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Self taught hand quilter as I couldn't figure out how to machine quilt. Was it beautiful the first few quilts, goodness, no but getting better and I love the connection to my roots. I find it very relaxing while the hubby is watching sports on TV.
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I love hand quilting but it takes me a looooog time. If I hope to get though half of my Bucket list quilts, I have to machine quilt. My FMQ skills are improving with every quilt. There is nothing wrong with SITD if it meets the batting requirements. I wish I could afford to send all my quilt to the long armer but that isn't in my budget either.
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Practice, practice, practice and more practice. Like any art the brain and the hands must be trained to work together. Don't be so hard on yourself. I try to make a lot of Mystery Quilts that are good candidates for FMQ practice. Occasionally I will come across tied baby quilts at thrift stores that I purchase for FMQ practice. I always keep pre-made small rectangles of quilt sandwiches to practice on before beginning the quilting of a top. I highly recommend Leah Day's website for learning FMQ. And I do send my "special quilt tops" LA quilter.
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Originally Posted by Buckeye Rose
(Post 5927472)
I used to feel the same way as you, but as I have quilted my way through many quilts, I have gained the experience needed to feel good about what I do. Some DSM can be very limiting with a small throat area, but it just calls for imagination....I have 9 inches of throat space and do all my own quilting, even up to huge king size. Go to Leah Day's website and watch her FMQ....she is an absolute master at what she does. Her videos gave me ideas for quilting and I couldn't wait to try them out. Don't get discouraged when your fmq doesn't look professional, it takes lots and lots of practice. Something else to think about is maybe taking a class in fmq. My LQS gives classes once in a while.
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thanks for all the encouragement!
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check around your area local quilt shops, machine dealers- you don't disclose where you are so can't help--but many shops that have/do quilting also allow you to take a class to learn to use the long-arm then you can rent time and use the machine to quilt your own quilts.
when i bought my machine i took a class at a lqs that was $50 for the certification class- once certified you were able to rent the machine for $20 an hour to quilt your own quilts. |
Grab an oar...I'm in the boat, too http://www.quiltingboard.com/main-f1...s-t215930.html
I invested in a walking foot & darning foot this week to see if it improves my situation (1985 Kenmore 385 1254180 machine), but if not, I'll be sending my quilts out to a LA or investing in an up-to-date machine that I can learn and actually DO FMQ on. I really would like to do my own, but I love the look of professional LA. But yes, I feel your pain. @ ck: how long does it take to complete a quilt on a LA (say, queen size)? |
I know how you feel, I'm working on the quilting for the shadowbox quilt top I just did and I've already ripped out four rows of stitches because it wasn't even and the back started to pucker. Ugh.... I'm taking a break just to calm myself down. Hang in there, it will get better.
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Originally Posted by dgreen
(Post 5927448)
Does anyone else feel this way? I am a perfectionist and am so inspired by the art of quilting; however, my struggle is with the actual quilting part. After working so hard to piece a quilt together, it feels like such a letdown to stitch in the ditch on my little sewing machine. I have tried machine quilting on my home machine, but it is very limiting, and just can't look as good as I aspire it to look. Does anyone else feel like "what's the point of quilting if I don't have a longarm?", and what area do you focus on to substitute for the fancy quilting done on these machines. I don't mean to sound like a whiner, I just need another way to think about this. Maybe i should focus on hand-quilting....
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I'm with you. I've started doing some QAYG but in 3 strips, then each border. It seems like a lot of work but I've been happy with the results. It certainly gives me more options with the quilting. I'll never be capable of the feathers and other fancy ideas mainly because I don't like just practicing. I've joined a smocking group and I was working on a project last week and one lady said I was an over achiever. I've thought about that ever since and I think she's right. I just don't see "simple". I seem to have to put my all in to everything. My mum always told me "if it's worth doing it's worth doing well". I think she made me what I am. At least I always know I've done my best, which isn't perfect but is my best although I'm sometimes disappointed in my accomplishments. Oh well I'm to old to change now.
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