Who knew that figuring out how to machine quilt would have a serious learning curve? So now I have a headache. My brain is exhausted. It's hard to do this. OK, I did 2 practice blocks yesterday, and today I started on a real quilt.
Yesterday I got brave and started to play with quilting a pineapple block. Boy did I learn a lot. After 2 conversations with those poor folks at Style Fabrics about puckers (yes, that dreaded word.) I lengthened my stitch to 3, used serious body strength to make sure that the sneaky little fabric was taut, and began from the inside out.
Clearly puckers are not what I want. I don't care too much if there are puckers on the wrong side as long as they are not humongous. After all, I am not a Real Quilter. Real Quilters care; I don't. But puckers on the right side are another matter. So today I gathered up my courage and started to sew. I've now done 2 blocks out of 72, and the second one took me 20 minutes from marking the fabric through tying off the threads at the back. Not too bad, I think.
If I were a drinking woman, I'd have a large glass of wine at this point. This is not easy, but the second block was faster and better than the first. And my friend is needle down. Oh, how I love needle down.
3 comments:
two suggestions that might even work for non-quilters:
1. spray baste your quilt sandwich with "505". As long as there are no puckers when you've sprayed it, there won't be any when it's time to quilt.
2. I use a "Halo" to help me quilt. It's a heavy metal rubberized ring that keeps the quilt area inside the ring taught so you don't have to worry about puckers. It was probably $20-25 but WELL worth it.
Good luck and keep at it!
Are you using your beautiful new Pfaff?
I have been quilting for years. Went from my domestic sewing machine to a stand up frame with a mid arm quilter and now I'm back to a domestic machine. I took a couple online classes at Craftsy and I am so glad I did. Pointers and tips I have never thought of. Most importantly for me is my attitude-I am not a perfectionist and done is better than perfect. :) Have fun with it. Can't wait to see more. I'll be your cheerleader. :)
PS: lengthen your stitches a couple clicks. To 3 or 3.5
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