Originally Posted by Eddie
Originally Posted by misoop
In reference to the pantographs, isn't that as hard to do because of the curves and abrupt changes in direction, etc?
To me, the key to doing nice looking pantographs is to not get hung up on following the lines exactly. A video that came with my longarm said that you need to follow the lines as a reference, but don't freak out if you stray off the lines a little - a nice smooth line is much more important than staying exactly on the lines. And don't have a death grip on the machine while doing them, because that will make them more jerky looking. Those two points really helped me to get better and feel more at ease with doing pantographs.
Think about doing a panto like driving a car. When driving a car your eyes aren't focused on the hood or the nose of the car, you have them focused down the road. It's the same with a panto. Don't focus on the spot where you laser light is shining, look ahead a bit to the next curve or point. It doesn't matter if you stay exactly on the line. When the quilt is off the machine you won't be able to see the little imperfections unless you lay the panto across the quilt. So who will know the difference? Take is easy on yourselves, it just takes practice.
I say it's just like making gravy. When I was first married I couldn't make gravy to save myself. It always came out lumpy. But, I kept trying and one day I made gravy and there were no lumps!! It just took practice. I'm sure all of you have had some experience like that, so don't get depressed and just keep practicing. (P.S. I still can't do feathers either, but just the other day I did notice that they are getting better.)