Scared of my longarm machine
 

I have a real problem. I am scared to try FMQ. I know how my machine works, how to load the quilt and baste it. I just have no confidence in myself to try it. Instead of jumping in I sit and read the board until I don't have enough time to do it. I just don't know how to make myself try it.

do some practice pieces until you are more comfortable. Use some pantos to get the feeling of moving the machine down. It takes time and lots of practice! You'll be fine, don't let fear of failure stop you dead in your tracks, or you will never move forward.

Agree, just jump in and do it!!!!! Practice, practice, practice!!! You will love it!!!!

Try one of your LQS that give lessons, with guidance maybe the fear will be taken away.

it's like trying to get to Carnegie Hall...practice, practice, practice. Of course you will not be perfect the first time; none of us were. Settle for trying and improving one project at a time. Stop procrastinating--go quilt! Keep your elbows by your side, keep breathing, and try not to hold tension in your shoulders. You will get better. Ask me how I know!

Don't compare your work to anyone but your self!!!!The biggest problem with newbees is they want their work to look like one of the pros! Accept that your circles might not be round when you start but with practise they will be! When I started free motioning I was the same way.One thing that helped me was that I bought some fabric that was printed to look like a quilt from Marshall 's on line and use it to practice on, way easier as you have different spaces to work with just like on a real quilt. So give your self a break....noone is perfect when they start out!

oh just put a yard of a solid color on and play.find out what you like to do.just have fun-do not be afraid.when we got ours we played a lot.then we bound the edges and gave them to our area shelter for cats and dogs.that way we did not feel like we were wasting fabric and batting.critters do not care what the quilting looked like.please go have some fun.

Take some fabric out of your stash. Or, if you can, go to JoAnn's and get LOTS of cheap muslin. Put that on the frame, with batting and quilt away. Just do whatever comes to mind. Now, remember, you won't do it the way you see in your mind. It takes practice. Start with one design. Say, a simple meander, practice that until you feel comfortable, then move on to something else. I quilted many of my first quilts on my frame with just a simple meander.
Just relax, and remember to breathe!
Just one more quick thing - if you think what you are quilting doesn't look good - write your name. You will be amazed at how good that looks. Then, think of how many times you have written your name. That proves that practice is the key.
Have fun with it.

Donna, Just know that you are NOT ALONE! I had upgraded machines twice before I got my gently used Gammill. I have freemotioned before...quilts..DONE...people asking me to quilt for them. And even then, when Lucy came home (that is the Gammill!) I was intimidated. I use the "I can do ANYTHING for 15 mins' rule (a la Flylady. Google her, she is WONDERFUL!) and I quilted some muslin. That muslin was cut up for dog beds. I got to practice and the doggies at the shelter got new beds. We both won! No one saw my 'oops' except the strays..and they aren't talkin'!! lol I DID save one piece from my 1st attempts so I could see how far I had come (and show newbies with machines w/ feeddogs how important it is to put the presser foot down. OH the rats nests!) maybe find a friend to hold your hand. Its nice to have someone who 'speaks' freemotion.

I think first you need to pinpoint exactly what it is you are afraid of. I seriously doubt it is the longarm itself. After all you didn't spend the kind of money a LA costs without actually trying one out did you?

Are you afraid of ruining fabric? Solution: go to thrift store buy some sheets and blankets to use as practice pieces and batting. Small investment and that should eliminate any fear of ruining anything. After all, you more than likely spent many thousands of dollars for your set up, what is $10 or $20 for a couple of old used sheets and a blanket? Loads of practice time on one set of sheets with a blanket in between for batting.

Are the expectations you set for yourself way too high and thereby making you afraid of failure? Well the only way to get over that is to do the above. I think it is safe to say every single LA quilter out there who does handguided (not a computer set up) started out making squarecles instead of circles, feathers that looked like they were from some mutant alternate universe or jumped out of a Salvador Dali painting and flowers that looked like a toddler's first attempt to draw with a crayon.

Are you afraid you have wasted a truckload of money because you will never be any good at this? Again, you will never know unless you start and if it doesn't work out for you, you can always sell it. But you have to try. Nobody is ever good at anything the first time they try it. You had to crawl before you walked. You had to learn to wobbly walk before you could run. And you fell down a few times during the whole process. Same with riding a bike, same with learning to write, same with everything. It takes a lot of tries and practice before it becomes 2nd nature.

Quit comparing yourself to others, turn off the computer and go to your LA and load a practice sandwich. Make loops squarecles, quilt your name in cursive, write out the alphabet in quilting. Who cares if your P looks like a Q or your M's look like deformed camel humps. Keep trying.

I went out and bought a bunch of pads of cheap newsprint paper. The biggest ones I could find like 14" x 17" and bigger. Got myself a bunch of pencils and doodled, doodled, doodled. I wanted to be good at feathers so I drew feathers over and over and over again until I could do them in any direction and I was happy with my drawings. Amazing how much muscle memory took over, it was like signing my own name. Doodle and draw whenever you are sitting idle, like watching TV or talking on the phone. Pretty soon you will be able to transfer those doodle drawings to the LA.

Seems such a waste to be so blessed as to be able to afford to have one and not even try to use it.

All of the above sounds like good advice. I agree with the "don't compare yourself to professionals". Quilters are too hard on themselves. We don't refuse to drive a car because we are not as good as movie stunt drivers. We don't refuse to paddle around a pool because Michael Phelps is better at it than we are. Racheal Ray may be a better cook than we are but we still feed our families. So why do we refuse to try FMQ just because others will be better at it than we are?

May I make a suggestion? While you practice on your muslin put one color thread on top and one on bottom. That way you know what both are doing if you need to tweak the tension. If you can't find or have any cheap panels and you want to practice 'a quilt' draw 'blocks' on your muslin. You can even use the wash out markers and later wash them. YOU RE NOT ALONE! There are some out there that had their longarms set up for years before they pulled their big girl panties up and tried. You will not break it. Get a dry eraser board and 'pratice' your designs in your head. This builds muscle memory (like writing your name) What machine do you have? Play and practice, shoulders down, light hand, breath. Once you get some time in you will be fine. just don't do what I tend to do and overdo it where I'm so darn sore later. I get so wrapped up in it I forget to take breaks until a body part starts screaming LOL

practice is the key, I know. I'm not a long-armer, but what would happen if you put a large sandwich at the beginning of the quilt to use for practice before you get to the quilt itself. I know that the places I've seen attach the sandwich to be quilted directly to the leaders so they just jump into the job. How about adding a two foot attachment of sandwich at the beginning of the quilt with basting stitches on which to practice before going onto the quilt itself....then cut off the practice and use it for a dog bed, donation whole cloth quilt, etc.? Would that give you the practice immediately before the real thing to give you confidence?

You are not alone - trust me - I had mine for about 6 months before I truly used it - I could not tell you why - because I think it was all of the above. I was completely new to this - I had never even heard of a longarm until a few weeks before I got one and I had never used one. My husband talked me into it - and I am so glad now. But for the first several months I would load it up and just freeze when it was time to quilt - I know that I will never be a pro at fmq - but I have improved - what really helped me was groovy boards - I purchased a few of them and it really made the quilting easy and it looked good. After I was comfortable with that - I slowly started making loop de loops and trying different quilt desigsn (they did not look good at all) but I was trying at least....Finally, I found Craftsy and there was a class called Quilting Negative Space with Angela Walters - that was finally my AHA moment - what she taught me in a few hours has increased my confidence by 1000% - this is about 2yrs after I purchased my longarm - I have accepted that I am not a Picasso but I do like what I can do now. So you need to find what works for you. I suggest the Craftsy class with Angela - it was amazing. Congrats on your purchase - can't wait to see what it brings next.

just load it and jump

Practicing with muslin is the way I did it. I drew designs on it and tried to follow them and then also made large squares and circles and then tried to fill them with free motion meandering. I also drew lines the width of the fabric and then practiced doing C's and S's for the whole width of fabric. That s curve is used in alot of patterns as is the c. If following a pattern try not to look at the needle but ahead of where you are sewing or at a larger part of the pattern as you sew.
Freehand large circles are hard as are straight diagonal lines so don't worry about getting them right at first.
Practicing will also give you a chance to work on tension as you go. And most of all, don't grip the handles hard. Try to relax and use just fingers to move the machine.

and when you get done with your practice piece, trim it up and donate it to a dog shelter. Dogs love their special quilts! and you will feel like you've done something worthwhile. Good luck to you .... each of us has had to overcome small blocks to get there.

Just do something! Load a practice piece - something that DOES NOT MATTER TO YOU, and go to town so you get the feel of the machine. It won't matter if you mess up or not. My first two actual projects on my HQ were child quilts for community service. They were far from great but a child in hospital will not judge me for stitchen not being perfect.

There are also some great classes on craftsy, and you can get videos on youtube. Happy quilting!

just got my used longarm i have to wait to really use it since i had shoulder surgery on the 1-3 getting real anxios i have played some using my lefty it is noy easy but it is fun

I just bought my longarm this morning. It will be delivered Thursday and I have my first class Friday. I suppose it will focus on loading the quilt etc, but she did say my homework would be stippling. I was never able to master stippling on my DSM, but I'm cautiously optimistic about doing it on my longarm.

It feels funny to say "my longarm". I still can't believe I got one!

As my husband Kevin the quilter would say "it's just a sewing machine"..don't let it intimidate you :) Get out those old sheets, thrift store fabric finds, etc., and practice the designs you have been drooling over. Everything takes practice and it WILL get easier the more you play with it. Promise :)

Christine

Great Idea for your practice pieces! hadn't thought of that and yet I save all my unusable scraps for the pillow case dog beds.

congratulations, you will have so much fun.

My first quilt teacher brought in her first quilt and one of her newer ones. There was quite a difference between the two....she said "Just do it" and keep on making quilts. Before you know it, you find yourself improving! Often times I have done FMQ and not being sure it was going well. Then when I take the quilt off the frame, it looks darn good.
Just remember to breathe as you quilt :D:o

Take some solid fabric and load it. Use one color thread on top, another for the bobbin. When you are done with that piece of fabric, but to save money, change the color of your threads on top and bottom and quilt over what you have already quilted. That way you can tell what you have quilted, and you don't waste the fabric. It will give you a chance to just practice, practice, and practice some more. You may not have a piece to even give to a dog shelter when you are done with all the practicing, but you can get lots of practice in.
Remember to relax and breath. Don't hold the grips tight, just loose with enough control to direct the machine.

Many others have given very good advice. One being, don't expect to be perfect right from the beginning. It does take practice, practice, practice. I still practice in between quilts when I get a chance.

Also draw out patterns on EVERYTHING. Even with your finger in thin air. When using a pencil or pen to draw out a pattern, or practice the movements, don't hold the pencil as you would when you write. Hold it like you would the grips to the longarm. It is a totally different movement.

Good luck and more importantly - have fun!

Phyllis
QuiltingGrannie

Thats ok, just take the machine off of it and the rollers, throw a table cloth over it and use it as a buffet table with all your favorite sewing snackables, make sure to invite plenty of friends, thats a long buffet table! LOL...

Now get in there and load something on that frame and don't you come back till you have something to show us! You know you want to! We've all posted our quilts of shame and disappointment. Put on some music and just dance your way across that quilt. Don't make me pull out the book "The little engine that could". Go on now....we are waiting..

Thank you!

Just be like Mikey.."try it, you'll like it!" Seriously tho, it does seem a little scary at first, I remember I thought I had made a big mistake getting my longarm. But after some practice, more practice, and even more practice, I think I've improved. Mine will never be for a quilt show, but I feel comfortable and happy with what I do. And yeah, remember to breathe!!

I agree with all that has been said. We are scared at first but practice makes perfect. A good way to get used to doing designs is get yourself a White bullenton erase board, and some dry erase markers, I use this board to practice my designs, that way you will get used to the movement of your hand and doing the design. It always helps me and I think it will help you to. I have been LAQ for 15 years and I still practice designs to get used to the motion. It works. Remember a feather is half of a heart. Good Luck and Have fun.

Oh I so agree! You've been given some great advice here. That first quilt you load is the most intimidating. Doesn't matter whether it's an actual quilt or not, it just kind of dares you to do anything with it! Just grab those handles & start quilting. As others have said, none of us turned out perfect quilts in the beginning, we just keep going & trying to get what we have in our minds come out on the quilt. Put on some music & dance with your machine. Just for grins, I entered one of my practice quilts into our local show & it came home with a ribbon! I was just playing around & having fun! You can do it! Post us pictures of your progress, we've all been doing that & watched the evolution of some great quilting.

I have a Tin Lizzie that my husband got me last summer and it took me a few months to get comfortable with it. I just
kept practicing off and on and now I'm comfortable with it and have my first quilt almost done, should finish it today. Just hang in there and you'll soon be comfortable with it.

I love my LA>>>The mid arm machine I had before it hated me and rebelled allllll the time. I moved up and now "Wally" (a Martelli Lacreasta) and I are in love. It takes time and patience. Just go for it. Make practice junk, give it to the pound for the dog cages and keep going. One bright and glorious day it will all come together and you will be in love. But you have to date first. Get in there and play.

First, I am envious that you have a long arm... I recently took a class on a beautiful AQS at a LQS, after you take the lesson, you are permitted to rent it by the hour. We first practiced on a solid piece of material with contrast thread so we could clearly see the stitches then I FMQ'd two table runners and really had a ball once I got in the groove.

You'll be just fine!

When I first got my LA I used got a big piece of felt from the fabric store and loaded that. I Practiced, practiced and practiced on that. I think every inch is covered. It is really inexpensive and gets your muscle memory going. I keep that piece not just to see how far I've come but every once in a while I see a pattern I did that inspires me for the piece I am doing now. I agree about using two very different colors of thread so that you can see how your tension is doing. I would also get a couple of different brands of thread and try them out because some machines are a little temper mental with certain threads. What machine did you get????

Ya know you could just spend some time there and ask if you could just watch for a while. I get a lot more out of watching than I can reading about it. Of course thats just me

I am trying to work through the same feelings that you are experiencing. I was watching a QNN tv eipsode recently and learned about Skill Builders. http://www.rgadesignquilts.com/store...products_id=16 I think I will try this as a jumping off place to practice.

Just jump in feet first , and keep telling yuourself I CAN DO THIS, I CAN DO THIS!!!

DonnaR. I understand where you are coming from. I have a short arm and was afraid of it. All the advise you got is great and I know I still am not good. but better than I was at first. I have 2 quilts to do for my granddaughters for their gratuation and I am not sure I should try my quilting machine, I have had it sence July, or just do it buy hand. I quess I'll just practice some more.

When I first got my LA, we lived in a 90 y/o house, in the country and everyting got covered in dust faster than I dusted, so I wanted it protected. I bought 90" wide muslin long enought to completly cover the table & machine x2. Sandwiched it with batting and loaded that machine. I practiced all kinds of pantos, FMQ and so did my friends. We had a lot of fun. I'd go over the same stitches several times, then roll it up and have a fresh go of it. By the time I'd quilted 5 yards of muslin I was ready to quilt any charity quilts the guild had. Many years later, I still am learning. But, my circles are round, not rounded off squares, I can tell when there's a thread problem from the sound of the machine, and I've got a great spread for Gretchen. Oh! Yeh! We're on a first name basis!