Here we go loop dee loo

I finished Molly's quilt today.  I am not unhappy with the results.  I had some serious tension issues at the beginning.  When I was half way through I resolved them, for the most part.  I quilted spirals and as I made the spiral I kept repeating "Here we go Loop Dee Loo."

Steven was in the studio fixing the toilet on Sunday.

"Honey, do you remember "Here we go Loop Dee Loo?" as I quilted a spiral, first one way and then the next.

And he sang :

"Here we go Loop Dee Li."

"Who did it?"  I asked.

"Mother Goose."

Of course You tube provides various versions.  

And Odetta in a medley...Wait for it...

It sure is a catchy tune. 

 I quilted variations of spirals in the squares. 

 I used red thread on the bobbin too.  I think it looks a bit odd on the back. I think the blue on the red looks more odd on the front.  I used some of this fabric in the border.  I did not change to red when I quilted it.  No photo available, sorry.

 

I cheated on the binding.  I just folded the back over and made a hem instead of making a real binding.  Even doing only that took me a couple of hours.  I had to trim the batting and press each side.  I chose to stitch each side as I finished the prep.

 It was hot today so I sewed in the house.  The 31-15 was perfect for this job.  I put up the side extension table and put the bulk of the quilt on a chair next to me.  Not only did I have a chance to use the 31-15 (which needs oiling, I might add) but I was forced to vacuum before I could even start.  So now the dining room is all set until Christmas.....

Next up is the baby quilt.  I think that I will quilt it with flowers.  I tired of spirals toward the end and tried my hand at flowers. 

Most likely I will quilt larger flowers all across the next quilt.  I will finish it more quickly that way.

Machine quilting on a frame involves a tremendous amount of preparation. Each time you roll the quilt you must fiddle with this and adjust that.   I still believe that it is easier than pinning a quilt sandwich.  I have done that and it is tedium DEFINED.   Nor do I like hauling a huge quilt around underneath the needle.  Practice helps.  After all, how do you get to Carnegie Hall?

GOAL SETTING. TWO: Service the Bailey

(I acknowledge that  I am breaking a blogosphere taboo by publishing more than one post in a 24 hour period. )

Four years is a long time in a sewing machine's world.  All sorts of things can happen during that time:  congealing oil, condensation, temperature change, rust.   Even brand new machines can get gunked up and can need servicing. 

I was concerned about the Bailey since I had not used it in that long.  True one winter I kept a little heated hut over it (http://mysewingmachineobsession.blogspot.com/2012/01/room-of-its-own.html).  But this past winter I moved it from the sewing loft to the apartment.  I don't think the temperature swings were as extreme in the apartment as they were in the loft.  I probably should have put the little igloo back over it.  I didn't

Given what I know about machines, I truly wanted to check out the Bailey before I started sewing with it again.  Yesterday, Betsy and I tore into it. 

I don't have a photo of the shuttle gears.  I wish I did.  Next time I clean them and oil them I will snap one.  They aren't that big.  Singer 201 gears are bigger. Singer 201 gears are all metal.  The Bailey has one either nylon or plastic gear articulating with a metal gear.  Go figure.  The motor is a universal sewing machine motor and looks easy to replace, should the need arise. The belt meets a plastic handwheel.   There are some plastic bushings and that piece from the upper shaft to the lower one could be beefier, IMHO.

I wish it were easier to access the tension.  To do so you have to remove the whole front panel; ok it's only two screws.  I will quit complaining.

I prefer face on tension assemblies.  I don't like the "lie in" ones.  We found a piece of thread stuck in there.

 

It was not hard to remove. Had it been a face on tension assembly, one would have seen it straight away when it became lodged.  I have used face on tension assembly machines in this application before and they worked just fine.  But this is what it is.

I sure would like to know what he used as the starting point for this "bastardization."  

 The hand wheel and belt look adequate.  I think that the hand wheel is plastic.  In 25 years likely it will need replacing.  

By 3:30 we had it all back together and set up on the frame.

Admittedly, the first row of stitches SUCKED POND WATER.  I had forgotten to tighten the tension.  We managed to complete one row of stitches, break a needle and give up for the day.  But the goal was accomplished.  The Bailey was serviced.

GOAL SETTING. One: Quilt Frame prep

I have had one goal lately: get the Bailey set up and stitching.  What is the Bailey?  It is a mid arm quilting machine created by Chuck Bailey of The Bailey Sewing Center in Leicester, NY.  http://www.baileyssewingcenter.com/test.html

I bought my 17Pro in 2010.  Just before I went wacko with SMAD.  It has been sitting and waiting for me to start my recovery.  I think I may be ready. 

Setting this up is a process.  I started by sewing zippers to the pink cloth leaders that you see in the photo.  This will enable me to more easily attach the quilt back and top to the frame.  The original design calls for pinning the back and top to these leaders.  Let me tell you.  That is a PITA.  I have done it and I don't want to do it again.  EVER.

Supposedly you can sew one side of the  zipper to the cloth leader and baste  the other side to the edge of the quilt, thus allowing you to zip the quilt on quickly to set up for machine quilting.  I thought about that and decided that I did not want to fragment the cloth of the zipper each time I removed the zipper from a quilt.  So I sewed the other side of the zipper to some narrower cloth leaders on Friday so that I could accomplish my goal for that day: get the practice quilt set up on the frame.

There are four rails.  Rail One accepts the quilt top, batting, and quilt back.  Rail Two holds the quilt back.  Rail three holds the quilt top.   In order to keep it orderly, I basted the top and back together in the sewing loft BEFORE I basted on the zipper.  Then I basted one zipper each  to the opposite edges of the quilt top and the quilt back.  I did this all in the sewing loft.  Far away from the quilt frame which is in the guest apartment over the shop (It's the only place the sucker will fit).

I traipsed out to the apartment just before dinner on Friday.   Steven was OOT so I did not have to worry about time.  The dogs could certainly wait.  I discovered, much to my chagrin, that I had sewn the zippers to the quilt backwards.  Luckily, I had basted them on. 

The dogs got their supper, but not until I had removed the zippers from the quilt top and back.  Then I got a bright idea.  Take a machine out to the GA (Guest Apartment) and make sure you do it right this time, Lizzy.  So I did.  I took Duane with me.  That's how I knew he had a dead spot in his motor.

OK.  Once I got the zip leaders all set up correctly I zipped the quilt on.  Worked great !  But something was wrong  It just didn't look right.  Something was backwards.   Intuitively I thought that the back should attach  to rail number three, one edge of the top to rail two and both back and top, with batting in between should attach to rail number one.  I was 33% correct. 

I got out the instructions and discovered my error.  It is counter intuitive, but the back attaches to number two, the top to number three and both attach to number one.  Surprisingly,  I did not swear.  I just ripped the zippers out and attached them correctly.

Rail number four (I bet you can figure out which one that is) will hold a roll of batting.  This is practice and there isn't much fabric so there isn't much batting.  Also, I would pay much more attention to getting out  those wrinkles a real quilt. 

I accomplished that goal with three hours to spare.  I celebrated.  Yessir I did.

Next goal: Service the Bailey.