mamaahma

The picture may not be good, but the quilt (and quilting) is GREAT!

A lovely quilt - I especially like the doves!

Stunning!

I'm glad your bobbin winder works now - don't get discouraged, when I was a newbie it seemed as if everything that could go wrong - did! It seemed like I was always on the phone to Amy! As time goes on you'll be able to figure things out by yourself. Keep going, Heather!

Try putting a thread net over the cone. Worked for me.

At first I thought your problem was with the sides bowing inwards, but then I went back and re-read your post. It sounds as if maybe your leaders may have to be straightened, and if you float your tops sometimes you have to anchor them in some way (Linda's magnetic bars). If the quilts are very wide, I've found that the middle does get tighter than the outer edges so you need to deal with that as you go. Use your channel locks to scroll across the quilt to make sure they are straight across. It sounds as if you doing that, but if the bottom of your quilt is 1/2" to 3/4" off then something is definitely wrong somewhere (IMHO). I'm not an expert, but I would start with the leaders first.

Your quilts are always so wonderful, Libby!

Oh, they are adorable! Prayers for Landon - I just know everything will be fine!

Love, love, love this quilt! The way you go from blank space into the piecing is so awe-inspiring!

Oh, I SO love this quilt! The quilting enhances the top perfectly!

I'll try to find it, meanwhile read my post on straightening leaders - it cured what leveling the table didn't!

I think I've found the answer! For a few years now I've been dealing with this problem, and your post actually pushed me to do something about it! I straightened my leaders using Kimmie Brunner's and Tina Collin's directions and ALL the problems went away! Sometimes my Milli was so hard to push, in some areas it was loosey-goosey, my pantos weren't lining up - even the batting was hard to keep straight! I had a lot of help from people in this forum, leveled my table and other things that helped but didn't eliminate the problem. I learned to deal with it, but it was NO FUN. I now have a huge quilt on my frame, and everything is stress-free! I almost cried while doing the first row! Anyway, try straightening - I bet you'll be surprised. P.S. Let us know if this works for you.

Oh, Yeah!!

I hope someone has an answer to this because it happens to me, too. Your explanation was perfect!

Libby, I wouldn't worry about it if I were you. The same thing has happened to me. Sometimes I think the judges are not really interested in whether or not the quilting is appropriate for the fabric, they just want to see a lot of it. YOU are the one that is important here, and if you like it then that's that. By the way, I see by the comments that plenty of other people like it, too!