Opinions on Quiltcam
 

Have any of you great quilters used the quiltcam setup on your machines? I am just now setting my HQ16 up and my work space is somewhat limited. By installing this camera I could do both freehand and pantos from the front of the machine. I would appreciate any help/advice you could give me. Thanks, barb in Kansas

Since you are just getting your machine, I would not add quiltcam at this time. You may find that you enjoy freehand work so much that you don't choose to do pantos at all.

I'd never heard of this, so I had to Google it - interesting concept!

I agree. Interesting concept to save space.

[QUOTESince you are just getting your machine, I would not add quiltcam at this time. You may find that you enjoy freehand work so much that you don't choose to do pantos at all.[/QUOTE]

Dunster, I appreciate your comments. What is the best way to get comfortable doing free motion quilting? I have used my friends Gammil a couple of times a few years ago with a panto. I have some charity quilts that I need to quilt which will make for great practice but I don't want to ruin them either. I do like the concept of free motion but I don't think of myself as being artistic so I'm afraid it would tend to give me brain freeze!

I want to add that this is a previously loved machine and I have built a 12' table for it and I am just using the clamp on brackets for the poles. There won't be any dealer support so I am approaching this with some apprehension/excitement! Lol

My recommendation is to go to a local thrift shop and invest in a couple of used sheets (do not need to be white or even a solid color; any two sheets will do). Where I am, these sheets cost $2 or $3 each. Use batting that you are comfortable with. I started out with Warm and Natural. Load it onto your frame and just start free-motion quilting. I tried out meandering but found that simple loops were easiest for me and looked pretty good. Practicing like this helps you determine spacing and speed. Having the sheets to experiment with allows you to change one thing at a time until you find a thread/speed/pattern combo that works well for you. I had some experience quilting on a domestic machine, so it didn't take me too long to get fairly even stitches (even without a stitch regulator). Honestly, it may turn out to be a lot easier than you expect! The small investment in a couple of old sheets and a batting, and some thread, are well worth it. These things cost much, much less than your investment in the machine and frame but yield big results in terms of how you utilize the machine.

Edit: p.s. You can later cut your test sheet sandwich into pieces suitable for animal shelters. Just serge or zigzag the edges. Be sure to call first to learn what size(s) the shelter wants.

Prism's sheet idea is a good one.

If you're like me & struggle to come up with what to quilt on those sheets -- other than a basic meander -- you might try buying a yard or two of some inexpensive cotton prints from JAF or HL. The important thing is to pick a print that you'd like to try out as a stitch pattern. You don't need to stitch every aspect of the design. If a fabric has hearts & flowers on it, but you just want to stitch the flowers, that's your choice -- or maybe just the leaves on the flowers. It's up to you! But having a print on the fabric gives you a starting point.

The other thing that I've found helpful has been marking my quilt top. Before I layer everything together, I come up with what kind of design I want. There are a couple tips I've found helpful, but they're not hard & fast rules so use them when you want & ignore them when you've got a different idea:

1) If the piecing has a lot of straight lines, adding curves creates balance (reverse is true with curved piecing).
2) Use your piecing & fabric to guide what you'll stitch. If you pieced flowers, maybe quilt some flowers or some nice leafy vines around them. If one of the fabrics in your Log Cabin design has swirls, consider quilting some swirls on your quilt.
3) To start with, pick a thread that either matches your background exactly or is slightly grayer than the main color of your quilt top. Or just pick a grey thread. A 50wt cotton thread will hide a LOT of quilting mistakes. As long as your stitches are forming, there isn't too much you could do wrong that would keep your quilt from being a great charitable donation. :)
4) Most importantly: your first attempts at FMQ will not turn out. They just won't. Plan to spend a minimum of 8 hours practicing FMQ before you get anything that has the remotest chance of making you happy with the results. We've all been there. There's no shortcut. You just have to practice. (I practice by making changing pads for babies. Other make quilts for pets. Neither one of those recipients will ever complain about the quality of your quilting & that practice will really help you get better!)

Once I know what I want to quilt, I grab Glad Press & Seal (or I cut up some 2 gallon Ziplock bags if I'm out of the Press & Seal) and a Sharpie marker to "audition" possible designs. DO NOT use washable markers with plastic wrap/bags as it will end up on your quilt, your hands, your clothes & anything else in sight. Once I know what I want, I grab some Crayola Ultra Clean markers & draw out my design on my quilt top. You could also use the blue quilting marker, but I have a hard time seeing those lines so I buy Ultra Clean instead. Having a line to follow really helps me focus on stitch formation rather than worrying about direction, size, style, how to connect my line and what not.

Congrats on your new machine & good luck with your first FMQ projects!

When I got my Tiara (sit down mid-arm) I quickly got bored with stitching on a sandwich of muslin, even though I had drawn blocks, sashing and triangles to try and fill in. My solution was to buy inexpensive panels with cute kids designs. Following the outlines of animals, letters etc. helped me gain control. As I felt more confident I would fill in areas with different designs. See my post here: [h=1]So excited, my FMQing is finally coming around[/h]Once you have completed it, bind and donate to charity. I have done this over and over and see it as a win-win for me and the charity. Good luck. Don't fight it, just take the plunge, and have fun. Remember to relax and breathe!

I really like your alphabet quilt! You're quilting looks professional. I've got a new grandchild coming in March so I think I will buy some panels. If nothing else I can add them to my charity donations. Thank you all for your great suggestions.
Barb in Kansas

I believe you get better at free motion by doodling and practicing. Check out Patsy Thompson she has lots of good dvds and her website also has practice sheets you can print out. You can insert a sheet with designs you like into a plastic page protector and trace over the designs again and again with dry erase marker. Check out the Pajama Quilter videos too.