oldtnquiltinglady

I love "meandering" too; but I am not the one who runs my Gammill--my son loves "stippling" and calls it "jigsaw puzzle"--and whichever we select and he does on a quilt is beautiful; absolutely just "makes the quilt a star"--you all should see us admiring and gloating over his quilts when they come off the rolls. I have about 50 patterns that can be used with the little red light thingy, but most of them are too big quilting (to our way of thinking); we have used a couple of them that have flowers and hearts and stars all mixed in. I realize that close quilting is not necessary to hold the new battings together in the event of heavy use and lots of washings, but big and medium meanderings have become our "go to" favorites.

carol45

Could someone please define meandering. I thought it was stippling, but it seems like some folks here are saying it's different from stippling. Some people are calling it loops, and some are saying to avoid crossing lines. I'm confused.

For me, a FMQ somewhat beginner, I would use a marker to draw in the pattern, and that would relieve the tension.

MimiBug123

What she said! I thought meandering and stippling were the same thing. Enlighten me please! What's the difference?

CanoePam

Generally stippling is small and tight. It flattens are area to show something else in relief. Meandering is larger, but how large depends on the quilter.

Pam

Froggiey

I have a sweet 16 and love it. All I can do is meandering. I've tried on the quilt I'm working on now to do some designs and the weight of the quilt would pull and then I would be out of line. Did 2 blocks and took it all out which took me two nights. I have rulers but can't seem to get the coordination of holding the rulers and quilt at the same time. Maybe someday?!

quiltingshorttimer

I find it so boring that I've actually dozed of a time or two while doing a large area! For a Seuss Christmas quilt I did last year I used WAY too much meandering so finally had to switch up to a curley-Q design for the borders!

k9dancer

I mastered stippling/meandering right away on my DSM. It's my last choice nowadays because, to me, it looks like I couldn't think of anything else to do, unless it is in the background to highlight something else. I say, don't force yourself to do it if you hate it. There are plenty of other quilting patterns that you enjoy and probably do a better job on since you do enjoy it. It's OK to say, "I'd much rather do_________."
Just my two percent. Your mileage may vary.

brenwalt

That is so sad!! I have my domestic machine set up in front of a window and I quilt ALL my quilts on it (largest one so far is 120 x 120) - there are so many "fun" designs to quilt. Suggest you take a break from your LA and play with your domestic for a while.

nstitches4u

I test drove the Tiara and the HQ16 at a quilt show last week. I love them. I am in the process of negotiating (actually DH is negotiating) with our local Babylock dealer for the Tiara. I hope they come to an agreement! Keep your fingers crossed for me.

nstitches4u

I did that also, until I got an iPad. Now I have a drawing app on my iPad and I use that to practice stippling and meandering lines while I am watching tv. I just draw with the tip of my finger and when the screen is full, I erase it and start over. The more I practice, the easier it becomes.