jandcembroidery Posted January 9, 2013 Report Share Posted January 9, 2013 I've only done edge to edge quilting on my DM (learning all of these little abbreviations ), and up until the point that I got my long arm I was pretty confident. I cant even begin to understand how you all do those intricate quilting jobs. If anyone is willing to reveal their secrets ; how do you figure out what it is you want to do? Where do you begin? How long does something like that take? James Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Heirloom Quilter Posted January 9, 2013 Report Share Posted January 9, 2013 James, there really isn't just one answer to your question. For people who are naturally artistic I think it comes much easier than for me who can't draw worth a darn. I practice, practice, practice, (PPP) before I every put a stitch in my quilt. Keep reading the post here, and many of your questions will be answered. Also, if you post a picture of the quilt you are wanting to quilt, someone will usually offer suggestions. I hope that helps you. And by the way, welcome to the forum. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
ffq-lar Posted January 9, 2013 Report Share Posted January 9, 2013 Hi James, Great questions! My buddy Doodlebug says--How do you eat an elephant? You just start--and take small bites! Figuring out what to quilt comes with experience, taking classes, observing quilts, and training your eye to find quilting designs in everything. That includes carpets, architectural pieces, man hole covers, iron gates, fabric, and all the quilts available on the internet. That's a big world to discover. We had a list of favorite quilt blogs where generous and talented quilters share their work. Do an archive search for blogs for links and then bookmark the one's whose style you like. Visit once a week or so to see some beautiful stuff. Our Apqs chatters are generous and many have Flickr or Smile accounts where you can access their quilt photos. Lots of chatters have blogs as well with gorgeous quilting openly shared. Haunt the "pictures" topic here on the chat. I'll share how I decide to quilt a sampler. I determine from the budget of the customer how dense the quilting will be. If she has opted for a medium price instead of heavy custom, I decide on borders and sashing designs--fairly open and maybe the border will be a filler instead of something more intricate. The blocks will be quilted simply, mostly with CCs-and-an-accent. And all with comparable density. A custom sampler would get lots of SID (stitch in the ditch) and some dense quilting in areas of the blocks to make a special fabric or dominate color pop. Sashings would be denser--maybe lots of marking involved. And borders as well. Ruler work and intricate marking always elevate the price--as well as lots of SID Did this help? You sound enthusiastic and ready to jump in so I know you will do well! Good luck, James! Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Quilting Grammy Posted January 9, 2013 Report Share Posted January 9, 2013 James, I don't think there is really a secret. Everyone will have a differant way of doing this it is just what you find that works for you. This is how I got started and how I approch a quilt. I just started playing with differant drawings trying to do them without ever raising my pen then I tried to do the same thing with the longarm. I watched several demo's on youtube over and over. I did go to the classes that APQS offers with Dawn and learned alot. I look at some quilts and just know what I am going to do on them and others I look at for hours and have no clue what to do with them. I sketch out the design on a sheet of paper and tack it up on the wall so I have a plan to follow some times as I'm quilting the design gets changed and sometimes I do it the way I drew it. I sketch differant ideas in a sketch pad and try to do them over and over again. Try to break down the blocks to their basic shapes and then think about what you can put in just that part of the block that will look cool. I hope this helps and good luck. I look forward to seeing pictures of your quilts very soon. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
delld Posted January 9, 2013 Report Share Posted January 9, 2013 Linda and Debbie, very well said. Welcome James to the forum! There is so much offered here! I learn something almost every day!! Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
meg Posted January 10, 2013 Report Share Posted January 10, 2013 James... I'm still learning and this is a great forum. But I get lots of ideas on Pinterest, too. And there are tutes for long armers on YouTube. I also read a lot of quilty blogs and they are also a source of ideas. The more pictures you can look at the better off you'll be. Have fun with it. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Quilting Heidi Posted January 10, 2013 Report Share Posted January 10, 2013 James you have received excellent advice! I took it one step at a time. As soon as I was comfortable with one technique I'd add a new one. Start with those designs that talk to you, then once you've mastered those challenge yourself. Enjoy the process. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
RoseCity Quilter Posted January 10, 2013 Report Share Posted January 10, 2013 Good advice given above. I immersed myself in it for at least the 1st year, practicing, drawing, looking online, traveling to take private classes from some of the beat and travelling to longarm conferences. I did very little else that year..... Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Primitive1 Posted January 10, 2013 Report Share Posted January 10, 2013 Just like everyone else, I looked at lots of pictures online of quilting, noticed what was used where on each quilt and then tried those same things on my customer quilts. After a while it just becomes second nature to see something and think - oh that would look good there... Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
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