#1piecemaker

Uuugggg! I have been practicing on my new longarm and I just quilted 1/4 of a quilt. From the top, it looked like I was doing great. When I looked underneath, the thread was a jumbled mess. Evidently when I rethreaded after the warm up, I missed a slot. Now, I have to rip and rip and rip!!! So, I have the Longarm Quilting Blues!! I think I will write a song.
Got up this morning da dah da dah
Ready to start my day da dah da dah
Warmed up my machine da dah da dah
Was well on my way da dah da dah
Was looking swell da dah da dah
I was proud of myself da dah da dah
Till I looked under da dah da dah
And saw all the da dah da dah!!!
Now, I've got the longarm blues!!! Da dah da dah!!!

nance-ell

At least you've got your sense of humor. So sorry you're having to deal with that! I'm sure that would be my luck too if only I had a longarm :-)

QuiltnNan

so sorry for your blues. frog stitching is no fun. there are just sooooooo many things to check when LAing!

Jim

Sorry to hear about mistake...so many things can go wrong when LA'ing that you have to experience before that lesson is learned to watch for. Just mark it up to experience or a lesson learned and sing those blues away while ripping. Sorry this happened but, someone could tell you and you may not even think about it happening until it actually happens and then you understand exactly why you check how top and bottom stitching is going before you get too far along. Mark it up to experience and keep practicing. I know it doesn't make you feel much better about it right now but, it will make you a better LA'er in the long run. Good luck with the learning process... It's a journey

TexasSunshine

I feel your pain. We have had nothing but trouble with our LA since we bought, used. It has never sewed right for more than a little bit at a time. I am very disappointed with it.

Lisa_wanna_b_quilter

At least the top looked good. You are halfway there!

Peckish

Ooh, bummer! Have you put a door mirror under your machine yet?

crashnquilt

Get a mirror that is on an extension like a radio antenna. I got mine at O'Reilly Automotive. I quilt about half a row and then take a flashlight and my mirror to check my stitches underneath. At the automotive store I also got a strong magnet on an extension for picking up pins and needles from the floor and a magnatized parts dish to hold my pins. These items were quite a bit cheaper than ordering them from a quilting site.
For practicing on the longarm, I got a wide piece of muslin and made my "sandwich" from that. I drew straight lines on the muslin and practiced "writing" the alphabet in cursive. To keep from getting bored with that I would also "write" words and sentences. This is a good way to help you get comfortable with the machine and perfect the curves and lines.

dunster

The only saving grace is that *usually* when you have a thread mess under the quilt, it's easy to remove because the stitches aren't well formed. And knowing WHY you have the mess is good, because it's easy to fix. I find that I've become complacent lately and haven't been checking the bottom of the quilt as often as I should. A door mirror underneath wouldn't help me - I'd probably step on it and break it, and anyway I like to crawl under there and hide and stare at my stitching to see how the pattern is looking on the back.

bearisgray

You are way more agile than I am!!