstretching as you roll (remember what your teacher taught you in class ). But if you do, it's not that big a deal, unless you do need a full row at the end. Most of today's most popular patterns start with a partial row anyway, so there is nothing wrong with ending the quilt that way too. If you have a good interlocking pattern, no one will be the wiser. Just make sure you have enough backing if you do this or you'll be stitching to your leaders and hitting pins or zippers! NOT fun! Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Berny Posted October 12, 2006 Author Report Share Posted October 12, 2006 Thanks Darlene for your suggestions. I don't think that I was stretching my top as I was free floating it but can you still stretch it when you are free floating it?? I have been trying to re-measure the top every row so that I jog it over if it is not starting in the correct place. Should I hit reset zero when I do that. Can I reset my row measurements every row if I am over or under slightly?? I have just completed my first quilt for a customer. It was a baby quilt and I used the Busy Bees pattern. It was so cute. It turned out not bad. I was pleased and so was my customer. I am learning more with every quilt I do. Thanks, Berny (from Alberta):: Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Grammie Posted October 12, 2006 Report Share Posted October 12, 2006 Also you might be sure to make a mental note when looking at your CQ screen at what the distance between your rows is suppose to be. I made this mistake. I was returning to do my next row and only leaving about 1/4 inch and the pattern stated about 1 inch. So with each row I was gaining 3/4 inches without realizing it. Just something else to look at when you decide on the size you want for the quilting area. Now I always look at this when playing around on my CQ. Remember that echoing the last edge of the design will use up some space an no one will even notice when it at the last few inches of the quilt. Ask me how I know. lolol Have fun no matter what you do. Grammie Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
TinaCollins Posted October 13, 2006 Report Share Posted October 13, 2006 Berny, Hello again!! How are you doing??? Hmmmmm??? Very interesting subject- The majority of people that I quilt for would rather have a partal row at the top and bottom of their quilt, instead of a precise number of full rows quilted:). Am I in the minority here??? I don't think that anyone has ever asked me to quilt their panotgraph pattern starting and ending with a complete row. Just curious???? Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Grammie Posted October 13, 2006 Report Share Posted October 13, 2006 I do that all the time Tina. My customers don't really seem to care as long as it is quilted. I think the CQ designs are so exciting to them they really don't even notice. lol Once the border is on WHA LA they love it anyway. No your not a minority. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Sue E. Posted October 13, 2006 Report Share Posted October 13, 2006 Originally posted by Grammie Also you might be sure to make a mental note when looking at your CQ screen at what the distance between your rows is suppose to be. I made this mistake. I was returning to do my next row and only leaving about 1/4 inch and the pattern stated about 1 inch. So with each row I was gaining 3/4 inches without realizing it. Grammie Tammie, are you not using the "index" to move to the next starting point? I always adjust my rows prior to beginning and see how it is going to look on the quilt. If I don't like the indexing that the computer does, I'll adjust it. Then when I am stitching out, I always move to the next row using the index. I have, on occassion, adjusted the move manually up or down slightly if need be. Also, if I think I might have a problem with the design fitting between borders (when putting the panto in the center and a different design in the borders), I will do a test with the needle off to see how it will fit. If I need to adjust, I will either shift the starting point slightly or slightly change the percent size of the design to get it to fit properly. I don't know if what I do is the correct way, but it works for me. However, I have had several quilts where I am doing several test runs on a row before I ever start to stitch that row so it does take a little longer to complete. Also, when I am doing an entire quilt with a panto, I always start with the panto partially off the top of the quilt and also sewing off the sides slightly. I like the look of the quilt with the design going under the binding - just my personal preference and since I don't quilt for others I do what I like. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
TinaCollins Posted October 13, 2006 Report Share Posted October 13, 2006 Sue, When you are placing a panto between borders... why don't you use the "pattern start - pattern end" feature? Then you will not have to wait for the machine to dry-run through the row. When you need to check the placement of the ending point, you can hit the Go to end button, and the machine will move to the end. I love the "pattern start (here), pattern end (here)" feature--- especially when I need to hide the start and/or stop points in a precise location. The trick for me in using this feature is to pick the pattern start point as the starting reference, and remember to zero the machine at my starting reference point... then when I need to get back from the pattern end location (after checking the placement) to my starting point, I can simply hit "Go to zero" and get there. Does this make sense??? Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
TinaCollins Posted October 13, 2006 Report Share Posted October 13, 2006 Oh, I almost forgot to add--- I always quilt off the sides of the quilt when doing pantos too. I agree that all of the clients I quilt for like to see the design running under the binding!! I'm glad to see that I am not the only one who does it this way!!! I was just wondering if this was a geographic preference of the heartland states to have panto rows quilted partially off the quilt at the sides and top/bottom??? It also helps that I did it this way before I had a CQ because I didn't have to do all the math required for quilting complete rows *LOL!!!:cool:* Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Grammie Posted October 13, 2006 Report Share Posted October 13, 2006 Sue I now use the index and like you and Tina I quilt off the quilt alot or most of the time. The customers do like having the edge stitched down or the panto disappearing under the binding. I do to. It looks good once the binding is on and it's nice and flat for the customer to put the binding on. I was speaking from a beginning perspective and sharing what I did wrong as a beginner. I have to admit I usually EYEBALL the rows rather than index. I just keep rolling up the top and Returning to the same starting point. Depends on the size of the quilt and if it is an ETE. I do alot of the ETE in the BODY and then do borders so it just depends. I also love Pattern Begin and Pattern End rather than the fake stitch movement. This is much faster. I have been getting really creative with my CQ. I hope to stitch up some of my own designs and some of the one I have made using the features of cq like the wreath array and even stretch and so forth. It is so fun. Now if I can make some time for myself to do it. I took Monday and did my small wholecloth and that's the first time in a while I took some time for own projects. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Berny Posted October 13, 2006 Author Report Share Posted October 13, 2006 Thanks for all the replies, It gives me something to think about and try. Some more questions - 1. Grammie are you talking about the index row when you say that the pattern says 1" and you leave 1/4?? 2. What is ETE? 3. What is" When the border is on WHA LA"? 3. Most E2E patterns seem to leave a space between the patterns at the top and the bottom ( that are filled in with a partial row on the traditional pantos). Do you just leave that space as is? or what? Berny I'm off to a quilting retreat with friends. I hope to finish some projects this weekend so I have something to practice on. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
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