Moving on

Well, I did it. I took that deep breath and tackled my "Just Coffee" quilt. It's really small, about the size of a piece of paper. However, McKenna Ryan does that incredible detail with raw edge applique and that's what scared me. You have to quilt around every little piece to make sure it stays there. Since I did all of that cursive quilting on the Blue Star Banner, I decided to go for it. Oh, dear. It's not turning out as well as I'd hoped. My quilting is okay. Though you can definitely tell I don't have a spiffy stitch regulator on my sewing machine. *grin* My problem is that the needle is leaving huge holes in the batiks. It's driving me insane! As a matter of fact, it got me totally depressed and I'm having a hard time convincing myself to keep going until someone tells me that the holes will go away in time. I'm thinking that it might be possible to soak it in hot water after I'm done quilting it and that might close them up.

The scoop on this quilt is that I started it who knows when. Maybe 1-2 years ago. I bought the entire set and the fabric kits to go with them. Since it's raw edge applique, I used Wonder Under as my fusible. There are also several layers in some places. Then, I got intimidated by the detailed quilting and it's just been sitting there ever since.

When I began tonight, I did a "bad" thing. I just kept happily quilting with my original needle from my other project. Though I remember thinking, "New project. You should change your needle..." I don't listen to myself very well. LOL I'm using cotton thread in the bobbin and nylon thread on the top. When I go to quilt through many layers (we're talking anywhere from 2-4 here not including the background), it will make a funky popping sound. If there's only 1 layer on top of the background, then it doesn't. So I'm assuming that's the layers literally talking there. However, that's when the holes get left. It's definitely more obvious in the lighter batiks than the darker. I can see them up to 2 feet away, maybe even more. When I noticed the holes getting left and heard that popping noise, I stopped quilting and immediately cleaned my machine and switched out the needle to a 70/10. Unfortunately, it didn't change anything except to make me feel better at putting in a new needle for a new project.

So, would someone please tell me that the holes will go away if I do _________. Fill in the blank. If I know they'll go away, then I'll go back and happily finish it. But right now? I'd rather leave it the way it is and risk those pieces falling off in the future.