mswings Posted March 29, 2009 Report Share Posted March 29, 2009 I too am a new Millie owner, as of Christmas. I don't have any problem loading my millie, it's just I don't know how to come up with how to quilt it!!! I've practiced on muslin but when I put "a real quilt"on I just stare at it...and stare at it....and then look at books to get an idea. I have signed up for some classes at MQS. I don't know why I just freeze!!! I have a wall hanging I've looked at for 2 weeks and have no idea what to do. It's a simple maple leaf quilt. I do swirls well but I want to advance from all over quilting to individualizing my quilts. Ugh.... I don't know what I'm afraid of.. Any ideas to help would be appreciated. Thanks. Oh Yea, the reason I bought my Millie was because of this great forum. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
JoleneK Posted March 29, 2009 Report Share Posted March 29, 2009 Welcome mswings, I still have quilts I just stare at, not sure what to do with them. When I just started I was afraid of ruining a quilt top so it was harder to get started. The first customer quilt I put on I was almost sick to my stomach with fear. Try loading a large print fabric and following the pattern/motif on it. Go from flower to flower(or whatever the design is) and add some fill in between. Most important is to relax, breath, have fun and PPP. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
QuiltFaerie Posted March 29, 2009 Report Share Posted March 29, 2009 Oh Yea, freezing is pretty normal. I did charity quilts for a while. I was assured that I could not screw them up. Try some pantographs. Get a couple of easy ones and practice those. Heck, pull the thread out and just follow the pattern with the laser light. Don't forget to breathe. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
witha'K'quilting Posted March 29, 2009 Report Share Posted March 29, 2009 Welcome mswings, try loading a cheater quilt top on practicing on it. You will find opportunity for sashing, fill work, block work. When you are done, donate it to the local homeless or woman's shelter or convalescence home. Gives you great practice and helps get past that "what do I do with this quilt" fear. Have fun with your millie. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Stagecl Posted March 29, 2009 Report Share Posted March 29, 2009 Welcome. If you can go to MQS in Overland Park, in May, take advantage of it. You take lecture classes as well as hands on classes. The teachers are great too. Best of all you can meet up with some of the gals on this site! Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Mary Beth Posted March 29, 2009 Report Share Posted March 29, 2009 Hey Mswings, You are in the Kansas City area, have your heard of the Mo-Kan Longarm group? They meet one time a month in Stanley, Ks. They are a great group of people who come from all over Kansas and Missouri (as far south as Branson) to talke about machine quilting. If you have not been to the group, you need to go. If you need more info, I would be happy to let you know meeting times and the address. MQS is a great place to start. Books and videos are a great help too. You are on your way. We have all been where you are. Just staring at a quilt is normal. Don't be afraid to try things, you may surprise yourself. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
quiltmonkey Posted March 29, 2009 Report Share Posted March 29, 2009 Hi! Well, don't feel alone about being very scared, afraid and staring at the quilt. I do that all of the time! Especially my own quilts. Last year in 2008 when I was learning and getting up my gumption, while I was trying to decide what to do on my quilts, I would stare at them for weeks and sometimes MONTHS! Eventually, I just told myself "just do something already, Shana!" So that's what I did I just started. One stitch at a time. And guess what, after I started that first stitch, it led to something else. It was really fun for me because I really had no clue what I was going to do. Really, I winged it as I went along. Eventually, my quilts were finished. And looking back, I learned so much by doing this process that led me from one step to the next step; I learned so much in the process! So yes, being scared is very normal. I think you will surprise yourself (as I did to myself) that if you just try, just stick your nose to the grindstone, and just let yourself be free to try new things you've never done before, sure it is scary but you can do it. I did! I learned so much; more than I ever imagined. These quilts (believe it or not) I am putting in the quilt shows this year. Just because. And, I want to get judges feedback and just get the feel of how these quilt shows work. I did my best work that I could do at the time. Sure these quilts are not perfect (I was still learning and in my first year of quilting 2008) but what I learned by doing these quilts gave me lots of confidence and I pushed myself into unchartered territory. You can do it if I can do it. All you need to do is take that first stitch. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
shirleyl Posted March 29, 2009 Report Share Posted March 29, 2009 I too stare at quilts. I still have a quilt top I cannot bring myself to quilt after 2 years. I just cannot decide how to do it. Just sit and draw and then there are those quilts, like the one I'm making, that I have been quilting in my sleep. So once you get going, some of them talk to you. Look on the internet, in magazines. I don't buy quilting magazines just for patterns to make, I buy them to see the quilting on the quilt for various ideas. We have all been there. I quilted for 2 years before I took my first customer quilt and it scared the bejessus out of me. I guess it was the fear of ruining someone elses work or them not being happy with my work. I've got the first one behind me. Take all the classes you have the time and money for and buy books, DVD's as you see fit. Hang in there it gets easier, but you still have those you look at and go what in the crap do I do on this. I still have one of those. Shirley Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
meg_marsh Posted March 29, 2009 Report Share Posted March 29, 2009 Join the club - Shana hit it right on the head - sometimes we have to tell ourselves to just do SOMETHING!! Something is better than nothing. Something that helped me was to buy kids fabrics & panels that didn't need piecing. I would quilt each one a little differently as I kept trying to improve. I bound each one and then gave to charity - Sold a couple of them - friends saw them and wanted - made my feathers puff a little. Anyway, I felt more productive and if it wasn't perfect - so be it. Did pantos, freehand, stencils - whatever. Was fun and I learned so much in the process. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
jackie_lathem Posted March 29, 2009 Report Share Posted March 29, 2009 mswings, You say you are taking classes at MQS. If you are signed up for at least 2 classes, then you can be a teacher's angel (TA) for 2 more. That is a way to sit in on 2 classes, work a little and get a LOT of benefit from them. Just a thought. I would love for you to volunteer, but the wonderful thing is, you are getting 2 classes you don't have to pay for. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
mswings Posted March 29, 2009 Author Report Share Posted March 29, 2009 Thanks to all for the encouraging words!!!! I'm feeling empowered. Jackie, I will certainly sign up to volunteer at MQS. Also, Mary Beth, I do belong to the MO-Kan guild. I have learned a lot from them. I really like the idea of the charity quilts because I have a ton of fabric that would work for that. I hope that I can meet you all at MQS this year. I've wanted a longarm for about 5 years and now that I have one, I just need to take the leap. Thanks again for all the great suggestions. Virginia Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
yankiequilter Posted March 30, 2009 Report Share Posted March 30, 2009 Is there really someone coming from Branson for the Mo-Kan Longarm group? I'd be interested in coming if there was a carpool, I'm an hour from Branson. Mapquest shows Stanley to be 230 miles/4 hours from me. (HA! I don't think the Mapquest people have ever driven in these hills!) Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Mary Beth Posted March 30, 2009 Report Share Posted March 30, 2009 Carmen, I'm sure they haven't. When I was a kid we tried every car sick remedy in the book...nothing worked Yes, they drive from Branson. Let me see if I can find their contact information and I will get you in touch. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
jackie_lathem Posted March 30, 2009 Report Share Posted March 30, 2009 MB, I don't have Bill and Michelle's info, but I can get contact for Portia Hutcheson. Let me know if you need it. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Mary Beth Posted March 30, 2009 Report Share Posted March 30, 2009 Jackie, I just went to my Mo-Kan list and found Bill and Michelle and a couple of others from that neck of the woods. I think there were 3 or 4 names, that should get Carmen in the right direction. Thank you for helping. Carmen I sent you a u2u. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Primitive1 Posted March 30, 2009 Report Share Posted March 30, 2009 Virginia, Something that I like to do is take a digital picture of the quilt I am about to work on (if it is a custom quilt job) and then slip it into a clear plastic notebook sleeve. Then I sit down at night and doodle on it with a dry erase pen until I come up with a design that I think will look good. This does 2 things for me, 1) I can easily erase and start over if I don't like it and 2) If I pull out the quilt pic, it leaves the quilting and I can see if I need more in an area...this will give you a plan so that you can just load the quilt and get started without wondering if it is the right quilting. For me - it helps me to move on and get it quilted. Vicki Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
mswings Posted March 30, 2009 Author Report Share Posted March 30, 2009 That's a great idea Vicki. I'll give it a try. Thanks for sharing it. Virginia Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Sheri Butler Posted March 30, 2009 Report Share Posted March 30, 2009 mswings, I dont know which classes you were planning on taking at MQS, but, you learn alot of design ideas from watching the pro's in the demo's classes. You can sit, and draw while they are quilting. You'll have alot of notes to take home with you as reminders! Also, as mentioned above, DVD's help alot of beginners as well! Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
mswings Posted March 31, 2009 Author Report Share Posted March 31, 2009 Thanks Sheri, I will take advantage of the demo's. I hadn't thought of that. I am also thinking of buying Kim Brunners Whirley Feather CD and maybe her first one as well. Do they sell those at MQS? I don't know if I should wait for MQS or go ahead and order them. I have Karen Mctavish's DVD and it is very helpful. I bought 3 of Sharon Shambers and find them informative but they are not like a DVD. It is more like still pics. I need someone to talk me through it. Anyway, thanks for the input. Virginia Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Betsy Posted March 31, 2009 Report Share Posted March 31, 2009 hi mswings! I'm pretty new too. I got my Millie in September and had a hard time working up the courage to even turn it on at first!While I was waiting for it to come I stitched up some quilt tops and finished a few UFO's that I wouldn't mind "messing up". I started with pantos and they really helped me get the feel of my machine. I have found the beginner DVD's out there to be very helpful, especially Kimmie Brunner's beginner DVD. I'm so envious that you get to go to a big quilt conference to take classes! Maybe next year..... Betsy Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
rebelette67 Posted March 31, 2009 Report Share Posted March 31, 2009 Hi Virginia: I too am still learning the ropes on my Milli that I bought last May. I found Myrna Ficken's DVD set on Beginning Longarm Quilting to be very helpful in getting thru "just getting started." She covers a large gamut of useful information, including pantos and freehand quilting. I use a piece of plexiglass to doodle on after the quilt is loaded to test various pattern applications. Got that idea from Cindy Roth (Longarm University). I like Vicki's idea too of taking the digital photo and then doodling on the clear sheet protector. Gonna have to try that one. I will have to wait until next year too for MQS or MQX....so have fun and soak up as much as you can. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
mswings Posted April 1, 2009 Author Report Share Posted April 1, 2009 Hi to the other "newbies". I can't wait for MQS. I will try to learn as much as possible. I put my maple leaf on the machine and am quilting away!!! I'm trying a little of cross xing, stippling and mactavishing...(A lot of quilting for a wall hanging, Anyway, I'm having fun. Hope you all are as well. Have a great day and again, thanks for all the info. Virginia Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
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