Tried Long Arm Quilting Today!
 

A LQS has a long arm you can rent by the hour, so I took a mini course today and then just played on a plain piece of fabric sandwich for 45 minutes.

Learned how to load the quilt sandwich, thread the machine, start and stop and then I was on my own.

There will certainly be a learning curve. My FMQ was not nearly as good on the long arm as it is on my DSM....couldn't back track to save my life and my pebbles looked pretty jaggedy. Kept getting a flat spot on my swirls. Paisley looked OK, though. I think it doesn't feel as steady because on your DSM you can keep your hands down on the material and with the long arm your arms are out in front of you more, so you're less stable. I'll have to play with it some more to get a more solid position.

All in all, lots of fun and the owner remarked when she came back to check on me that most people just meander at first, but here I was doing FMQ! :D (I get bored easily.)

After I was done, the owner and I loaded another quilt, so I got extra practice doing another one.

I had brought along my queen sized batik quilt which is half way done on my DSM and the owner says it shouldn't be a problem to load it on the long arm to finish. Good thing because otherwise I don't think I'd ever finish it.

Looking forward to booking time on my next day off to work on a baby quilt.

Watson

Sounds like you had a wonderful day! My hubby bought me a mid-arm several years ago but it's in our garage and right now it's way too hot out there to use it so I'm busy making tops! One of my goals this month is to get backs and batting ready for each top I have waiting...

so glad that it was such a great experience!

Sounds like you had fun, Watson. I'm just really getting the hang of FMQ since I bought my Juki- finally seeing some results. I thought I could FMQ on my Bernina but wasn't improving. I'm having fun!

That's wonderful. Some folks just have a knack for that. I am too chicken to even try. :)

Good for you!!! I have tried FMQ yet, maybe one of these days.............

That's great! You have completed step one!

Good for you! I'm wanting to try a LA, but I'm too chicken as of right now.

Or maybe it's that if I like it, I know I'll want to buy one :D

I have a long arm, and haven't used it much (long story), but I am now starting. LORD Have MERCY...there Is a learning curve for sure! The fact you are courageous and went for it.....wow. That's super! Good for you!!!

I really love using the long arm machine. I'm not very good at FMQ. I'm getting better at mastering ruler work than I am at FMQ. I need to find a way I can practice that without having to load something that I'm only going to do that on (if that makes sense?)
I've been thinking I'd make a quilt of squares framed with sashing and then try to FMQ something different in each square, that way I wouldn't get bored too fast with trying (and failing) to master something over a large area.
Thoughts?

Watson--knew you were planning to do this, so glad you enjoyed it! I watched a video with Kim Brummer recently and she says when you are FMQ you need to be working in that 15-18" right in front of you--so with a machine adjusted in height to you (which probably isn't on a rental machine) you are able to keep those elbow at a 90 degree angle and tucked to your side--that helps you keep better control on the machine. I sometimes have to remind myself of this while on the LA!

My elbows were most definitely not tucked into my sides. I was thinking that would have helped. Good information, Quiltingshorttimer. I'll have to look up that lady's work.

Watson

My friend had a long arm and she let me use it and I would help her also. We sort of learned together, but she has passed so don't get to long arm any more. I now just quilt on my sewing machine and believe me, it's a whole lot easier to quilt on the long arm. Love just how you had to move the machine. I think the hardest was to load it so you got this down.

How cool! I love playing on longarms - I just bought a sit-down LA but the stand-up ones are definitely a different animal and a lot of fun to play with. Unfortunately there is no local shop that will rent time out on a LA anymore, but when I go to an expo, I always have to stop and play a little. :) It's so much fun!

You'll have to show us some pictures of your progress!

You can make a "practice" piece of two pieces of muslin(or really cheap fabric) about 2 yards long and batting. You practice whatever fmq you want for whatever length you want. When you have filled the full 2 yards you can make dog pads/beds from the piece. I'm not good with fmq either so I do pantographs and ruler work, which I like).

I've done this sort of thing already, and I find I get bored, or can't figure out what to put where, etc. And it limits putting anything else on to quilt when not practising. I am trying to figure out a way to put something on the part of the rails that isn't in use to practise some FMQ when a more "serious" quilt is in progress.

Watson, thank you for sharing your experience...I remember you sharing that you had made an appointment. Sounds like you felt more comfortable than you had previously expected. I also rent a LA for big quilts and FMQ smaller projects on my DSM and you definitely have to switch gears in your brain as they are completely different but I'm sure you'll adapt quickly.

FMQ on a LA is almost like doodling, and it is a matter of time before you find your favorite quilting designs. I practiced on large sandwiches which eventually became totes, hot pads, and so on. The dog bed mentioned in one of the posts above is a great idea. I did one large sandwich with pretty fabrics on both sides, and one side was one color so that I could see my practice designs all mixed together. I made a quilt carrier out of it and I am always surprised when I open it and see those designs. They came out pretty good.

I have a long arm, and getting more comfortable, already my feathers are looking decent, as are other designs. The best advice I received from one of our Local quilt shop owners, was to start with McTavishing, once you get the gist of doing that, the rest will come easier....no more wondering where to go next, doesn't show what you think are mistakes. You learn to go in all directions without thinking about it.....check our Leah Day's webpage on Learning to do McTavishing.

Watson....I'm envious! Purchased a long arm frame from Grace and now that the parts have all arrived, I'm thinking what have I gotten myself into?? My Janome machine fits on the frame, but has a 9 inch throat and will be limited to the quilts that can be done. I'm so envious that you have had someone show you and help you to load the quilt...that will be the scary part to me. Will be doing east patterns for a while until I get the hang of it all.

So happy to hear you had fun Watson! When I did this I came to the same realization you did, that in order to get as good as wanted to be I had to put in the time and practice and I knew I wouldn't get it with sporadic rental time. My shop was much further away than yours (over an hour away).

I never did a meander either. I jumped straight in, head first with trying all the wonderful things I wanted to do like pebbles, feathers, leaves and vines, etc. Yup those first attempts looked pretty awful. LOL Take a look: https://www.quiltingboard.com/pictur...rm-t54832.html

Yes my circles were "squarcles" and my backtracks were echos. Backtracking deadon is still a crap shoot to this day. There are always circumstances where I don't hit it perfectly but when looking at the quilt as a whole you never notice them and I have seen show quilts with ribbons where there are missed backtracks in places. Only a computer guided setup can hit the mark every time.

Unlike you, I was never any good at FMQ on my domestic. I am much better at longarming. I find the movement more natural.

To this day I still don't do a big meander. I will do a tiny one as a fill but it is my least favorite of quilting motifs. I would prefer to do a panto if doing an all over.

Here's part of what I came up with.... It was fun. I'll take a baby quilt next time.

Watson

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GEMRM - when I want to do a bit of practicing while I have a quilt on the frame (one that does not take up the enitier frame, of course) I take a leftover backing that I've cut off a quilt - so it may be 15" wide by 110" long, wrap one end around the takeup bar and pin it (so advancing the bar does not affect it. Then run it under the deadbar and let it hang over the front rail. I lay batting and then float something to use as the top. I float all my quilt tops so that part is no big deal. I'll pin it to the backing if needed.

I do this if I've got a quilt with very little "extra" on the sides for thread changes and other testing. By pinning it to itself and not the takeup bar, I only need it long enough to span the frame. I just have to watch as I advance the quilt so my scarp does not start to wrap around also.

Glad you had so much fun. That's how I started as well. I lived in a condo and was able to rent LA time at my LQS. That was what I did for several years until we retired and I was able to get my own.

Watson, I'm impressed with your fmq the first time you were on a long arm. It's great! I too rented a longarm at an lqs. I couldn't follow the pantographs very well (shaky hands) but the fmq was a little better. But no matter what, it was lots of fun!

I also took FMQ lessons on a long-arm at a quilt shop. I did several quilts but I felt like I was trying to drive a large truck. I tried one of the machines the LQS uses to quilt tops for customers and it was like driving a sports car. I guess they use the cheaper models for beginners but it was a disheartening experience for me. I'd rather use my DSM to do my quilts. The one thing I really loved about the long arm was I didn't have to baste the sandwich together. I think I might use the long arm to baste my sandwich together and then do the quilting at home.