I'm rubbish

[veg-girl]

My Milli has arrived and is all nicely set up by the UK APQS reps over here in the UK. I now find that I can't quilt! I thought I was pretty good on my DSM, I could follow lines , meander , do straight lines etc OK, but on my Milli circles have square bits and curves tend to go into flat vertical and horizontal lines. I've read the old threads on this subject but how many hours do I have to spend practising? I can see no improvement after 2 days of non stop quilting. Its hard being a beginner all over again after 12 years of teaching machine quilting and general P&Q techniques.

I've looked at the wheel adjustments and I think they're OK so it must be me.

Made chocolate muffins and had large quantity of wine to take my mind off the subject and relax me.

[veg-girl]

Just realised this is in the wrong forum but don\'t know how to move it.

[CucumberQuilting]

Sorry if I have to laugh, but trust me, you\'ll be fine! Well, fine that is if you don\'t mix too much wine with muffins. That could be a tad upsetting to the system...

Keep at it though. You\'ll improve quickly. ~~ Eva H.

[chickenscratch]

Just keep practicing. AND RELAX. The tighter you hold the handles, the harder it is to steer. There is probably a lot more movement in your MILLE than you are used to. I know I can do some pretty neat stuff on my ULT II, but every time I test drive a Mille it seems like I can\'t quilt at all, because of the weight difference and the difference in the movement. So, you just need to give it some time.

Take a scrap of muslin, draw some straight lines, some squiggly lines, a spiral, a simple flower, etc. Then just practice going over these designs, over and over. You\'ll get the hang of it, I promise.

[bsktsn3cats]

Chocolate and wine can make everything better can\'t it?

[ffq-lar]

Hi Yvette--

There are several places where you might find "drag" which can cause squared curves.

If you have a top loaded, push the handle rather sharply to the left and then the right. The head should glide a ways if the wheels are not too tight. Then try towards the back and the front. Again, the head should glide. If it doesn\'t glide (maybe 4 iches or so) the wheels need loosening a bit.

You may also drag if the leveler roller (the bottom back roller) is too low. You need to be able to push your finger up to the second knuckle between the roller and the flat part of the machine. If you cannot, the roller needs to be raised.

If you have drag in one spot, either horizontally or vertically, the table may be out of level. There are many postings here on how to fix that.

Otherwise, practice is the answer. If you are very right-or-left handed, your brain will retrain the muscles to work together to make round shapes. Your dominate side will want to lead, but practice will overcome this.

We were all where you are at one time---breath, practice, make some samples and have fun. A year from now you will look at those samples and know how far you have come!!!

[veg-girl]

Just checked all the above. Sadly they are all ok, so its me. More wine and muffins I guess! I will get there in the end, just venting my frustrations. I\'m supposed to be teaching a machine quilting class soon so this is a good reminder of how my students feel in the class.

I think I\'m very right handed if I consciously push hard down with the left hand things seem better, so lots of practise.

[ramona-quilter]

When I first started, I really had a death grip on those handles. A friend checked my machine to ensure all was OK and then told me to quilt with 2 thumbs and 2 fingers on the handles. That seemed ridiculous to me. But I tried it and was amazed that I could even move the machine with so little effort.

After movving from my DSm, the other thing I had to get used to was quilting with my arms, not just my hands. I still get tight in the shoulders when I am stressing over a quilt. Loosen up, roll your shoulders and relax. It will come to you.

[Mary Beth]

hey Yvette, the more wine and muffins you have the better you might get! You may be able to start a new class at one of the big machine quilting shows....How To Relax and Quilt the Yvette Way!

You will get better and better with practice. It helps a great deal that you have been doing this on your DSM, and teaching - that means you know your stuff. It is just a bit different on the longarm, but you will get it.

Oh, and I won\'t be taking your class. I don\'t drink. If I had wine (Or maybe even a good muffin) I wouldn\'t know my longarm from my long leg:D:P Maybe I could be a teacher\'s angel in that class...boy that would be a hoot.

[mxley]

Yvette,

Don\'t discount the wine as a relaxant, LOL. Don\'t discount the chocolate either.

You will get this. You WILL get this. Relax, breathe, practice. Adjust the wheels if the machine feels stiff. What feels good for you might be different than what feels good to another. Also practice on paper. Use your whole arm, not just your hand.

My feathers still suck, but I put on a practice piece between every actual quilt, and practice them. I\'m finally getting there.

[lyonden]

Yvette--When I started quilting I felt the same way. One thing I found that helped me was to keep my elbows against my sides and move my whole body with the machine. Just use your legs to move you. I hope that makes sense. I found I did a much smoother movement this way. I told my husband that little trick and he finds he does better that way also.

[LD]

Hi Yvette

I have been having the same problems with my attempts at quilting - I\'ve had my millie for 3 weeks. I loosened the wheels which seems to have helped. I can see some improvement now although I won\'t be showing anyone the pieces I\'ve quilted so far! Good luck, I\'m sure the wine will help.

Linda

[Bonnie]

Yvette,

It will only be a short time before you will be quilting with one hand and using the wine at the end of your day to celebrate your newly finished quilt.

Just remember we were all rubbish when we started....we ALL learned how to crawl before we ran...and with time and practice we all learned to feel more comfortable with our machines and now we are here to help you.

[veg-girl]

OH, you are all so reassuring. I know its just me and I need to practise but I have quilts to finish before christmas. So short post only, got to have another go.

[quiltfarm]

Yvette, This is exactly what happened to me. I had imagined I would just transfer my years of domestic machine quilting to the Millie and away I would go. Like you, I resorted to the chocolate and wine approach. I\'ve had my Millie for about 5 months. Whilst there is always plenty to learn I am happy with my quilting. I think on a Domestic machine it is pretty much a movement of the fabric with the hands. I find with the Longarm it is more of a whole arm movement from the shoulders. Relax, don\'t be too hard on yourself and practice practice practice and great tips from all the wonderful quiters on this site will see you happily quilting in no time.

[Merryjo2003]

Chocolate and wine will fix about anything! Remember, you are now moving the machine instead of moving the fabric! It\'s opposite and there is a learning curve. Throw on some muslin because it\'s cheap and play. You\'ll find out you still can quilt. Don\'t worry about square circles, it happens at first until you get control. (Enough wine and they\'ll probably be round, too much and you might run over something!)

I take practice pieces, cut them into dog and cat size beds, serge the edges and give them to an animal shelter. They love them. So cheer up and have some fun.

[dfjett]

Yvette:

I remember my first time on a LA: I had a death grip on the handles and didn\'t breath until I ended that row. The first thing my instructor made me do was \'practice\' breathing! Then, she pried (sp?) my fingers from the handles with a crowbar and explained her machine didn\'t care to be strangled.

It was great comedy and SLOWLY I began to realize that I could quilt, breathe, talk, etc. ALL at the same time...so will you.

Deborah Jett McVay

Bloomsbury, NJ

[veg-girl]

Muffins and wine all gone now so back to reality. Had a long chat with Ferret this evening (thankyou). Also stood and felt the machine and decided that the head had too much slop when stationary as it would wobble. DH got spanners out and we have tightened and balanced the cams on the wheels. BINGO! I can do straight diagonal lines with one finger, before they all had curves in them. I didn\'t realise how sensitive the machine was. So it isn\'t just me, phew.

Hopefully I can now start to improve as I practise and get to grips with the beast.

[jeri]

PPP and you will be fine. Totally different movements from DSM to the longarm. Just takes persistance and practice. jeri

[seakitten]

Thanks for the inspiration Yvette. I was having the same problem, in my second day using my Milli. As soon as I finish this wine, I\'m gonna go check those cams (no chocolate, I\'m dieting).

[kellysuequilter]

Share, share! I want wine and chocolates too!

I completely understand your frustration and lack of confidence at this point. We have all been there. Just keep practicing and soon it will feel second nature.

[annlittle1]

I took a hands-on class at MQS with Pam Clarke. A-1 furnished the machines. I\'ve been doing this for 2.5 years now, but I felt like I had entered a totally different world trying to quilt on the A-1. It wasn\'t the A-1, it was me. The controls weren\'t in the right place. It had a different feel to the movement. The stitch regulator wouldn\'t pause and let me think where I wanted to go next. I felt totally inept. Four hours later I had grown more accustomed to the controls and the feel and sound of the machine. I still think it would have taken me a few days to really be comfortable with the A-1.

Just keep practicing and you\'ll get it. I\'m sure the wine and chocolate will accelerate your learning curve.

[veg-girl]

Getting somewhere now. Is the world out there still running as usual? I seem to have done nothing but play with Millie. I decided to bite the bullet this afternoon and loaded a small shop sample which needs quilting. The fabrics are the new Autumn Journey by Moda, due into my shop later this month. Fall is here so I went into the garden, picked up some leaves and drew round them on the quilt. I am meandering between leaves and figured that I don\'t need to follow the lines too closely but they will still look like leaves.

First adaptation. I am using YLI threads which are parallel wound and kept breaking. Thanks to this site I found the solution- miss out one twist on 2nd thread guide and use a different style of cone holder - made from a piece of plastic car aerial which my DH has had in the garage for 30 years cos "it might come in useful one day" now it has , how am I ever going to get the garage cleared out now? ( we still have a WW2 gas mask as well, can\'t see me needing that to quilt with !)

2nd adaptation - because I wanted to stitch just inside the border I decided to use the extended base and a ruler but i kept on colliding with the edge grips so I now have 2 bits of narrow wood holding up the side stretchers and a bit of fabric with a bit of wood through it to attach to the sides giving a more even stretch.

I\'m half way through the quilt, not exactly my finest work but all a good learning experience.. If I can work ouy how to add photos I will.

[veg-girl]

Originally posted by veg-girl

Getting somewhere now. Is the world out there still running as usual? I seem to have done nothing but play with Millie. I decided to bite the bullet this afternoon and loaded a small shop sample which needs quilting. The fabrics are the new Autumn Journey by Moda, due into my shop later this month. Fall is here so I went into the garden, picked up some leaves and drew round them on the quilt. I am meandering between leaves and figured that I don\'t need to follow the lines too closely but they will still look like leaves.

First adaptation. I am using YLI threads which are parallel wound and kept breaking. Thanks to this site I found the solution- miss out one twist on 2nd thread guide and use a different style of cone holder - made from a piece of plastic car aerial which my DH has had in the garage for 30 years cos "it might come in useful one day" now it has , how am I ever going to get the garage cleared out now? ( we still have a WW2 gas mask as well, can\'t see me needing that to quilt with !)

2nd adaptation - because I wanted to stitch just inside the border I decided to use the extended base and a ruler but i kept on colliding with the edge grips so I now have 2 bits of narrow wood holding up the side stretchers and a bit of fabric with a bit of wood through it to attach to the sides giving a more even stretch.

I\'m half way through the quilt, not exactly my finest work but all a good learning experience.. If I can work ouy how to add photos I will.

[ffq-lar]

Ingenious!! Keep that DH!

As far as never needing that WWll gas mask--get the Colleen Wise book "Casting Shadows" where she uses a 50/50 bleach and water solution to discharge the dyes in batik or hand-dyed fabric to use as a background for applique. You don\'t want to breath in the fumes, so keep that mask and we want photos if you ever use it!!!!!