Michellesews

I have been a professional long arm quilter since 2006 and I experienced my share of "the sweats" let me tell you! Things that happen to newbies...we'll, I think I did them all! I never got any formal training other than you tube and experience. The worst thing was when I ran out of batting before quilt...horrors! But it only happened once and I learned to plan ahead. The loading is my least fav part but oh, SO IMPORTANT to get right! You learn all sorts of tricks along the way, like how to deal with wavy borders and I would say 1 in every 3 quilts I get has wavy borders in some degree. I keep a printed tutorial on how to prevent this and gently instruct my customer whenever I encounter this problem...they usually have never had anyone explain how to prevent this. PPP is the trick for long arm quilting...practice, practice, practice! Also, some days you have too much on your mind and it is just not your day to quilt... Walk away! Frog quilting I.e. Ripping out, is no fun on a loaded quilt. As a retired nurse, it was the same thing with starting IV's. Sometimes it was just not your day! That is a piece of advice I have a hard time adhering to myself because I just want to get it done, but knowing when to walk away will save loads of grief! Blessings to you on your new endeavor! Check in next year and let us know how it is going, you will be amazed at your progress if you persevere! I am in El Paso Texas in case I may be near enough to you to be of any further help.