Wednesday, November 5, 2025

House Blocks at the Longarmer--post 3

 

Stitching around the appliqué with
monofilament thread
Goal number one on my November list was to press the backing and top of the house quilt so I could get it to the longarmer. I took the pre-washed wide back to an in person sew day. Pressing a wide back isn't my idea of a fun time. Being able to do it amidst laughter and conversation made the task so much better!

Later, as I was pressing the top, I realized that on three of the raw appliqué blocks, the edges were only pressed in place. Some of the fusible was lifting so I needed to stitch down each of the pieces. My original plan was that when I quilted the piece, I would stitch down the appliqués in the process. I totally forgot about that plan now that I'm sending the piece to a longarmer! I used monofilament thread in the needle and a cotton thread in the bobbin. With my free motion foot, I stitched around the block parts.

The back and top ready for the longarmer
Next, I realized that two of the blocks had hard embellishments. . .button door knobs! I removed those. I will add them back after the project is quilted. I had a quilting pattern in mind, but, I didn't see anything close to it in the panto list. I selected a few options and encouraged the longarmer to choose one that would work. I also thought that a medium gray or dark grey thread, of the options available, would blend the best; but, again, I asked the longarmer to make that decision. 

It's been a long time since I worked on this quilt. It took some digging to locate the previous post which were in September of 2023. It is no wonder that I had forgotten about the buttons and the appliqués!

9 comments:

Jeanna said...

That is going to be a sweet quilt. I had one machine that did not like the clear thread at all! Fortunately, my Janome works just fine with it. What kind of cotton thread do you use in the bobbin? I've only used The Bottom Line from Superior Threads. It is a 60 wt polyester.

LIttle Penguin Quilts said...

That's such a cute house, Terry! It's good that you noticed those issues and had a chance to take care of them before handing it off to the longarmer. You'll have a finish soon, too!

Vicki in MN said...

Can't wait to see the whole quilt when finished!

Cathy said...

Looks like a fun one!

Sara said...

I'm looking forward to seeing the whole quilt. The glimpse we got looks very cute.

Vivian said...

Really cute blocks -- I have to go back through your posts as I think I recognize that design. It is interesting the different things you have to consider and pay attention to when you are preparing a quilt to send to a longarmer. Good thing you picked up on those beforehand!

Frédérique - Quilting Patchwork Appliqué said...

I went back to your last post, your little houses are very cute! It's going to be a fabulous quilt. Great to have noticed the button and issues before sending the top to the longarmer. Thank you for sharing and linking up!

Alycia~Quiltygirl said...

Glad you Re looked at it - its going to be so cute!

Jocelyn is Canadian Needle Nana said...

Just so sweet, I love whimsical in a quilt. It's going to be a treat when longarmed for sure.