A 9 puckered 9 patch.....What do you do?

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Originally Posted by K. McEuen

If your ironing board surface has a bit of give this shouldn't be an issue. If the foam or whatever is under your cover is flattened out completely this could be causing your problem. It might be time to recover your ironing surface. The padding should allow enough give so that you don't get the hill and valley issue.

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I made an iron board like Jenny shows with the canvas as they said that was best for pressing seams to make them open/flat for the pieces to stay the right size..they said a padded covered board isn't good for pressing the seams to keep measurement. D if you do, D if you don't I guess! But I will try what you suggest with the padded board

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Originally Posted by Jean Sewing Machine

Well, you could "go with the flow" and use puffy batting, and then the valleys would be made into hills, and the seams would be the valleys! This is what I did on my D9Q I made for my friend's baby. It looked good when it was quilted, I stitched in every ditch I could find, and it turned out all puffy and soft. Very cuddly for a baby!

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I can see that would work. That is the kind of batting I used to use until I started learning new techniques and the general consensus was to get that thinner batting. I also have the problem of the quilt being to stiff when i meander FMQ....this coudl solve that problem too, altho I wonder if it is to thick to meander. I have done STID on this kind of batting before. Maybe I should go back to where I was!

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Originally Posted by rebeccas-sewing

Use steam and see if that helps!

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Well, I have been told not to use steam on pressing as it shrinks the pieces which causes the pieces to not match up correctly causing rows not to match etc....

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Originally Posted by Mimis-quilts

As Jean said, it's because of the seam allowance...which in the long run is no big deal because when you get the batting in and the quilt is quilted you won't k! Happy Quilting!

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I am not a perfectionist, but I do want things to look right. I have tried to "go with the flow" but on these placemats I just made I STID and then did a straight stitch through the squares (forming an X in the center of the square) and because of the "valley" in the squares...they wrinkled when I did the stitch.

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Originally Posted by EnumclawGramma

I believe (maybe) perfection comes with time. None of my quilts so far have been perfect. But I'm a beginner. Everyone who has received one of my quilts really believes they ARE perfect! My seams don't always match perfectly, and I've had to "make do" more than once. I learn something new with each one. The important thing for me is....this is what I'm enjoying, it's my escape, I feel as though I've found my passion and I get to meet some really awesome ladies along the way! When I make the same mistake over and over I hit the off/on switch on my machine and go make a cup of coffee, go sit outside and clear my head. Come back later. Things usually work better when I sit back down and try again.

Jean....I LOVE that quilt! Too cute!

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I am intermediate beginner! I am advanced on something, but beginner on others! And I do love doing it, but also want things to look right. If this was a quilt, I wouldn't fret about it, and cover it up with some meandering! But these are placemats I am talking about and to have that pucker right there...just looks bad to anyone. And I do learn from my mistakes (meandering covers alot of them!) but in this case.. I just wanted to throw them out..they look bad. I have 4 rows of (what should be )3"squares. Three rows are square, and the last row(whether the top of bottom) are rectangles cause I had to trim them to where they all had the same fit. Maybe placemats are just not my calling!

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Originally Posted by kelliedi

coffee break check your bobbin tension too.

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I do check tensions....what are you saying I should look for? I do test stitches first to test my needle position to be 1/4 inch for the allowance and look at the stitch to see that both sides are sewing evenly and all that...what else do I look for? I have a Singer 9960

[QUOTE=cherokeerose;121646]My first true quilting project (I done a couple of doll quilts for my Granddaughter) is a king size 9 patch, red and black. I was putting all the rolls together last night to see how many more I need to do, and boy can I tell the difference in the first blocks (rows) and th

Sounds like you have quite a project going! Good luck on it!

Sewing skills improve with time. We should be striving for excellence....NOT perfection! We are always most critical of our own work because we sit right on top of what we are sewing and see every minor flaw. Don't point out your flaws to everyone and they most likely won't notice at all. Cheri, where do you live?? I'm on my way to help you.....:)

I have been quilting for years and have yet to make anything, that there is something not matching. Squares not aligned, points cut off. I make what ever it is, for who ever I am making it for, and end the end they love it. Don't be so hard on yourself. Rip it out and start over, or just do it how it is. Unless you are selling or being judged on them, I wouldn't worry about it. Way more important things in life to stress over.

I saw Jenny talking in a tutorial once about sewing in opposite directions when sewing strips together....could this be that?