I've got it. Now, what do I do with it???? Help!!!!!!!!!!!
 

Now, that I've got it, I'm at a total loss. What do I do with it??? My new longarm was delivered Friday and set up. My rep showed me the basics but I am totally without a clue here. I think I am learning the panthograph fairly well. But, I am more worried about free motion quilting. How do I learn to make feathers? Do I draw them out and do it that way or just practice until I get it down? How do you go about choosing a design and then implementing it?

I'm in the same boat. I got my Gracie queen and my bailey 13 a couple of months ago. My daughter has helped me set it up and her husband put in new plugs and got every ready to go. I still have to make my leader cloth then I'm ready to start using it. I am so nervous. Like you, I don't know how to make feathers and just where to start. I think that is why I haven't finished making my leaders. Because I am afraid that I will not be good at it. everyone says it just takes practice, practice practice. I think I am going to start out with just stippling at first. I did hand stippling on a huge queen quilt I just finished but doing it on the machine is to me a bit scary. I`m hoping I will do ok. Good luck.

I've been wathcing some videos on you tube and other tutorials. That is helping. I'm getting dizzy watching these though. I have also been doodling on paper to try and get the hang of how some of them go. I'm going to have to buy more paper looks like. Get that leader cloth on and put in some practice cloth. Just remember that you aren't alone in this boat. Maybe we will both get some good information from these gals/ guys on the board. I'm also going back and reading some previous threads where others have had questions. Hang in there!! We will make it.

Thought I was the only one. My longarm (haven't even named it yet) has sit there for a year...just looking at me.

Lynn

Sew. Just sew. It's a sewing machine. The more you practice, the better, more confident you will feel. I'm still improving with every quilt I work on. I see the beautiful things that other quilters do and I'm inspired...sometimes I think that I could never do that, but, maybe I'm not supposed to do that. I'm a squiggly, swirly, leafy, feathery kinda girl. Yes, Hang in there and just relax. You'll get more comfortable with it the more you use it.

I'm taking an online class right now from Craftsy - machine quilting in negative space. It has been really helpful in getting me to brainstorm ideas. Have fun!!!

there are several books - especially written by Sally Terry showing how to do the different motifs in free motions quilting. Check them out.

Congratulations! I still can't do feathers (of course I haven't tried very often). When I first got my longarm and frame I put white fabric and batting on and just started playing. I did hearts, and flowers all kinds of free motion stuff. Go down to the fabric store buy some cheap muslin and play.

I've had mine a year and after lots of drawing, my feathers are almost presentable. Keep drawing, practice on cheap fabric, and watch videos. I watched the Pajama Quilter DVDs and a Km Brunner DVD called Machine Quilting For Beginners or something like that.

I would not recommend practicing on any quilt. I went to estate/garage sales and bought cheap old sheets and thin blankets. For less than $5 I could get a queen/king sheet and blanket. Fold the sheet in half with the blanket for batting. You will feel much more comfortable and free to practice if you are not using good fabric and batting. I just started practicing various patterns, trying to get use to the machine. It' funny, My daughter wanted the finished "quilt". I kinda fell in love with it too, as it was my 1st longarming attempts. I put binding on it and it's in my quilt room.

I ordered a roll pattern of meandering with sticky edges. This way I can just follow the pattern and it should help me get the feel for meandering.
This should work for any pattern you want to learn.
It costs about 15 dollars a roll but it is long enough to do a quilt. By then I should have a feel for it.

I know what your talking about. I did as the ladies suggested. My big break through was when I gave myself permission to let myself go into those spaces with a swerl or some v shape. I found a hint about feathers, "right side is perky, left, droopy.

I'm with KSellers - start out with something-anything! that you won't care what it ends up as. Sheets, muslin, etc. Do lots of doodling - builds muscle memory for those designs and helps you figure your way out of corners.

Give yourself permission to not be perfect when you start, and remember to breathe!

There are also lots of great videos on youtube showing you how to do some of the designs. Here are a few of my favs ...

http://www.youtube.com/user/SharonSchamberNet/videos
http://www.youtube.com/user/renaequilts
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=GXLCQj--eSs
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=9hLGeebryLQ

And McTavishing - be sure to see some of Karen's amazing videos!
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=QjvK1OqQYKI

PinkText: http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=aLDOS...eature=related

Then throw in some Zentangling on quilts ... http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=aX9CzJCuIOc

I, too, was in your boat. Watching all the videos you can find on Youtube helps. Also, go in to Google and do a search for "longarm tools" --- some of the sellers have videos how to use their tools and that'll help, too. There is a forum out there called www.MQresource dot com.... The quilters on there are professionals. For a very small fee you can join up and look at their videos! Every once in a while they offer online classes.....that's where I learned to do feathers.

Hint on the meandering: think dog bones -- the biscuits. try to quilt the end of the bones....around and around. Or - think jigsaw puzzle.
Another hint: Get a large sketch pad --- practice practice practice the designs --- BUT -- put the sketchpad on the dining table, stand over it with your hand on the pen.......do not rest your wrist on the table.......believe it or not, that helps a LOT!

Good luck -- RELAX

just put on some plain fabric and play for a long time before putting a real quilt on the frame.find what you are comfortable with.artsy quilters are not born in a day or a week.make dog blankies for shelters with your practice pieces-dogs are not critical of our work.spend lots of time before loading a real quilt.in the long run that is better than ruining your 1st quilt. waste them uglies we all have sitting around,lol.

I belong to a quilt guild where we make quilts for a women's shelter. When I first got my machine, I started quilting those tops. They give you the top, batting and backing so all you need is thread and time.
It's great practice.

I just got my machine, and I agree - just jump in! I loaded some muslin, and went wild on it with various motifs, feathers, swirls, whatever. I did a couple "samplers". My plan is to repeat the sampler in a few months, so that I can see my improvement (I hope). I've done 5 quilts now, and while I have a long way to go I feel that my quilting is quite passable. Here's a piece of one of my samplers. Not great, but you only get better with practice. Thinking about it doesn't make you better, unfortunately :)

There are lots of tutorials out there - for feathers and everything else. Drawing on paper first, to get the motion into your hand seems to be the main recommendation. Check out "365 days of free motion quilting" (google that) for lots of quilting designs.

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Instead of aiming for feathers right away, I would suggest practising loopy loops until you get a feel for you and your machine. It's kind of like dance partners, you have to practise before it becomes smooth and second nature. I did find that doodling really helped. My son would go nuts when we were in a restaurant that had the paper for table covers and gave you crayons. I'd have the whole thing covered before the entree arrived :)

Get feather panographs to practice. I use a long arm I use panographs...feathers take lots and lots of thread, I can't free motion them but the panographs still look as pretty!!

I just had some more thought. There are books out there on feathers is one thought. When I took the class they had us draw a straight line -- from left to right and then feather using that line as a stem. Then left to right, then north to south, etc. The curvy's are HARD to do. Also -- looking at the feather above....the feather fronds need to come BACK to the beginning of the frond -- not just to the stem.

I buy sheets at thrift shops ---- or plain fabric...whatever I can find cheap. Walmart sells cheap twin sheets for $5.00 each if you can't find any. Draw with your ruler straight lines.....try to think "quilt" -- do the sashing, a block, border, etc. Having those constraints makes it easier to learn to control your machine.

Hope this helps.

Well.....I don't have a LA, nor do I ever hope to have one, but I found all the advice and commiseration here very very interesting. I am in awe of the beautiful artful quilting work I see here on QB, and I just wanted to say so!!!!!

I do not have long arm and I am not an expert quilter so I made a quilt called trial and error. It is a simple 1600 quilt which gives me lots of long 2" spaces to practice Fmq. I am ok with meandering but not the shapes. Maybe you can do the same. I am sure you will find where to use the practice quilt. Mine is going in the car for impromptu picknicks and beach stops. Good luck and congrats!

My first LA item was a piece of muslin batting and ugly backing. It did get me used to the motion of the machine, but I really think that if you can practice on something that resembles a quilt, it helps. I had some ugly fabric, and just cut a bunch of 6.5" hst and made a pinwheel quilt. Practicing on actual quilt squares helped me a lot. You can also get cheater fabric or draw quilt blocks on muslin. Drawing also helps. I got a large whiteboard and put it right on the frame so when I practice a motif by drawing it, I can hold the marker and move my whole arm. The motion is very similar to using the long arm. Finally, see if there are any charity quilt groups in your area. They are always looking for folks to quilt tops. You get to practice and do something nice too!

Buy cheap fabric, cheap batting and just have fun!! Dont call it practise call it playing!! It is amazing how fast you can improve when you are just playing around!

Take a class. In our area the Northeast, Machine Quilters Exposition has a show with classes for beginners and experts. Find someone nearby that teaches. If you have spent that much money on a machine, you need to spend some more and learn how to use it. Also, practice makes you a much better quilter. Make some charity quilts and practice on those. Also, volunteer to quilt charity quilts for your guild, club, church, whatever.

I agree with everything everyone else said. Just take an ugly piece of material out of your stash & some cheap material for the backing & leftover batting will do just fine. First thing is to get used to the machine. Remember, it only goes where you direct it. Start with some meandering & then go to loops, swirls, curls & whatever you can think of. The more you move the machine in the same shape, the more muscle memory you build up. I'm not far ahead of you. I've had my machine since the end of March, but had frame issues for the first 4 months. I've actually only been quilting with it since the first of August. You can see my progression here on QB. The latest is "fit to be tied" in pictures. Yes, it's a lot of feathers. There are some online classes you can take to learn them. PM me for further information or help.

I have had my long arm for about a year and a half. I have not set up pantographs on it, and don't have the computer. I started on jelly roll strippy quilts. I have gotten quite good at meander and leafy things. I don't particularly like feathers, feel they are done to death. So I will probably never try feathers. Most of my quilts are charity quilts anyway, so I don't bother with the fancy stuff. But there certainly is a learning curve with long arming. I find it very relaxing to load a quilt and then just mindlessly do a simple meander, and in an hour or so I am done and ready to bind. I love that feeling. I can also do hearts fairly well, but, my suggestion is to go at the speed you are comfortable with. I have tensions down perfect now, and that is a BIG accomplishment.

I started out with easier designs on plain white fabric. It was like fabric doodling. I did clouds, stars, and wrote words on it. I put baby and my sons name on it. After I was done, I cut it out and made a throw quilt for my son(he spent many hours on it). I used it as his tummy-time quilt. It wasn't perfect and was going to get dirty.

When we got our machine, they told us you should get about 100 hours of practice in to know your machine and what you can do. Don't be afraid to practice. I am a visual learner, so I watched a few videos on youtube and then I would try it. It's going to be baby steps. Watch a few and try it. Don't watch so many you are completely over whelmed. Have fun with it and if you are stressed at all....just walk away from it for a while.

There is the Pajama Quilter. I don't know if she has any free videos, but my mom bought her dvd. She is very helpful on showing you ways to quilt. Good luck and I can't wait to see some of your quilting. :)

I am LMAO! ;D I purchased my Crown Jewel 3 months ago. I have done two large quilts and two table toppers on it. I named it CJ. I was just chatting on here and CJ came to be her name. I practice feathers by doing them on paper to train my muscles. I am learning! Just do it! Find some material that you do not like and play, play play! I am new to longarming, so I am sure there are many on here who can help better then I can. I am going to a longarm retreat this month. Quilt on!

My guild has a long arm. What our "experts" do is to set up a plain quilt sandwich and have all the newbees just play with it. They begin by making a bunch of cursive Ls, then go on to make stars, hearts, draw flowers, etc. They also recommend that you use markers to draw ful sized designs on old newspapers...over and over again. You can always make potholders or dog beds or some such from the practice runs. Do check out UTube.

I completely understand! Got my LA 3 weeks ago and was so scared to even try to use it. I did set it up and I loaded a quilt and looked at it for 2 days. Yesterday I threaded the machine and basted the top of the quilt to the
backing and today I will set up the boards and QUILT! My stomach was in knots just thinking about it. My advice -
JUST DO IT. It isn't so scary once I took the first step. Good Luck.

A suggestion given to me and it worked really well, is to purchase felt, load it and practice on it. No need to sandwhich it if you don't want. It's just for you to practice your movements. I totally agree with AmandasGrandma about Mqrescource. I took the feather class there and oh what a difference it makes. Watch video after video. The crafty class someone else mentioned about Quilting Negative Space is good too! What kind of long arm did you buy? YOu will want to know people, even on-line that have the same machine for the ins and outs of that particular machine!

Where and who with are you doing the longarm retreat with. I would love to do one!

Sew like the wind .. don't let a machine intimidate you ..

I got a Bailey some time ago and found it's not as easy as it looks. Time, lots of practice, and more time and I am still learning, but I love it. I will never quilt for anyone else, but I didnt intend to.
I am into a number of classes from Craftsy & they are wonderful. Again, I find I have to practice alot.
I wouldn't recommend starting with a large piece or anything you treasure. I did table runners and placemats then a couple of dog blankets. Come to think of it, I think the mats turned into dog blankets too!
Like Nike, just do it. Mess up a lot with no fear. No one has to see it. Better than looking at a machine and feeling guilty. Go for it

I think your questions are why I still don't have one. I sat with my sewing machine for over a year doing a little bit of this and that every now and then-I was so intimidated by it (years ago, and it is a Babylock Ellegante). I was so used to the very simplified Singers and Kenmores and Brothers that I was afraid of breaking something. Then I just dug in, after I got over the guilt of spending so much money on it (got a great deal on demo model). I plan on starting out with a frame and using my Babylock Jane. That way I know I will get a lot of experience in before I jump into spending more on a longer armed machine. I am wondering, once you master the feathers etc. on FMQ on our short and mid-arm machines, isn't it much easier and comfortable to forge ahead in the learning process on a long-arm? That is my thought, but I know nothing about long-arming.

your new machine
 

my 2 cents would be to buy 2 flat twin sheets load them on your machine with batting between and just practice, circles. and squigglies until you get the feel of how fast you go and how fast your machine is sewing. you won;t be making feathers your first day. atleast i couldn;t.
its like riding a bike the first time you need to get your balance and be comfortable before you can do wheelies.

I too was terrified of using my LA, and it sat for months. So off to Joanns I went and bought a bolt of muslin(on sale of course!) and cut large pieces for the top and back and put pieced batting between and sewed and sewed. Jerky and looked awful, but I kept at it. Trouble is , I didnt learn til much later that I could change the speed to give me better control. Oh well. Take your time, and try loops and heart and leaves. The feathers will come later.If you can turn down the speed and just sew and sew and use up that muslin and anything ugly in your stash, you will be OK.
Happy stitching and dont be too hard on yourself!