Working Through The Uh-Oh's

Hi quilty friends!  The applique is ready to go!  Whoohoo!  I love the look of applique on a quilt but the process of making it is tedious.  One of these days I'm going to do a timed test to see if raw edge is really quicker than turned edge.

Uh-oh...When I designed this quilt block I didn't add the flower and star to the applique template sheet.  No worries, I'll use the one finished block as my template.

The finished block was taped to the light box and then this happened.  Uh-oh...The original block applique is a different size.  All of my pretty freshly cut posy applique are too small.

Uh-oh...All the shiny little stars are too big.  How did this happen?  Who knows.   There's only one thing I can do about this situation.

Use them anyway.  The block on the left is the original block, the one on the right is the one with the wrong sized pieces.  Sure, it's noticeable, but would you have noticed if I hadn't told you.  Especially if it were in the finished quilt.  I guess we'll find out when the quilt is finished and I share it with someone who doesn't know about the issue.  That's right I'm pressing forward with the quilt.  It's just a quilt and no quilt is perfect.  I've yet to find one, even at quilt shows.  I can find a flaw in every prize winning quilt.

The basket handles were turned edge applique and were stitched in place with Mono-Poly invisible thread.  This raw edge applique will be stitched with the same thread.  The auto threader on my sewing machine does not like this thread so I have to manually thread the needle. Uh-Oh...Even when wearing my glasses it's hard to do. I can barely see the thread or the needle hole.  Somedays are worse the others. I could see the thread and needle hole just fine the other day but now I can't.

 

Thankfully my brain isn't as bad as my eyes and I remembered someone sharing this tip years ago.  They said to lay the tip of the thread on a piece of paper.  Trust me it's there, I can feel it but I can't see it.  Can you?

Next, use a black marker to paint the tip of the thread.  As you can see it took a bit of scribbling before I could see the thread.

Magic!   I can now see it well enough to thread my sewing machine needle.

Well, there's one more trick to share.  See the white behind the needle?  That is white electrical tape taped to the foot.  White behind the needle makes the eye easier to see.  That's another tip I heard somewhere.  My machine used to have white on this area but over time it has discolored and worn off.  Painting it white would have worked but the tape was a quick fix.  Someday I'll repaint it...when I run out of white electrical tape, HAHA!

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