elkayr Posted November 4, 2008 Report Share Posted November 4, 2008 any suggestions on what type of stitching i should be practicing on? i've used millie twice so far. i've got a queen size quilt loaded, muslin top & backing & hobbs 80/20 batting. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Judi Posted November 4, 2008 Report Share Posted November 4, 2008 Hi Linda - Welcome to the forum and Congrats on getting a really nice machine!! Just play, become very comfortable with using your machine. You not only need to PPP on stitching, but also tensions with different threads. Helps to have a nice flow to even the simple meandering stitch. I look back at some of my first quilts and - yeicks! That is some really big and loosy-goosy meandering.... Don't panic if you quilt yourself into a corner..... it happens... Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
IBQLTN2 Posted November 4, 2008 Report Share Posted November 4, 2008 just have fun and don't worry about what you do as long as you are getting acquanted and enjoying it. Try some free motion curly ques, meandering, feathers what ever comes to mind just doodle. I even try writing words or names or even verses. Jeanne Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
roberta Posted November 4, 2008 Report Share Posted November 4, 2008 I just fiddled and tried anything that came to mind. I wrote my name, did flowers, meandered, tried snowflakes, christmas trees, leaves, tried feathers, just played around. All the while messing around with different speeds and tensions. Pretty much what Jeanne said, just have fun Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
ffq-lar Posted November 4, 2008 Report Share Posted November 4, 2008 Hi Linda, That big ol' piece of muslin will look like an ocean when you stand there trying to think of what to stitch!!! Take some kind of marker--even a permanent Sharpie or a blue water-soluble one--and block out areas. Mark 8" squares all across and fill in each with a different design. Do three different sizes of puzzle meander. Do little loops and then big fat loops. Write the abc's continuously in another block. Try a teardrop fill. Stitch a small heart, echo twice, and stitch another to echo until the space is full. An 8" square is less intimidating than a whole stitching-field to fill. Next advance, draw a four inch wide area all across the top. That is a border or a sashing. Practice filling the space from one side to the other. Mark some circles using a big plate or plastic lid-- fill the circles with designs. This will allow you to practice filling areas while honing your stitching skills. You may immediately find a design that you are really good at. Try that design in several sizes. I could not do a decent puzzle meander and still don't like to do them, but I was a whiz at a peacock fill (easy and forgiving) and that was what I used on my first customer quilt. Save your first efforts. From the beginning of the muslin to the end you will see much improvement. Use pinking shears to cut out the "good parts" and proudly display them in your studio! Good luck on your endeavors--there is much fun and creativity in your future! (Another) Linda Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
roberta Posted November 4, 2008 Report Share Posted November 4, 2008 Geez Linda, now I am going to have to go buy more muslin and try this myself. What great advice! Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Sandra Darlington Posted November 4, 2008 Report Share Posted November 4, 2008 Hi Roberta, I sent you a U2U. Sandy Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
elkayr Posted November 4, 2008 Author Report Share Posted November 4, 2008 thanks a lot for all of the suggestions! i was feeling a little overwhelmed with that big ol' piece of muslin. i'll try marking it off. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Quilting Heidi Posted November 4, 2008 Report Share Posted November 4, 2008 Linda Rech you nailed it. For me I had to mark targets and then just went for it. I still prefer to work within a shape. It just takes the stress out of it for me. One thing that I found very helpful was to stitch a circle round and round and round really, really fast, then reverse and do it the other way. It really gave me the feel for the machine. Dave Jones (Deloa's husband and Jessie's father) gives this advice and he is so right on! I also did two rows of each panto I owned. It really gives me a nice sample to show customers and gives me practice. I wrote on the panto how long it took me to do the width of fabric so that if I'm calculating time I can tell how long that quilt will take me to stitch. Comes in very handy to know what price range to charge. Have fun and don't worry if you don't actually use your piece. You can probably donate it to the local animal shelter to use in their cages and the puppies and kitty's won't mind at all! Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
JollyJane Posted November 4, 2008 Report Share Posted November 4, 2008 OK Ladies. This may be the silliest question yet - but I am pretty sure you won't laugh at me!! Well - I hope not anyway! In order to become more accurate with Panto work should I just do the same panto over and over and over and over (etc etc) again. Or should I be doing "general" practise to get better control and THEN try again with the panto work!! Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
hollyc Posted November 4, 2008 Report Share Posted November 4, 2008 Draw squares and triangles so you can play with fillers, etc, what you would find when working on a quilt. I think a large plain muslin surface is harder to do unless you have a plan, even random. It will be interesting to see it finished. DeLoa has a wonderful book on various fillers. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Quilting Heidi Posted November 4, 2008 Report Share Posted November 4, 2008 Originally posted by JollyJane OK Ladies. This may be the silliest question yet - but I am pretty sure you won't laugh at me!! Well - I hope not anyway! In order to become more accurate with Panto work should I just do the same panto over and over and over and over (etc etc) again. Or should I be doing "general" practise to get better control and THEN try again with the panto work!! Not a silly question at all and I'm sure nobody would laugh at that one. Pantos tend to be different shapes so I pick a style and practice that until I get it and then go on to the next one. For instance it might have lots of jagged spikes or loops or feathers. All take different muscle memorization (at least for me). I practice by stiching the width and then stitching over that and over that until I feel like I'm consistant. You can change the color of your thread for each pass to really see how your coming along. It is a great way to see which part of the panto is giving you the hardest time. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
jebm Posted November 4, 2008 Report Share Posted November 4, 2008 I tried just practicing on little quilt sandwiches and didn't feel like it was doing the trick. I have a very large dining room table. I had wide muslin--which I pieced to fit...top and bottom, cut batting. Laid the top on the table, drew the oval--and then sketched in some cables with stencils, some flowers, some feathers--and had more incentive and motivation to do by best! (I tired to balance it so it looked "well" planned! I've left it on the table, and when customers come in they are amazed--and I think it's given them a little more confidence in a newbie quilter! good luck! you'll have lots of fun making your queen size quilt! Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
countrystitcher Posted November 4, 2008 Report Share Posted November 4, 2008 I had purchased Darlene Epps 3 little books and I used the meandering book and followed it thru. I divided my muslin into about 12" squares or larger and did someting different in each square. It really helped with my free motion quilting. Also doing the pantos will ease your mind as to what you need to do -- just relax and have fun with them. I kept my first muslin piece for a long time until the local humane shelter needed bedding and then I gave it away. By the way, our shelter and/or vet clinic also will take pieces of batting for animal bedding. Just have fun! Sharon Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Bekah Posted November 4, 2008 Report Share Posted November 4, 2008 all the information on here is priceless. thanks for sharing all the tips. helps even those of us who have had our machines for awhile. Linda R my friend you are always full of such sage wisdom and advice. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
jeanros Posted November 5, 2008 Report Share Posted November 5, 2008 Congrats on your machine, you are going to have a ball with it. I have found that just doodling is fun and you an get into free hand fatsr that way too. Try any thing you can think of and look at some books. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
lindasewsit Posted November 5, 2008 Report Share Posted November 5, 2008 I did what Sharon did. I have Darlene's little pocket books too. They might seem a little pricey at first, but they are one of the best investments I have made !! Worth their weight in GOLD and then some!! And JollyJane, I have practiced my pantos without really stitching. I go over and over and over and over ( you get the picture:)), Not really stictching, just running over the panto with my laser light over and over again and again. It has helped me with the feel for the panto and the feel of moving the machine from the back. Also , try it without the stitch regulator on a couple of times while practicing when you are really stitching. I was surprised how that helped me flow better even when I did turn the SR back on. linda Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
juliagraves Posted November 5, 2008 Report Share Posted November 5, 2008 Linda Taylor's book, Ultimate Guide to Longarm Machine Quilting, has a sampler quilt that you could work up to - it has sections marked off for different styles of quilting in a medallion shape. This allows you to practice various techniques, and is a good reference to show customers what different techniques look like. I teach a lot of new long-armers, since I rent my machine, and they all start off on my guild's charity quilts of 6 or 8" squares. They practice a different meander in each square, and I agree with the other folks here - it's much easier to deal with a small contained space at first. Good luck! Julia Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
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