Testing a 1/4 inch foot & March Global Scrap Bee update

So, I got a new machine for Christmas.  It's a Pfaff Passport 2.0 lightweight and perfect for taking to sewing nights and classes.  Tell you the truth, with the hard plastic Pfaff cover on it and the extension table attached it's not that light, but it does have a handy spot for the pedal and attachment for an accessory bag!  And it is far lighter than my Husqvarna Viking, which has taken up a permanent residence on one end of the kitchen table (that is at least until visitors come to dinner!). 

It came with a free quilting kit which included a 1/4" foot.  I have a 1/4" foot on my Husqvarna and it is pretty accurate.  The foot on the Pfaff looked like it aligned with the 1/4" marking on the machine plate so I paid it no heed and started sewing on my charm pack cherry quilt.  I noticed then that the seams looked a little big and when I measured my block it was short by 1/8" inch, quite a bit off especially when multiplied over the whole quilt.

So I took out the manual, and discovered the default setting for the needle position is 3.5.  To get a smaller seam I moved the needle to the right and tested 4.0 and 4.3 and 4.5.

I took some scraps and trimmed them to 2" wide.  Using the default, and then the other settings I sewed 2 pieces together and measured the results. 

From the top you can see the shortfall on the default.  The middle 4.0 looks good and the bottom 4.3 is almost identical.  The proof is in the pudding so I decided to try to make a block and see what happened.  Jan at Sew and Sow Farm picked a really nice block for March Global Scrap Bee.  The block is called Scrap Jar Stars from A Little Bit Biased.  It involves a centre section of 16 squares perfect for testing seams.  And all from scraps! 

So off I went piecing away, I even trimmed the centre square noticing it was a bit big, not small (this really should have given me a hint!).  I added in the scrappy HST and corners and thought to myself this is a really fun pretty block. 

That is until it came time to trim it.  I had an oversized block.

Which when trimmed meant I was too close to the points in the triangles.  When joined to the next block these points would we eaten up!  Scratching my head trying to figure out what I had done in all my cleverness testing my seams I had a lightbulb moment. 

I checked my machine setting and in all my playing with the needle position I had forgotten to move it back.  I had made the whole block on 4.5.  Doh!

So for the second time this week, I made a second block, this time with 4.0 as the magic number.  

And like magic, ta dah!  Perfect size, very little to trim to make it square.

And points with seam allowance!

So now, I've cracked it I just have to remember to change it from the default every time I turn the machine on!  There is a handy pull out panel and I'm writing a note 4.0 for 1/4" foot and 4.3 for scant - don't use 3.5 or 4.5!

The second good block will be on the way to Jan for her quilt.  Looking at them together on the wall shows how this quilt is going to look - I love it.  This is a great block choice for a scrappy Bee and a brilliant way to use up scraps.

So I hope my everything going wrong on the first block run is over! I've got borders to put together for my medallion quilt and they need to be right to fit my centre panel.  Wish me luck!

Linking up to