"Practicing" longarm quilting - without thread?
#1
Junior Member
Thread Starter
Join Date: May 2012
Location: Indiana
Posts: 211
"Practicing" longarm quilting - without thread?
So I'm going to back to the vendor where I bought my Janome Artistic for some intensive lessons (and repair as a tension thing broke off the machine). I can't get there until next Thursday. Some friends who are experienced longarm quilters suggested unthreading the machine and practicing following lines on paper or stencils that I've traced on to fabric. I feel silly doing it, but they said it helps to get the "muscle memory" down. I'm actually having fun with it. If I ever get my machine in working order, I think I'm going to love longarming!
#3
Yay! I've heard of practicing by drawing on paper, whiteboards, and kids' Magnadoddle toys, but I've never heard of tracing over it with the machine unthreaded. It sounds like a good idea.
Good luck with your machine. I, too, quilt with a Janome Artistic, the 18 inch model. When I get the opportunity I think I want to upgrade to a bigger throat. Last week I got to attend the Machine Quilting Today show in Wisconsin and tried lots of different machines. I've only been at it for a year but I've discovered that I love longarming!
Have fun!
Good luck with your machine. I, too, quilt with a Janome Artistic, the 18 inch model. When I get the opportunity I think I want to upgrade to a bigger throat. Last week I got to attend the Machine Quilting Today show in Wisconsin and tried lots of different machines. I've only been at it for a year but I've discovered that I love longarming!
Have fun!
#4
Junior Member
Thread Starter
Join Date: May 2012
Location: Indiana
Posts: 211
Ok, after a couple of weeks of being intimidated by "the beast", I loaded a piece today and have been practicing away. The practice piece is an extra wide cheater cloth that just has feather-like shapes for tracing. It won't be a quilt as the weight is just a little heavier than interfacing, but the stitching looks good (tension wise) and she is purring like a kitten. I'm so excited!
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