beckyboo1

I've been practicing my doodling and sat down to my machine today to practice. It might take me months to get the hang of this lol. I have 2 quilting feet for my baby lock and I can decide if I like either one. It seems to me that the needle should be in the middle of the open area but when I use my open toe foot, it sits to the left and I haven't figured out how to change that. Having the needle next to the edge of the foot makes it difficult for me to tell where I need to go. The other issue I have is consistency on the foot pedal. I find a nice rhythm then all of a sudden, I'm speeding. I adjust the speed on the machine then I feel like I'm too slow. Can't wait to get the hang of this!
I know I just need to practice practice practice but I'm an instant gratification type gal lol

Tartan

Speed and hand coordination are difficult to perfect. I can set my speed to a comfortable pace and my Machinger gloves really help to move the quilt. Can you adjust the needle position on your machine to put it in the middle?

quiltedsunshine

If you haven't already, get yourself some good quilting gloves, like "Machingers." It sure makes a big difference.

You should be able to change the needle position. On a lot of machines, when you're on a straight stitch, the stitch width button is what changes the needle position. But it's hard to say without knowing more specifically what model your machine is.

Machine quilting is just like anything else... practice makes perfect. Just keep practicing.

beckyboo1

I have a Baby Lock Melody. I've gone through the book that came with it with no luck. I have Fons and Porter gloves I'm not crazy about and have Machingers on order.

Stitchnripper

It definitely takes practice. I got a new/used machine and I have to figure it out. I am sort of proficient on my dinky mechanical Costco version Brother so I know I can do a simple meander which is all I ever wanted to do. Just keep practicing and you will get the feel of it.

quiltsRfun

Set your machine at a slower speed then floor it with the foot pedal. By doing this you have one less thing to concentrate on. You might need to adjust up or down to find a comfortable speed for you. I also agree with the others on quilting gloves. I've used both Fons & Porters and Machingers. I like the Machingers best. Another thing I found useful with my domestic machine is a Super Slider. Some have said they didn't stay put and were stitched into the quilt but I didn't have that problem. I'd rinse mine often to restore the stickiness.

quiltedsunshine

I pulled up an image of your Melody's stitches. Looks like you can center the needle by going to stitch #2. That should move the needle bar to the right, but still be in straight stitch.

beckyboo1

yeah I tried that but then it changes my stitch length and width back to the original settings... I'll keep working at it.

Gail B

I have a Baby Lock Decorator's Choice and cn change the position of the needle without the machine changing stitch width or length. The directions should be in your instruction manual.

MadQuilter

Cindy Needham refers to the perfect speed/hand-movement combo as the "hum-purr" and it takes a bit to find (or develop). Remember, first a newbie - then an apprentice, an with lots of hard work - a master. Just keep working at it.