wantabe quilter

Wow, very nice cushions. Maybe one day I will be able to make something like that. I have some pool furniture that needs new cushions.

Right now I am feeling a little discouraged. It all seems a little over whelming.

nanna-up-north

Not to worry...... and don't get discouraged. I've been sewing over 50 years and quilting for at least 30. It takes time to branch out. You should feel GREAT that you are doing any sewing or quilting. There are tons of people out there that don't have the courage to even begin. And you have found a fantastic group of people that are willing to help anytime you ask. I still ask questions from time to time..... you can never learn too much.

romanojg

The accuquilt is a great tool; make sure you watch the grain so it cuts accurately. Most people use cotton for fabric because it hold up well and most recommend cotton thread; same fabric, same thread. I say most because there are so many choices and people find what works for them and that's great. Me; I go with cotton fabric and cotton thread. Do searches and on the batting because like most things there are many choices and more points of views as to which is the best. Some machines will dictate the thread choice; some don't care. Just buy small quanities until you find out what works for you and keep asking questions. You will always get mulitple answers but then you'll have mulitple choices to try and find the right fit for you

wantabe quilter

Thank you Judy I will do that. I have written everything down and will go to JoAnn's on my lunch break to purchase thread and needles.

romanojg

You may not find Aurofil at Joann's but look for all cotton thread; they have several to choose from. When piecing blocks w/alot of different colors I was taught to just go with a neutral or natural color; it'll blend with most items. I've made several quilts this way and you can't tell from the top what's on the bottom. Use the same thread in your bobbin as in the top thread for less problems

wantabe quilter

Do you know how to do free motion quilting on a home sewing machine? I was using two different color threads on a practice quare with a light fabric on top and dark on the bottom. My top threads were showing on the bottom and the stitches didn't look even. Some would be little and some were longer. I watched a couple of videos and they both said to set my stitch lenghth to 0 since I would be controlling the speed. Could the thread showing on the bottom be caused if I was using the wrong needle size or the wrong kind of thread.

romanojg

It's probably from your tension or you could be moving your fabric fast. If your machine has a setting to slow it down take it to the lowest #. Normally the way it goes is if the thread on top of the fabric is messig up; it's the bobbin tension and if the thread on the bottom of the fabric is messing up it's the top tension. I've also hears about changing the stitch length and tension. I'm no expert on FMQ either but I've been watching alot of videos and hanging out here on the board. Here is a site that I like and want to order her beginners cd's.

http://www.daystyledesigns.com/
I really like her and she's easy to understand. Missiouri quilts also have some tutorials on their site. I watch all that I can find in case one technique doesn't work I can chose a different one. Let me know how you like the site.

wantabe quilter

Daystyledesigns is who I have been watching and also a you tube video by Patsern. I really like Day Style also she explains everything really well. My macine in brand new so I guess I just need to keep playing around with it until I can figure out what I am doing wrong.

romanojg

It takes time like all things. I have a couple of different machines and so far they've all played well. I have an older Viking that should come back from the shop soon so I'll have another toy to learn on and to see if it has any querks. My Viking mega quilter recommends the aurofil so I'll try it but this machine also has an embroidery machine so that's where the playing and frustrations will begin I'm sure.

ploverwi2

I agree with your comment. Years back, I used hand quilting in my machine, and it could not be repaired at all, after I used it. I could have cried. I think I did.