Fall is in the air, happy October!  There are so many special days in October that I cannot list them all.  Here are some I jotted down:  Columbus Day or Indigenous People Day, Hagfish Day, and National Pumpkin Cheesecake Day (these last two are on October 21st, I prefer the cheesecake over the hagfish).  On October 26th the Hunter's Full Moon will brighten the night sky and that day is also called Worldwide Howl at the Moon Day, quite fitting I'd say.   And then the last day of the month is Carve a Pumpkin Day, and Halloween.  How ever you spend your days in October, have a great month.  Personally, I am looking forward to some cooler days and wearing some fun and cozy sweatshirts.  Also, I will be checking Costco for their yummy pumpkin pie.  

On Saturday,  September 26th, we had a room full of people sewing at Eat and Sew Day over at Clubhouse 2.  We sewed in comfort and then had a delicious taco lunch out on the patio.  It was an absolutely beautiful day and terrific fun sewing, eating, chatting, and laughing with all my quilty friends.  A big thank you to Janice Simmons and Renee Jeske for making this happen.  I hope we can do it again in the future. 

My good friend Shari Riter brought me the topic for this month's tidbit from another Linda's article entitled "Fabric Shifting While Quilting?".  As in last month's tidbit, I will paraphrase the article's points and provide my own comments.

When we plan a quilt, we spend lots of time picking out the fabric for our quilt top, then carefully cutting and sewing to make it just right.  When it is time to actually do the quilting, we need to take the same care putting together the three layers of top, batting, and backing, otherwise known as the quilt sandwich.  The Linda's article mentions "three simple adjustments to keep your quilt layers smooth, aligned, and frustration-free."  Fabric shifting is what causes puckers, wrinkles and layers that do not line up, resulting in what I call "ugly quilting".   You don't have to accept that outcome.  Good preparation during your setup before you begin quilting will save frustration later.  I don't know if you have ever had to unsew ugly quilting, but take it from me, it is time consuming and sometimes leads to holes in the fabric.

Here are three easy steps you can take to make your quilting more successful:

1.  Baste the three layers of your quilt sandwich to alleviate shifting.  Basting can be in the form of needle and thread, pins, and/or spray basting.  If you use pins, use plenty, don't skimp.  Try to place them so that you will not run across them with your sewing machine needle when you sew in the quilting stitches.

2.  Next, when you begin quilting, start in the middle, "quilt from the center outward to move any excess fabric toward the edges".  As you stitch, inspect the quilt sandwich making sure everything is still smooth and aligned correctly.  You can stop periodically and smooth out any bulges or wrinkles and then continue stitching.

3.  "Support the weight" of the quilt, let the machine do the work, and wear quilting gloves.  As you stitch, keep the quilt sandwich supported so there is no pulling, stretching, and shifting.  Don't let the quilt hang off the table in front or in back of the sewing machine.  Guide the quilt sandwich through the sewing machine, don't pull or stretch the fabric.  

Well, that is all for now.  Please enjoy your sewing and quilting projects in October.  November will bring our big Bonanza sale at Club House 4.    If you have any ideas for a November tidbit, please let me know.  Blessings to you and your family.