I'm stuck...
#11
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Join Date: Aug 2011
Location: Texas
Posts: 3,667
Thank you ALL for great advice! I absolutely agree that I'm an over thinker, pick out any stitch that looks bad kind of gal (my dh has told me he thinks I enjoy taking my work out more than the actual quilting). I never seem to critique anyone else's work, tho. I know that's how it usually goes.
I don't plans to sell any of the machines, but am seriously considering selling the frame. And yes, my dh is a gem for putting up the frame and putting up with me!
I will give these ideas a go and try to stop over analyzing everything.
Regards, Kif
I don't plans to sell any of the machines, but am seriously considering selling the frame. And yes, my dh is a gem for putting up the frame and putting up with me!
I will give these ideas a go and try to stop over analyzing everything.
Regards, Kif
#12
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Join Date: Mar 2009
Posts: 15,639
I was in a similar spot and here is what I did: I took some of those quilting designs (meander, swirls, loop-di-loos, feathers, etc.) and practiced them with pencil on a sketch pad. I have PAGES of these doodles and the more I did them, the more comfortable they became (and the more consistent). Then I took a table runner and did my SID first. I MADE myself just to get started. Pick one (or more) of the overall designs and go to town. It is very freeing once you jump into the deep end (so-to-speak).
#13
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Join Date: Mar 2011
Location: Ontario, Canada
Posts: 41,460
Try out your quilt designs before putting them on a quilt. I like Angela Walters Shape by Shape book and I use my plastic overlay to see how the designs look on my quilt. I bought a piece of the heavy clear table cloth plastic and stuck a masking tape border around the edges. This is prevent the dry erase marker from going off the edge. I draw out my design with the dry erase marker and lay it over the quilt to see how the design looks, if I don't like it I erase it off the plastic and try another.
#14
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Join Date: Nov 2014
Location: North Carolina
Posts: 1,226
I get it. My FMQ still isn't great and I sometimes have a brain freeze too trying to decide how to quilt. I found a FMQ pattern last night that makes sense to me. Check out Wendy Sheppard's blog "Thread Talk" re: FMQ. This led me to tutorial sit "Ivory Spring". Lots of pictures w/explanations. The one I like is called vines and something ... its on purple fabric and it looks like the letter "c" with a tale and they are turned in different directions. I can wrap my brain around the "c" better than a meander. Hope this helps.
#15
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Join Date: Jul 2013
Location: Tri-Cities, WA
Posts: 1,063
Don't throw out your practice pieces! Your local humane society can use them for the animals so they don't have to lay on a cold floor or wire cage. And they don't care what your quilting looks like!
#16
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Join Date: Jun 2011
Location: Southern California
Posts: 19,131
If I get stuck, I go look at how other quilter's have quilted the quilt. Sometimes the quilt tells me how to quilt it. I love cross hatching like Dina said but I also like to do what will improve but not compete with the pieced quilt. I like the look of tradition hand quilting so that is usually the direction I take with my machine quilting on my older model Bernina.
#17
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Join Date: Aug 2011
Location: kansas
Posts: 6,407
Feline--too funny and too true! Kiffie--please,please,please before you sell your frame, load it with either a quilt that you are willing to "sacrifice" or just a solid fabric and go to town! NO it won't look like Angela Walters or Judy Madsen or Amanda Murphy or Claudia Pfeil when you first start out--or maybe never. But you may be the next national level quilter and we'll all get to say, we remember when... Seriously! Nothing to lose here. If you imbibe, have a drink and relax and just play on it. And as others have said, sketching and doodling are a must, too. When I have quilts I'm at a loss on what to quilt (usually sampler quilts for me) I take a picture of each block, print it and then put my clear plastic over it and start drawing.
#18
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Thread Starter
Join Date: Aug 2011
Location: Texas
Posts: 3,667
Regards,
Kif
Last edited by kiffie2413; 02-23-2016 at 07:17 PM.
#19
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Thread Starter
Join Date: Aug 2011
Location: Texas
Posts: 3,667
Thank you all for your advice and suggestions! I have 3 different small panel quilts that I actually had layered ready to quilt and I'd stored them away and forgot them. So I have them out and I'm going to try out the various suggestions everyone has given me.
I'll check out Wendy Sheppard's blog. I love the idea of auditioning different designs using a clear template over the quilt.
Regarding the frame, I think I'm most worried about how long it takes and how difficult it seems to be to load a quilt onto one. But I'm certainly not accomplishing anything by sitting here am I??..
Again, thank you all for your ideas!
Regards,
Kif
I'll check out Wendy Sheppard's blog. I love the idea of auditioning different designs using a clear template over the quilt.
Regarding the frame, I think I'm most worried about how long it takes and how difficult it seems to be to load a quilt onto one. But I'm certainly not accomplishing anything by sitting here am I??..
Again, thank you all for your ideas!
Regards,
Kif
#20
Kf I have one more for you. I was having trouble with FMQ then I figured out that if I wrote a message or poem,
it was much easier. I sid to the width I want about 2" then use the edge of soap bar to mark what I want to say, and give spacing, keep the letters large, then simi follow the lines, and very soon it's just like writing just using your sewing machine instead of a pen. I relaxed and enjoyed myself. I then realized the words contained most of the shapes I needed . FMQ much easier now. Think of all the things you can say on a baby quilt.
it was much easier. I sid to the width I want about 2" then use the edge of soap bar to mark what I want to say, and give spacing, keep the letters large, then simi follow the lines, and very soon it's just like writing just using your sewing machine instead of a pen. I relaxed and enjoyed myself. I then realized the words contained most of the shapes I needed . FMQ much easier now. Think of all the things you can say on a baby quilt.
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