Since I started machine quilting Tumblers and before that I did the small Christmas Tree wall hanging by machine also I have received some e mails from hand quilters wondering if I have turned to the “dark side” and wondering if I’m leaving the hand quilting world 
LOL — NO I’M NOT!! I will never give up hand quilting – it is the method I love and the look I love.
This winter I have been having some arthritis in my right hand in the fingers – I have done so much hand quilting in the past year I feel that it has contributed to the problem but not completely caused it. I have had joint/muscle problems for years and the osteoarthritis is becoming more of a problem. I most likely will not be able to spend the hours that I have done hand quilting and go more to 30 minutes at a time and then break time. Hand Piecing doesn’t seem to bother me in the least and I have no pain with it so I will very much continue my love of hand piecing.
I feel that I need to learn how to machine quilt straight lines well on smaller quilts and leave my hand quilting to the quilts I consider more “heirloom” quality or too difficult in the piecing to machine quilt how I would like it.
For me – this is my own opinion and doesn’t mean in the least that I don’t like quilts that use this – I do not like the all over pantograph – swirly machine quilting – to me it doesn’t accent the quilt pattern. For me if I am going to do any machine quilting then it must be straight lines going with the pattern of the quilt or simple curvy lines.
If I try to do quilting both ways – hand and machine- maybe my hand problem will not get worse and I hope as spring comes and the warmth comes back (like it has been so cold here ) maybe my fingers will loose the stiffness that is in it right now. I have ordered a small hand exercise ball to squeeze off and on throughout the day as I have heard that that type of exercise for the hand can help – we will see.
Thank you to all of you machine quilters who have been helping me out trying to figure out what is causing these skipped stitches in the Tumbler quilt. I will continue to work on it today and see how it goes. I have put in a #16 needle, took the walking foot off but I will try it again now with the number 16 needle and see what happens – if the walking foot still doesn’t seem to be working properly I will take it back off and finish this quilt off with a regular foot. I have cleaned out the bobbin case and dusted everything off. No lint appears to be stuck anywhere. I always thought one was supposed to use the same thread in both the top and bobbin but some of you say to use a thinner thread in the bobbin casing – the bottom line thread from superior is polyester – that seems so wrong to me that it is not cotton to match what I am using on top! is this what you all use?
I will continue to make a quilt from start to finish until the time it becomes necessary to have someone else do the quilting. I really enjoy the whole process. I might just have to make less and slow down – although I think I probably have a good lot of quilting years left in me!
{ 4 comments… read them below or add one }
I think it’s wonderful that you can use both skills!
Karen,
When I machine quilt on my home machine. I usually use regular 40wt cotton machine quilting thread. I have used other threads including embroidery rayon. I think you should use what you like. Especially with the straight line quilting, you should be able to used what you like.
Melody
Here’s what I have learned about machine quilting. Many years ago…it was a big no-no to use polyester threads on cotton quilts…that was because the polyester fibers were stronger than the cotton so it was possible the polyester thread would “cut” into the cotton fibers. With the growth of machine quilting the lighter weight polyester quilting threads no longer present that problem. The biggest reason I use Bottom Line in the bobbin is to maximize the amount of thread I can get on my bobbin. I absolutely hate stopping to change a bobbin in the middle of quilting!
Debbie recently posted…Bucilla Stocking Construction #10
Like you, I’m strickly a hand quilter and piecer. The unexpected cold weather here in Arizona caused my elbow and wrist to start complaining …. *s* ….. so I have not been able to spend hours at my frame this winter. But I have found that quilting for much shorter times (20 – 30 mins.) has helped alot. I also started to quilt a little more with my sewing machine, so far only straight lines. I have a few, actually more than a few friends that machine quilt and they all use a different thread in their bobbin, so I followed their lead. I used a 40wt quilting thread on top and a 50wt thread on the bobbin with no problems at all.