Lesson Learned

Before Christmas I had two projects that I was rushing to get done.  One was for hubby and the other for one of Sarah's friends.  Both involved FMQ, and thank goodness they were pillows, because I just couldn't get the tension right.

See how the tension is so uneven and there are loops and skipped stitches, especially on the long stitches for the black hearts?  I practiced on swatches and adjusted the tension up and down and it just wasn't working.  Finally, I figured since it was a pillow and the back would be hidden by the form, I wasn't going to worry about it.  When I was most of the way through, I realized I hadn't changed my needle in a while, and guess what ...

Almost all of those problems cleared up immediately.  Not "perfect" by any means, but you can see how the back became prettier with the swirly stitches--that were in the very last section that I quilted.

So, I've added "put in a new needle" to my Pre-FMQ checklist.  Yes, lesson learned.