FMQing Borders and Sashings

This is my fourth post about a Taupe/Gray/Cream/Black quilt that I have since named Fifty Shades of Taupe. My previous 6/7/20 post for this quilt addressed the FMQ on the main central area of its 35 blocks, where I tried my hand at clamshells and my rather unsteadier hand at long straight lines. Both of those chosen patterns involved ruler work, and so I was ready for something more relaxed. The original version of the quilt in the Spring 2013 edition of McCall's America Makes Fast Quilts suggest feathered vines in the borders. I felt the feathered vines would not complement the clamshells and would barely show up in the busy print of the border.  I thought a piano key border would echo the plus sign within each block. I know. I know. I wanted a break from ruler work. But I reasoned these would be shorter lines, farther apart, not as many, and closer to the edge so easier to work.

In a class taught by a HandQuilter educator, I learned it works better to go up and back on parallel lines before shifting the ruler, as opposed to up-shift-down-shift-repeat. It is not difficult to trace the stitching over the same line and I think it defines it better as well.  To make lines 1" inch apart, I again used my Angela Walters Slim ruler but for the 1" apart border lines I added a ½" echo foot attachment to my hopper foot, same as I used on a caterpillar quilt in my post for 4/11/20. One problem I had though, was that the pink extension rubbing against the ruler squeaked horribly, like nails on a chalkboard. I assumed I was pushing the ruler too hard against the pink ring, but much less pressure and I would lose the guidance advantage of using a ruler. I had not had this difficulty –  perhaps occasionally but not to the extreme –  with the metal hopper foot alone. I worried too that I would abrade away either the pink echo foot or the clear ruler or both.

After working for a while I rethought the issue, since the squeak was a real stress builder. What causes a squeak? Friction. What do you do for a squeaky hinge? Oil it. I decided to put a bit of Sewer's Aid on the foot and the ruler. I put a tiny drop on my finger and ran it along both surfaces. The noise went away instantly. Sewer's Aid by Dritz is designed to be spread on the machine surface to make fabric glide more easily when FMQing on a domestic, so it does not leave any oil stains on the fabric. It worked like a charm and I only had to apply it once. It took me two days of sewing to do the four sides of the border. I did not rush it and was pleased with the results

Next I needed to address the pale gray 1" sashings. I was hopeful that they were narrow enough I could leave them not quilted but they looked naked. The Spring 2013 edition of McCall's America Makes Fast Quilts suggest circles in those 1" strips.  I am terrible at circles so I needed something else. The design had to be symmetric left/right and up/down since at the corner intersections a directionality would be problematic. I decided on an orange peel motif. The pattern could accommodate where the four sashings met without a directionality issue.

The curves of the orange peel complemented the clamshells and eliminated a lot of stitch in the ditch tedium which for me is prone to whoopsies. Since there were no rulers involved, the stitch lines are "organic", the polite word for not perfect, slightly varying. 

Not all friction is bad. Sticky is good too. Yellow masking tape marked as a tape measure adheres lightly to my quilt top, helping me evenly space the orange peel units. Holding it in place with my fingertips as I quilt, I generally have to place it to sew only the first side of the sashing, eyeballing the spacing of the second side based on the first. It remains tacky enough to use the same piece over and over again. I conveniently stash it up on the wall when not in use. Using tape this way eliminates any need for marking. A strip or two of ordinary plain masking tape up on the wall is my spot to toss strings I snip off. Again, sticky to the rescue.

The following photo shows how the piano key border, the clamshells, the orange peel in the sashings and the long lines in the plus signs all work together.

I was able to piece this top in a day but I have since learned to acknowledge and accept that the quilting takes much longer. But the FMQ skill is what I need to build, so I put on some music and try to relax with it. I am still tense and tight in the shoulders as I sit at my HQ Sweet Sixteen but I am getting less uptight as my confidence builds. Every quilt has whoopsies. I am learning not to fear them now. The worst of them can be removed; the lesser ones are really not so bad and can be allowed to stay if you let them marinate for a day or so. Here are two I did pick out. With a little bit of steaming or misting and rubbing, the needle puncture holes go away.

I have completed four rows of five blocks each for the sashings. I need to complete the other three row of the seven rows. I have just shy of three days invested in orange peeling the sashing. If I do not take breaks and take my time I get sloppy. For now I will link up with Main Crush Monday #180 at Cooking Up Quilts.