Three Firsts
There is still a lot in the quilting world that I am yet to try out. There are so many amazing quilting designs out there, and I'm sure many more still to be created, different methods of piecing blocks, basting your quilt sandwich, appliqueing and so much more. Pretty much everything to do with quilting has multiple possible methods you can use to achieve your goal. As long as the method you're using works for you then great! However, it is good to try out other ways of doing things at least once, you never know, you might actually like it better than your current method.
Today I tried out three techniques that I have never used before. First, I basted my quilt using the plank method. If you don't know what this is, you basically roll your quilt back up on a plank of wood, roll your quilt top onto another plank of wood and your batting you can either leave loose or roll up onto a third plank, you then unroll just a small amount of your backing, around a foot or so in length, lay (or unroll) your batting on top of it and then unroll the same amount of your quilt top. You then baste that small section of you quilt with whichever method you prefer, pins, hand basting, or spray basting and then unroll another small section and continue until the whole quilt is unrolled and basted. Using the plank method you are able to baste your quilt on a smaller surface, say a dining table, rather than having to crawl around on the floor with the whole quilt taped out. I found the planks to be very helpful to me and think I will definitely use them again for future quilts.
The second technique I tried for the first time today was hand basting. I have used bent safety pins for most of my past quilts, though I find this very hard on my hands and fingers if pinning anything larger than a cushion. Recently I have been using basting spray, though don't much like using aerosols if I can avoid it and the fumes are really dreadful! I find that I need to spray baste outside to avoid breathing in too much, and even then I'm coughing all over the place. So I thought I'd give hand basting a go today and I quite liked it. It was a little time consuming, but so is pinning. I'm not sure yet, but I think this might be my new favourite way to baste my quilts.
And finally, my third "first" for the day is the vine and leaf quilting pattern I've chosen for my dinosaurs. I love how easy it is to work my way to all the areas of the quilt with the vines and I especially like not having to be perfectly precise with my quilting. If this leaf is a little stout, that one a smidge wonky, and another a bit long, it doesn't matter! There is variation in real leaves growing outside and so variation in my quilted leaves is just fine.
It took me a long time to decide on how to quilt this one, and so far I am very pleased with my decision. I can't wait for this quilt to be quilted and bound ready for its new home!
Happy quilting!
