Originally Posted by mamamjs
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Really like the short arm, but we are limited in designs. The meander comes out nice, as do some other overall designs. Guess I am looking for a larger design that could be done in "stages" as the quilt is rolled during the quilting. So, say, you have a 6" plain square (or triangle or other open space) and want to add a motif to fit. With our short arm, we are limited to about 3-4" of quilting space after the quilt is rolled. Would like to see samples of quilting that can be partially done and finished with the rolling up of the quilt.
Maybe others out there will have some good ideas! Really like this format for sharing!!
Before I bought my longarm, I did short arm. The one thing I learned is that I could quilt any pattern if I followed these guidelines:
Find a pattern I love, and visually section it out into appropriate quilt-sized rows (4" or 6" ) that I could quilt. With my finger, or a pencil, draw and redraw a path through each 'section' that I have visualized, until I can quilt a row with minimal starts and stops. Cut it apart where I think it works the best, then create a pattern (panto, or single pattern, whatever) to use. Quilt one row, then roll and quilt the other section/next section of the pattern. Keep going until finished.
The trick is to cut or section the patterns in such a way as to not have too many stops and starts, and so that I could quilt an entire row without rolling. It does change the look of a pattern somewhat, depending upon the pattern - but it works. I got my patterns from longarming books, blogs, online visuals, etc. Anywhere and everywhere :)
Hope this helps - it sure helped me!
Debbie in Austin