My self-declared Preparation Day ended up being all about the food. On Tuesday, I spent some time searching the internet for new recipes. After my usual Wednesday chores, I had fun getting some of the special Thanksgiving food prepared in advanced. In fact, I spent all my extra time cooking, so was no quilt preparation took place on Wednesday. I finished the rest of the cooking Thursday morning and early afternoon. Thankfully, we weren’t scheduled to eat until 6 PM. It was fun having everyone taste-test the new recipes. Everybody loved the Sweet Potato Cranberry Bake, the Triple-Chocolate Pumpkin Pie, and the Cranberry Cobbler. Those foods will likely become yearly family favorites, which is why I’m writing about them here. I will need the links so I can make them again next year!
So today, instead of braving the Black Friday crowds, I was finally able to pin baste my quilt using my Pinmoors and straight pins. While I was gathering all my supplies and putting the free-motion foot on my machine, I ran across these Finger Gloves, which were sold as alternatives to full hand quilting gloves. They are supposed to make free-motion quilting easier. I thought this would be a good time to give them a try.
Finger Gloves come in two sizes: large and medium. I put the large ones on my thumbs and my first two fingers. I put the medium ones on my ring fingers and little fingers. Then I started quilting. I liked how the nubby latex grabbed hold of the fabric, but honestly, I missed the tactile quality of the fabric. Someone new to quilting might like the extra grip, but I didn’t really care for them. Plus, I must have really fat fingers. After wearing them for just thirty minutes, I removed pulled them off and they left very clear marks where the rolled ends were squishing my fingers. I guess I could have cut that part off, but I just like quilting with naked fingers better.
While I was digging around in my sewing cabinet getting the tools I needed, I also ran across some rubber finger tips. These are the kind that come from an office supply store.
They are basically the same thing as the Finger Gloves that I just reviewed, only they are made of rubber instead of latex. As such, they are much less flexible than the latex ones, although they were slightly larger so my fingers weren’t quite so squished. The nubby texture is supposed to give extra traction while quilting, but I would much rather be able to feel for bumps as I spread out the layers before quilting.
While I was testing out the various finger tips, I started by quilting all the major outlines with charcoal colored thread. I like to get the quilt stabilized right up front so I can remove as many pins as possible. It’s actually rather relaxing because, while I have to concentrate to quilt on the line, I don’t have to try to come up with creative quilting designs.
It’s always fun to look at the back of the quilt from time to time, too.
As I was quilting the hair outlines, I was trying to create beautiful, graceful lines. I remember intentionally trying to draw graceful curves way back in junior high, maybe even before that. It was around that time that I taught myself calligraphy, so I became very aware of the quality of certain lines. That made me remember the first class I took from Nancy Crow. I remember her saying several times that we should use our rotary cutter to cut beautiful lines. I think that idea will always make me smile.