BluegrassGurl

Well... I finally took the plunge and bought a LA (TinLizzie Apprentice). I am absolutely loving the machine. I have had to learn to use it with no training.... so lots of trial and error. I initially loaded a "play" quilt sandwich consisting of a dark sheet cut in half with batting. I played on the whole sandwich..... getting to know my new toy.

FYI.... I have about 10 quilt tops done that have been waiting on me to finish. I tried quilting on my domestic machines and even bought one with an 11 inch throat... it just is not for me. I truly admire folks who do quilt on their domestic machines.

The first "real" quilt top I loaded was one that I have had completed for about 3 years. The name of it is "Summer at Mom's". It is for my Mom. I attempted to finish it for her 80th birthday (March 10); however, my over ambitious nature decided to custom quilt the entire thing (queen size). Oh my.... Oh my. I am loving how it is looking thus far..... But....it is taking me forever!!!!!!! I will post pics when I get it done.

I know one thing, my next quilt will be E2E quilting. lol

Just wondering, are there others like me who are over zealous with creativity??

patski

I took a class after a year of having my Innova. I learned a ton even though I had quilted many quilts. If you can take a class DO IT. If not once locally check out Craftsy. Enjoy your machine, put on music, relax and let the flowing motion take over.

Bree123

Yes. I was hoping to have my niece's quilt done last Fall ... then by Christmas ... maybe I'll have it done by her birthday (April 22nd). At least she seems to be better able to understand now how much work is going into it. She loves to sit next to me at the sewing machine and watch the needle go up & down & the quilt move in all different directions (I quilt on a DSM). Her quilt is 65x65" with quilting about 1/2" apart. I'm almost out to the borders now. If I can stay well for the next month there might be hope -- might.

Of course, then there's my new nephew's hand quilted quilt that I've barely started on. I was hoping to have it done sometime in his birth month. That was February. Oh well. It will be beautiful someday.

cathyvv

I started out like you, except that I knew I would only do E2E. It has definitely been a learning experience, and I expect it will continue to be. No super-fancy quilting on the horizon, though, as fibro and arthritis will not tolerate bending and standing too much.

I do try to make sure that my quilting works out so that there is no more than 4 inches of unquilted quilt in any direction. Some of the more intricate e2e take so long to do, that I now only do them on quilts for a family member.

have fun with your new machine!

DOTTYMO

Glad you are enjoying your tin Lizzie. Quilts take longer than we expect when th creative juices begin to work.

PaperPrincess

Since I don't quilt for hire, I can take as much time as I like. I love to do custom quilting, so I've done very few quilts that were totally E2E. If I want something done quickly, I'll often use a large fill for the center of the quilt, but do a custom border, or maybe pick out 1 or 2 repeating blocks custom quilt those, then do a fill on the rest. Here's an example. I did feathers in the medium blue, but then just stippled the rest of the quilt:
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The other thing is as you quilt more, you will get faster (and better!).

Snooze2978

I tend to enjoy custom quilting more so than E2E though I use robotics. Still it takes time in the planning of the quilting layout and though the quilt might be for say a little boy or girl, I try to match it up with the person the quilt is going to. I have so much fun watching it stitch out. One quilt..108 x 108 (yes I got over zealous in the making of the quilt too) too 3 1,100 spools of quilting thread to quilt it. It had 288 little triangles around the inner border and each one was individually quilted with a design. They loved it though so it was worth all the extra trouble I went thru making it.

Kwiltr

I find it always takes me longer than I thought it would! While quilting almost daily, a few hours each day, it takes me a couple of months to quilt a 90x116 quilt, with a custom style quilting plan, I think back to when I hand quilted a similar sized quilt, applying myself diligently each day, it took me about ten months to quilt it! And it was a far simpler, less dense quilting plan. I tend to get a little antsy during the process, putting deadlines on myself and often think that someday, I'll quilt without deadlines, or that sense of urgency to get it quilted and just enjoy the process. Maybe someday....

ManiacQuilter2

Sorry, I never have had a problem with quilting on my old Bernina. Never did anything larger than a queen. Good luck with your new toy. You should be able to quilt a lot faster than I can.

joyce888

I've had my LA for 2 1/2 years and the robotics for about 1 1/2 years. Becoming over zealous comes naturally for me. But I've learned to let the quilt speak for itself in what or how much quilting needs to be done. Some intricate patterns will nearly obiliterate a pieced block. I look at the block and imagine the quilting to see if they work together. Can't wait to see your Mom's quilt.