Tip of the day!
 

When micro stippling you must BLINK AND BREATHE! Both have serious side effects if you don't! Your reading glasses become basically useless due to the tears that well up in your eyes -due to the intense staring and failure to blink. At this point you're afraid to blink for fear your tears will wash away your blue water soluable marker that you've used on other parts of the quilt. So you stop breathing? I don't understand this but it happens! So finally you'll shut off the machine lower the needle hoping you hit the right spot while looking through your tear filled eyes. Man intense! Quilting is supposed to be relaxing! This may be the first and the last time that micro stippling is used by me. No quilt is worth the tears and the headaches(from lack of breathing). Seriously I can only quilt for about 5 minutes and then I need a break to blink and breathe easy for a while. The cause of all of this craziness? YOUTUBE, they make it look so easy. Now that I think about it those videos are usually 5 minutes or less...yep they too must be taking a BREATHER. They should put warning labels on those quilting videos! SURGEON GENERALS WARNING...WATCHING THIS VIDEO COULD CAUSE VISION AND BREATHING COMPLICATIONS...PROCEED WITH CAUTION AND AT YOUR OWN RISK. Well I'm back to the "Table of tears" Thanks for listening to me whine, and remember to blink and breathe!

Ha ha! We all have our own strengths and weaknesses don't we. Personally, I can micro-stipple much easier/faster/better than I do large stipples. I hate large stippling, but I'll micro all day long.

In the beginning, I did not breathe at all while I was sewing on the machine. I am glad I outgrew that habit, it was not very comfortable one...:D

Well do tell how can you see where you've been? I've got good lighting but it seems to wash out the thread, and I'm using a 100 wt thread that makes it harder to see. Now I can do large stipples all day...not that I'd want to.

I can free motion all day and breathe at the same time...as long as it's not micro stipple!

I have done a large stipple, just can't get the hang of the small stipples. If I don't relax while I FMQ it will show on my quilt, tight crappy looking.

GOOD TIP! Newbie here and thanks for the surgeon generals warning. HAHA. And I completely agree that you tube makes it look easy! But you learn by doing.

I love to do fm stippling. I feel it a sense of freedom after trying to get blocks and corners matching which is so perfecting some times...That stresses me...

Too funny! I find my self not breathing. Tensing up. Having to stop frequently because of the tensing up and shoulders/back aching. I am getting better at loosening up with it though (and not taking until I reach the end of the quilt to do so!). But I have to make a conscious effort to breath and blink as you say. ;) So much better when I can make myself relax.

And the blinking is even MORE important if you wear contact lenses! If you don't blink, your eyes dry out and the contacts get too dry and they start feeling gritty and you can't see worth a flip. Sometimes they'll even pop out...

LOL very good

Good warning. I tend to tense up and my shoulders end up around my ears. Breathing IS important, too. Same rules for long arm. Good post!!
Sue

Actually it was far easier for me to determine where I've been (and where I need to go) when doing micro than when large stippling - even when using a light weight (60wt is the finest I've used) threa that blends with the background. I can tell because the stippled area is flat from the really dense quilting. When I do large stiples, the un-quilted area is still raised and I can't see where I already quilted, compounded by the fact that the area between loops is greater. The last quilt I finished I did a large stipple and I KNOW I crossed a line once or twice, and came really close a few other times.

Tell ya what ... send me all your micro stippling and I'll send you all my large stippling :)

ditto........................

Good advice, and swallow too or else your slobber might wash away the blue marks also! LOL!

Try humming a song with the right beat to your movement- can't hum without breathing, as to the blinking guess you'll have to add it to your song (ie) " Row, row, row your boat; don't forget to blink; merrily, merrily, merrily, merrily; blink, blink, blink!"

Your tooooooo funny!

That's why the teacher made us sing when we took the machine quilting class. It relaxes you and you can't hold your breath if you're singing.

Singing and humming! what a wonderful idea! Maybe the problem is my choice of radio and TV.. I listen to Rush Limbaugh and Fox News alot while I quilt.....I know....But thats how I keep up on current events and get things done.

I put music on--something calm and soothing. It really does help.

I recommend wine. Whenever I am doing FMQ and find that I am not breathing and my shoulders are scrunched into my ears, I discover that I need to be drinking a little more wine. There is a fine line between too much and too little, but if you are careful wine can make you relax just enough:thumbup:

Oh, Leah! You had me in stitches! lol I love a good laugh and must say I needed that. I just stepped away from my tangle of threads and a machine that some crazy person put the program buttons on just below my right arm, and I've spent much of today tearing out stitches in my quilting! I may NEVER get this quilt done, but will heed your warning and not try micro stippling. I HAVE been thinking of trying pebbling, after watching...OH, NO...a youtube video! LOL

Oh Lassie just a wee bit of Irish Coffee from time to time, keeps the aching out of me bones! Lately its been just a wee bit to warm here for coffee so this lassie has been stone cold sober, but since your suggesting I might as well!

Well I'm right there with ya, with my ripper in hand. I've been working on piecing today and its been one of those days where you lay it out and something happens between the layout and stitching...It may be that I took Sew4nin advice...LOL Glad I could make you laugh!

In a word.....wine!

I was just going thru some of my books tonight to get some new ideas when I read the tip about singing or humming to keep from tensing up. Now I will have to send everyone outside so they don't lay down and laugh themselves silly because of my singing. I am so bad I know that music lessons won't even help me.

Ha! I was going to recommend a little Bailey's in your coffee.... but the wine sounds much better!! I guess glass should be not too big or the microstipling could become macrostipling and that would not be good.... ;)

Ditto!!! Wine works that way with a lot of things - when you work out that fine line between too little and too much. Just kind of smooths things over! ;)