There has been a slight change in plans. More about that in a bit. I made a few kaleidoscope stars while I was pondering what to do about the pickle dish quilt.
First were a few of the brown and blue paisley kaleidoscope stars.
Each one is such fun to see come together.
I’ve given up picking a favourite as each one is a favourite, it seems. But if I had a favourite of this group, this one may be it.
Or perhaps it’s this one.
No, it’s this one! Even after making many of these kaleidoscope stars, I still can’t get over how one piece of fabric can have so many different looks.
The change in plans? I’m not going to be hand quilting the Summer Picnic Dish. I’ve spent the past week or so trying with different needles and different quilting threads and have come to the conclusion that it’s the white on whites I so love to use that are a problem. Some of them can be difficult to hand piece. The ones I used in the pickle dish weren’t particularly hard to work with when piecing but when it comes to hand quilting, they are really not pleasant to try to quilt through. So I’ve figured out how I’ll machine quilt it and plan to get started on that this weekend.
Which brings me to the first question. I thread basted the quilt, assuming I’d be hand quilting it. I really do not want to take out the thread basting but am wondering if I’m going to run into trouble machine quilting with the thread basting. Any thoughts?
I’m still working on hand quilting the Ferris Wheel quilt and that’s what caused the light bulb moment last night. I am not having any problems hand quilting it. Why? I think it’s because there’s not any white on white in it anywhere. That sort of tells the tale. I’m not accepting this gracefully, as I love the look of a white in my quilts. But I want to be able to hand quilt more, so I’m going to have to find something other than a white on white to use in the future.
And there’s the second question. Are there any manufacturers making a white quilting cotton that has the design woven in rather than painted on?
“A Brief Visit.”
I couldn’t resist this shot of all the paws. Baxter sure doesn’t worry about hurting his paws trying to quilt through a white on white fabric.
Quilt Obsession 
I often thread baste prior to machine quilting (problem with thumb doesn’t allow hand quilting). I have no problems with machine quilting when thread basting. If you question it, cut thread in just that area you’re quilting and pull it out. the rest of the basting should stay put nicely.
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I’ve seen white on whites that are not prated on – on occasion… I generally choose solids now instead.
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These kaleidoscope stars are my favorites! They are just beautiful. As for the white on white fabrics, I know what you mean. They feel different and are difficult to sew through. I’ve also found that some of the really dark, dark blacks can be the same.
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I’ve machine quilted with a thread-basted quilt before. It’s not too bad, you just need to watch that you don’t get the basting threads caught on your sewing machine foot. And try not to stitch directly on your basting lines– your quilted line may split the basting thread in half, so when you remove the basting thread it might pull your stitch loose (which is why I ultimately switched to pin basting for machine quilting). Gorgeous stars!!!!!!
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Very Pretty. and of course…so is Baxter!
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Cathi, I’m sorry you have run into trouble with your summer picnic dish but it will still be very nice with the machine quilting. What I need to comment on is your first kaleidoscope star which I love because it has a circle of birds flying around the center. How cool is that! Also yesterday’s picture of Baxter is worth framing. He looks so regal and self-possessed.
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I only thread baste for machine quilting. It is a little tricky if you are free motion quilting (getting caught on the foot) but if you are using feed dogs and regular stitching there is no problem. Only use a lightweight 2 ply thread for basting and it will never pop a quilting stitch when pulling it out after quilting even if it gets split by being stitched through.
The paisley is perfect for your stars!
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I only thread baste for my machine quilting. You just need to remove the area you are going to quilt just as you would if it was pin basted. Just think now if you run over a basting stitch you won’t break a needle. Quilt isn’t as heavy with the thread basting as with the pin basting
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Cathi, I too thread baste. I just cut the threads and pull them out from the area I’m quilting. I’d rather do that than struggle to take out threads after the fact; I don’t like to pull out threads that have been stitched over.
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I thread baste and machine quilt all of my quilts. There has been a time or two when the basting caught on the toe of the walking foot, but it was no problem to stop and just snip the basting thread to get it out of the way. I pull out the basting threads as I go. That is, once I’ve machine quilted an area, out come the basting threads. That way, I don’t have to do it all at once at the end.
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P.S. LOVE the paisley kaleidoscope stars!!!
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