Sunday, May 9, 2010

Practice!

The moment of truth. Well, okay, the practice moment of truth. I'm not sewing on the real quilt yet, but this is still a big step, as it tells me how hard this free-motion quilting stuff is going to be. The first step was figuring out how to lower the feed dogs. Note to Bernina: The index should be the LAST thing in a book. Whenever I need to look something up, the first challenge is locating the index! (I really complain a lot, don't I?)

This is my first squiggle! The nose-like hitch in the first finger of the squiggle is where I realized I didn't have to twist the fabric in order to change directions--a basic, but important, realization!


I wasn't working with the biggest test piece, so I sort of squished my squiggles together more than they need to be. This one, I thought, came out particularly nice, except for those out of control, long stitches at the bottom of the picture. I just need to loosen up and leave more space between the lines, right?
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As for covering the whole thing with stars...I don't know. On one hand, I like the idea of being able to start and stop. I'm worried about consistancy with this squiggle method, too. On the other, I tried a star or two and they didn't come out too well. I did better with the squigs. Hmm...I'll have to see how I do with more practice.
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Per Care's suggestion, I used an old towel as batting, and it worked great! I wonder how something like that would work as a pot holder...thick enough or not?
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Thoughts so far:
1. This is murder on your arms.
2. I hope I get better with practice.
3. I'm going to fret my way through this whole thing.
4. I don't want to bail out and do straight-line quilting.
5. I know when it's done, it'll look fine, even if it isn't perfect.
6. The middle is going to be hard.
7. I have my seam ripper ready.
8. Can I just send this thing to Care and have her finish it? :-)

8 comments:

Sherry from Alabama said...

It looks beautiful to me. Just remember to not be too hard on yourself. Pretend you are looking at someone else's work, then you will be VERY impressed. I have never gotten up the nerve to get past the straight-line quilting myself.

Sherry @ A Happy Valentine

Wendy said...

hang in there! I promise it gets easier with practice. And keep in mind that when you wash the quilt, it magically hides imperfections in the quilting.

bunting said...

You could always hand quilt it ......

KLS said...

I thought you were going to put a quilting frame up in livingroom and invite the gals from TWOD in to do things Amish style.

*huffs off disappointed

Care said...

Looking GREAT! My first ever attempt at meandering didn't look THAT good!

Do it! Do it!! Do it!!!

Can't wait to see!

Anonymous said...

I am so impressed!

But the reason I dropped by was that my eldest was complaining on Facebook no one ever wishes the mothers of fur kids Happy Mother's Day. Happy Mother's Day to Susan, the mother of the lovely Isabel! (did I spell her name right?)

Linda

Susan said...

I had forgotten about sore arms! My shoulders ached after my first couple of quilts! But it is so worth it! Do it! Do it! I can't wait to see!

Oh, and if you actually grab a hunk of quilt with one hand it is easier to move and helps with the soreness! Although you will get to be super buff like Care! :)

Julie Zaccone Stiller said...

Looking really great! I'll give you the two best tips I got as a beginning quilter.
1. Don't hold your breath, seriously, relax and breathe and keep your shoulders down and loose.
2. Use those knit gardening gloves with the rubber dots on the fingers. They make it soooo much easier to grip the quilt easily.