mdollar

There is a tutorial that I have been watching on Craftsy by Wendy Butler Berns on Machine Quilting and she talks about SID as well as FMQ in the tutorial. It has been very educational for me as I have never quilted my own quilt tops before. I have always been too afraid to try. She lays out the steps and makes it look easy enough.

mimee4

Even with small quilts, I start in the center, stitch in the ditch for example, pinning the seam. I check underneath with my left hand to make sure there is no gathering. It's a lot of work - BUT after I do the first seam, I take the quilt out of the sewing machine and pulling the backing taut and pinning the next seam, I repeat, checking on the back etc. Then again - as above. By the time the first set of seams are sewed, it is a bit easier to quilt the opposite seams. ALWAYS BEGIN SEWING AT THE SAME EDGE OF THE QUILT. Otherwise there is some pulling and it creates problems. Hope this helps.

amocha1

First off, from what I can see your quilt is very pretty. Beautiful choice of colors. As a new newbie, I had the same issue. I use the term new newbie because I feel like I'm still learning all kinds of stuff 3 years later.

Now, to your question, several people have already mentioned rolling it. That's the way to go. Take your time, work in small sections on your quilt. Continue to breathe. It will take some time but you'll get through it. I did. For the record, it may seem daunting but, it will be rewarding when you're done.

diane9617

Agree with this technique..... and would like to add to it.

I pin baste all three layers. Yes, use a lot of pins!!! Then, I set my machine to the longest basting stitch and attach my walking foot and use wash away basting thread in the needle and bobbin to baste my quilt in a grid pattern. Stitching vertical and horizontal straight lines about 4" apart. I am not picky about how the basting grid looks, I just get it basted and take the pins out during this process. Yes, it is an additional step, but I cannot tolerate quilting with all those pins in my way!

When I quilt it, I puddle it under the needle area, as others have said. I really refer to this as making a nest. That is what it looks like to me....a nest, and I stitch in the "nest" area. Rolling the quilt never really worked for me as it felt like a big log in my way.

I like to select a Quilt design that will allow me to do continuous curves. With this kind of quilting design, I can still use my walking foot. I do mark my quilt before layering and pin basting it together. I use circle templates or oval templates to help me mark these lines. Washable crayola markers work great. If I am just doing straight line stitching, I usually don't have to mark every line.

Take your time....ENJOY the process! That is what we are supposed to do right!?! LOL!

You have a beautiful quilt and it will only become more and more beautiful as you get it quilted.

Oh, I do wash my quilts after they are quilted and the binding has been applied. This washes out all of the crayola marker and the basting thread. I only use a very tiny amount of detergent. I do not dry the quilt in the dryer. I lay it on my bed and let it air dry for the day.

sandy l

The book is "101 Nine Patch Quilts", published in 2000 by America School of Needlework,Inc.

Mar_ie

Hello, like yourself I could never afford a long arm but have you seen the frames which can be built at home to take a regular machine?

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=qZygl...eature=related

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=78h3z...eature=related

www.buildaquiltingframe.com

I'm working towards maybe getting something like this but as we might be moving again I need to wait to see if I have enough room. Maybe some of the quilters here have built one of these? Hope it helps

pumpkinpatchquilter

You don't need a long arm to do amazing quilting, I promise...you just need practice. If you're free motioning, you might need a bit extra.

First - make sure you've pinned, A LOT. From the picture it looks like you need a bit more. I would pin every 2 inches on a big quilt like that to ensure no wrinkles get sewn in.

Next, as others have suggested, roll the edges of your quilt and use clips to hold it in place so you're not struggling to fit your quit in your machine instead of focusing on your sewing.

Third, if you're sewing in the ditch or straight lines use a walking foot, this will REALLY help prevent wrinkling. It will also come in useful when you attach the binding.

Fourth, if you're free motioning, expect there to be a learning curve. I consider myself fairly artsy fartsy and it still took me a while to get free motioning down. Start slow...and it helps to practice on smaller projects first.

Fifth - make sure you use the right needle with the right materials. If you're using the suggested (to start at least) 50 wt. cotton, I find using a quilting (or topstitch) needle in a size 14 works best. You also want to play with tension, you usually need a higher tension when free motioning with cotton than other threads, even higher than what you normally use for piecing with cotton thread.

I promise, with some practice you do NOT have to resort to a long armer. If you want to - there are tons out there who would be happy to quilt your top for you, but I promise having a long arm is NOT the only way you can achieve great quilting even on big quilts. :)

quilting in my60s

I went to Craftsy and found Wendy's tutorial but it looks like you have to buy it for about $60. Is that the one you are talking about or are these free tutorials on that site?

PiecingKathy

So sorry about your troubles. There are a few machines that are smaller than long-arms and their frames. Janome has the Horizon Memory Craft 7700 QCP. It is around $3000. It has a longer distance between needle and right side of machine. Also check out John Flynn and Margaret Hargrave online. She was one of the first to try home machine quilting of big quilts. John built a frame that rolls the quilt and can be used with a home machine.

I would move sewing desk away from wall and put the left side beside large table or tables so quilt can rest on table. To Change direction I leave needle down, raise foot and turn to new direction, adjust bulk of quilt, lower foot and sew again.

Good Luck.

CarrieC

I agree with alot of what Pumpkin Patch said!

I've quilted several Queen+ on my regular machine.

I hope you don't give up on quilting due to this one experience. As several have said above, practice helps. Maybe, when you're done with this one you might want to try a smaller quilt or wall hanging until you get the hang of it.

A few other suggestions - SUPPORT! I have 2 tables around my sewing machine table when I quilt a big quilt. I put one to the left and sort of behind me and the other table I put to take up the quilt as it is quilted (imagine 3 tables in a row, one behind, then me and the machine table, then table to catch the quilt in front). Trying to hold up the weight of a quilt all rolled up and move it and quilt it can be tiring.

Take frequent breaks. I try to quilt for 20 minutes and then stop and get up and stretch etc. It will help some.

When you make your quilt sandwich - I can go a bit overboard here, but my first big quilt shifted and I had heartache. So I baste my quilt and then I pin it to death. I probably over-pin but when I'm wrestling with it trust me it doesn't shift.

I too start in the middle and work out. After I do a section or a line or whatever, I remove the quilt and flip it and make SURE I didn't pucker etc. (don't know if that is the correct word).

PROMISE that if you stick with this, each one gets a bit easier. It is doable on a regular machine, but it will take some patience.

Your quilt is BEAUTIFUL and you obviously have talent - stick with it!!!