Sandra Darlington Posted June 11, 2008 Report Share Posted June 11, 2008 I tried doing a simple panto (Popcorn) last night, but it looked terrible. (: I couldn\'t seem to stay on the lines; all curves were straight instead of rounded; it was pathetic. Now, I had a New Joy with a Brother 1500s for about 4 years and never had a bit of touble doing pantos on it, however, I was at the front of the machine, as there is a shelf for pantos there. On my Liberty, I can make nice curves at the front of the machine, but NOT at the back. Any suggestions? I have been PPP at the back, but it\'s not helping. Are my wheels not adjusted right? I would like to do pantos as well as work from the front. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
lindasewsit Posted June 11, 2008 Report Share Posted June 11, 2008 Sandra, Hi! Well, from the # of your post, you are probably MUCH more "seasoned" than I am with long arm quilting, but, I \'ve had my mille for about 4 1/2 months, and I thought that pantos would be easy!! HA!! NOT!! All my curves were square!! With practice, they are getting better, but they still don\'t look like the picture on the panto!!! Even when I tried my laser light on the front, laying my panto of a block on my little board, it was still square looking....I had to frog it!! When I see a well rounded pattern of a panto on a quilt now, I know how good that person is at quilting!! linda Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Quilting Heidi Posted June 11, 2008 Report Share Posted June 11, 2008 I am by far not the panto queen but I found that I do much better with no SR on. I also hold only the left handle and found that resting my right hand on the head helped bunches! I understand the Lenni wheels are different from the other tables but I would say loosen your wheels just a little if you can. Keep ppp. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Myrna Ficken Posted June 11, 2008 Report Share Posted June 11, 2008 Sandra. Keep your eyes ahead of the light and speed up, it will help Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Sandra Darlington Posted June 12, 2008 Author Report Share Posted June 12, 2008 Thanks everyone. I actually don\'t have a Lenni; I have a Liberty. Somehow my post got here in the Lenni section. Duh! Even though I have a lot of posts, I just bought my LA barely 2 months ago. I was doing my "research" while I was saving. Anyway, I just thought perhaps my wheels were wonky. I thought since I was used to doing pantos on the New Joy set up that I would be able to do it right away on the Liberty. WRONG! OK, so I will PPP some more. Thanks Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
DoryJM Posted June 12, 2008 Report Share Posted June 12, 2008 Sandra...I practiced nothing but pantos one weekend and finally got to where they were "okay," if you couldn\'t see how they were supposed to look! That said, though, I got a surprise bonus when I went back to the freehand side to finish up my practice piece. My freehand quilting was so much better, I thought I\'d been possessed by some long dead really great quilter--and it wasn\'t even scary:o I was shocked. Since then, however, I\'ve been afraid to touch Mel. What if it was just a fluke?? Good luck and keep practicing! I found a top that I ordered from E-bay that I\'d forgotten about. I think it will be my first victim in the "real" quilt category. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Sandra Darlington Posted June 12, 2008 Author Report Share Posted June 12, 2008 Dory, Thanks for sharing your experience. I did a bit of practicing tonight, but the muslin I used wasn\'t very large and I covered it with several colors on top of each other. I guess I need to set aside more time and more muslin practice pieces. I am determined to get this right. I have a friend who wants me to practice on some of her pieced tops that will be donated to charity. She "justs" wants an easy panto. I am so bad at this right now I told her I need more muslin practice time before I would touch them. I want the charity quilts to look good, too. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
quiltmonkey Posted June 12, 2008 Report Share Posted June 12, 2008 Sandy, try just turning on the laser light and following it one pass (without the machine running) that will get you used to the design and you will go quicker. Just like Myrna said, try looking a few inches ahead of where the light is. Your hands will follow your eyes (just like driving a car, you don\'t look 2 inches ahead, you look 200 feet ahead. Put on some fun dancy music and loosen up. I keep "leverage" and better control of my machine\'s movement by holding my elbows close to my side so I have something more rigid. Know what I mean? Remember???? Remember??????? :P Anyway, you can do it. You did it before. I wanna see pics when you\'re done. PS: Consider doing this panto without SR turned on. The machine runs smoother. In fact, take the thread, and needle out and the bobbin and try running a test run without SR to get the feel of it. You might like it a lot better. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
DawnCavanaugh Posted June 12, 2008 Report Share Posted June 12, 2008 Sandra, Try doing the practice pantographs without the stitch regulator first. Don\'t worry about your stitch length just yet; set the motor speed so that you can move at a comfortable pace, somewhere about 1/2 speed or a bit more. Now take a look at your curves. Are they smoother? Once the stitch regulator is engaged, it takes a bit more muscle control to get smooth curves because the machine is trying to read your "left-right" movements and your "forward-back" movements, and your hands have to learn to work together to make the corners rounded. When the stitch regulator is off, the sound of the constant motor running reminds you that you have to keep moving to prevent thread breaking. This helps your mind to stop worrying so much about staying on the line, and concentrate more on just moving. After several minutes of practice without the regulator, then turn it back on again and see if you aren\'t a bit rounder on the curves of the pattern. It\'s simply a matter of muscle memory--you have to train your brain to look ahead as Myrna suggested, and train your body to move a bit faster than is comfortable to force you to develop consistency in movement. Keep practicing--I promise it will come! Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Sandra Darlington Posted June 12, 2008 Author Report Share Posted June 12, 2008 Shana, Thanks for the reminder:) I expected taht after a whole quilt on your "big girl" that it would be a breeze on my little Liberty. OK...more PPP. Dawn, Thanks for all your suggestions and encouragement. I will try everything you mentioned above. I have to get more cheapo fabric and batting to practice on. Hopefully, this weekend I\'ll get to JoAnn\'s with their coupon. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Sandnerk Posted June 13, 2008 Report Share Posted June 13, 2008 I have had my Lenni up and running for a little over a month. I have no previous long arm experience. Practicing with working full time has been challenging, so in the past few weeks I have committed to what I call Piano Lessons, half an hour a day - no matter what. The pantograph work has improved tremendously with practice. Kathy Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Sandra Darlington Posted June 13, 2008 Author Report Share Posted June 13, 2008 Kathy, I\'m so glad to hear that. That also helps me stay focused on the PPP. What are you practicing on? Muslin? Or what is working best for you? Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Sandnerk Posted June 13, 2008 Report Share Posted June 13, 2008 I used muslin first and then purchased some fabric panels with prints that looked like quilt blocks. This allowed me to attempt some outlining and working with background in blocks. I have been pinning an additional top on to each bat/back when finished with the initial top. I also offered to quilt charity quilts for my guild (explaining that I am a beginner). They encouraged me, so I have one that I will start this weekend. Kathy Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Sandnerk Posted June 13, 2008 Report Share Posted June 13, 2008 I used muslin first and then purchased some fabric panels with prints that looked like quilt blocks. This allowed me to attempt some outlining and working with background in blocks. I have been pinning an additional top on to each bat/back when finished with the initial top. I also offered to quilt charity quilts for my guild (explaining that I am a beginner). They encouraged me, so I have one that I will start this weekend. Kathy Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Sandra Darlington Posted June 14, 2008 Author Report Share Posted June 14, 2008 Kathy, That\'s a great idea. Thanks Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
jmcclannan Posted June 15, 2008 Report Share Posted June 15, 2008 I had a Brother 1500 on a Gracie frame before my Lenni and I thought I was doing pretty well but I had no experience with pantographs. I\'ve had my Lenni for about 8 months and I am a teacher. Sooooo, during the school year I had limited time to practice but I did buy muslin by the bolt and PPP. It really has helped. I still get squarish curves especially when I\'m not looking ahead, but as I look back at my early pieces I can see I\'ve made real progress. I just took a quilt off the Lenni today. I did feather wreaths with my circle lord and my own version of McTavishing. That was a challenge. I also used a panto on the borders so I had to take the quilt off and turn it to do the sides. That was a first but it was easier than I expected. Anyway, keep at it. By the way, I buy musling by the bolt at JoAnns with a coupon. It\'s pretty cheap. Good luck Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
lindasewsit Posted June 15, 2008 Report Share Posted June 15, 2008 Hi Julie!! I practice allot on muslin too! I have gone though 2 bolts of 108\'\' wide muslin!! Good thing for 40% coupons!! linda Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Sandra Darlington Posted June 15, 2008 Author Report Share Posted June 15, 2008 Julie, Thanks for sharing your story with me (us). I do buy the cheapest muslin and cheapest batting at JoAnn\'s with coupons, so I have practiced with a couple of pieces. I need to do a lot more practicing, though. I\'ve done a few quilts using the Circle Lord and they were perfect. I can also meander (the puzzle pieces) just fine. I now want to learn how to do pretty pantos, and then get good at feathers and other free hand designs. I am going for my "free" lesson on Thursday, so hopefully I will learn lots more things. I\'m looking forward to that. Sandy Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
jmcclannan Posted June 15, 2008 Report Share Posted June 15, 2008 I have been practicing my McTavishing and finally got up the nerve to try it on a quilt. I realize I still need some practice but I was pleased with my first real effort. I tried posting a picture but had trouble, so here\'s the link. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Sandra Darlington Posted June 15, 2008 Author Report Share Posted June 15, 2008 Julie, This looks really good. Congratulations! Are the wreaths the Circle Lord wreath attachement? I bought it, but haven\'t had a chance to try it yet. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
jmcclannan Posted June 16, 2008 Report Share Posted June 16, 2008 Yes, that circle lord was one of my better investments. It\'s so easy to use. I could never do a feathered wreath like that on my own. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Sandra Darlington Posted June 16, 2008 Author Report Share Posted June 16, 2008 I need to get my CL "cross bow" piece on my machine and try the feathered wreath. So far I have only used the pattern boards (2). I really need to see how to use the rest of my toys asap. I have some nice tops to quilt of my own where that wreath would be perfect. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
quiltermidwife Posted June 16, 2008 Report Share Posted June 16, 2008 Sandra You\'ll love it. It\'s a breeze. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Sandra Darlington Posted June 16, 2008 Author Report Share Posted June 16, 2008 Chris, Thanks for the encouragement. Now I need to set some time aside to do some PPP. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Recommended Posts
Archived
This topic is now archived and is closed to further replies.