kwpeterson11 Posted March 29, 2007 Report Share Posted March 29, 2007 Sometime in the summer I am buying a LA. What do you think I should do to prepare? I am currently using up tons of paper practising McTavishing and other freehand designs (my first ones are pretty ugly, but by now I can almost look at them:). Someone told me to buy sheet sets and really cheap batting and practise on them when I get the machine. Is that a good idea or should I just make up some quick tops with real fabric? I do have 6 tops nearly ready to quilt and three more in the planning stages, but I imagine I'll need to do lots of real practising before I start on any of those, right? Thanks in advance for any ideas, Kim Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Bonnie Posted March 29, 2007 Report Share Posted March 29, 2007 Personally I would continue with your planned quilt tops....you already realize that there is going to be a learning curve, but I wouldn't practice on a fabric that isn't something that you will use later. Sheets are sometimes diffiicult to work with so why go there. Also when you use a whole cloth you don't have any seams to use as a guide (yes you can draw on it, but not the same) to give you a real experience of dealing with them. Some are hard to get over because of how the piecer sews them. Just what I would do....Also if you do it on something that you will use and want to keep you will have a record of where you were and where you have grown to. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
matildanme Posted March 30, 2007 Report Share Posted March 30, 2007 Hi Kim, I've been practicing with unfortunate fabric from my stash with old blankets/cheap polly bat in between. I have just overlocked/serged around the edges and they are now doggy blankets. Some for my pooch and some for the animal shelter. Hate to see anything go to waste Cheers Satu Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
sjdanley Posted March 30, 2007 Report Share Posted March 30, 2007 When I first started I volunteered to do the charity quilts for our group. You get to learn and practice and have something to show for it. I wouldn't waste the time on sheets---jump right in and have fun. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
ffq-lar Posted March 30, 2007 Report Share Posted March 30, 2007 Hi Kim--- PPP is the key--quilting poetry!! Paper and pencil are good. Paper and a gel roller pen is better. The best is a dry erase board. Draw with your whole arm--not just wrist movements. Your muscles will remember--really! If you can, enlarge those quilt diagrams in the magazines--the ones that show the layout for a quilt but not the quilting. Then practice what YOU would do if presented with that top. You can stare at a top for a long time waiting for inspiration! Practice stipples, a loop meander, several fills, and maybe a continuous curve for even blocks. Have fun and soon your new baby will arrive and you will be ready to jump in!! Best of luck. Linda Rech Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Mary Beth Posted March 30, 2007 Report Share Posted March 30, 2007 Linda, Great advice. I was trying to think of what she could practice on before her machine came...all I could think of was sleep - because when the machine arrives you can't sleep for thinking then there is practice on cooking and storing the meals in the freezer - because you are going to be busy once the machine gets here But I didn't think about drawing - I have a time with that, but when you said to use your whold arm instead of your wrist - a light bulb went off. I use a regular 8 1/2" x 11" tablet, on my lunch hour I'm going to get a big, big, tablet at the office supply store. Thanks for the advice. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Dare2pt Posted March 31, 2007 Report Share Posted March 31, 2007 Hi, just a little suggestion from a fellow beginner machine quilter. I have been an apprentice for about 6 months now. If you end up being like me with learning machine quilting, you need to first gain confidence, and it isn't easy to gain the confidence you need but just keep reminding yourself that you have to start somewhere and my trainer said that when she first started she wished she hadn't done a couple of the quilts she did. I feel this is important because we are our worst critics. When your done with a quilt, take it off the frame and shake it out and lay it out, walk away a minute and when you come back and look again it would look much better, leave it laying out overnight so that you see it the next morning, I feel this is a confidence builder. I bought several sets of 2-2 yard pieces of fabric to practice on (1 for the top and 1 for the bottom with a cheap batting or scraps even ) although I've only done a couple they are great, I am giving them as gifts to toddlers and children in the family. They great gifts for adults too - I use one to keep me warm when traveling in the RV when my husband needs the air conditioning on and I don't, to keep me warm. I love looking thru web shots and have just barely come up with my own (somewhat) style that I can continue to improve on my own meander quilting. I have posted the quilts I have made the last 13 years on webshots and Dare2pt, one particular is a peach embroidered quilt, snowmen, cabin log cabin, lone star, etc if you have a minute to take a look at them. Thank you for sharing. Enjoy your quilting and relax. I am an apprentice in a store, but have a 15 inch short arm, if I may call it that. First we need to discovered if we want a business to pay for a long arm or just enough to do our own quilts to save the price they are charging to machine quilt. Thanks for listening. Feel free to contact me with questions. Lindy Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
BethDurand Posted March 31, 2007 Report Share Posted March 31, 2007 Hey Kim, I've got some practice quilt tops left over that I made before I got my girl for "when I get my longarm" so that I could practice on them. I had planned on giving them to the local police charity, but it you are interested in them, you are more than welcome. Let me know. Beth Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Recommended Posts
Archived
This topic is now archived and is closed to further replies.