Friday, September 10, 2021

A steep learning curve

 Hi all! How has your week been? After a brief respite, we are back to very warm temps. Not great when you're trying to teach in a mask! And the students, who have been great about wearing their masks literally everywhere, are not great about sitting in hot rooms. It will cool down by November, right?

I have some happy news-- I have had another longarm lesson, and I managed to get another quilt done. Yes, I could take some random fabric in with me and use that instead, but it seems like a waste when I have all of these tops that need to be quilted. Why not use them for practice, especially when I know that a few wobbles won't matter? And I remembered how to load everything! Yay me! Here is my latest learning piece:

 
Well, it's colorful and happy, and finished, so that's all that matters, right? I'm actually pretty happy with it. This is the brown bear quilt top that I made from a disassembled kit earlier this year. My granddaughter loves the Brown Bear book, so what can I say? She will love this quilt.

 
Longarming is a ton of fun, and much easier than using a domestic machine, but there is a steep learning curve. I've been trying a lot of different quilting patterns, as directed by the teacher, and while I've been getting better, there are a lot of wobbles and uneven patterns. Yikes-- some of them are quite bad.
 

Thank goodness there is a stitch regulator! A few times I got going a bit too fast, and it certainly shows. Uneven loops! Circles that look like ovals! And I'm not even showing you the feathers! And I won't, either, because golly, those turned out badly. I need a lot more practice on those. And somehow I managed to miss a whole big area (in the turquoise strip), so I'll have to see what I can do about that. I'm happy to say that there are no big tucks or pleats in the backing, though I did manage to get two small ones on the top. I picked out the tucks and then had to re-stitch, which was a lesson in itself.


I have a lot more respect for the physical aspect of longarming, too. Wow, it is a workout! I did two small quilts (this one is about 48 by 54) in about 4 hours, and I think I got about 4,000 steps in that time. And lots of reaching and stretching, too. Much more fun than going to the gym, though.


For the back, I used the dots I bought a couple of weeks ago, and you can get a good perspective on how huge those dots really are. Surprisingly, my dear hubs really likes them! He called it one of the best backings I've ever used. I'm just touched that he noticed! I'm not sure that I knew that he knew what a backing is.


Even though there are plenty of mistakes in this quilt, I am really looking forward to sharing it with my granddaughter. She already knows the difference between a blanket and a quilt, and I can't wait until she sees the characters from the book on the quilt. It will be fun! Plus, it turned out nice and crinkly when I washed it, so all the mistakes are hidden!


So that's my newest lesson! I give myself an A for effort, but a C for actual stitching. Decent grade, but plenty of room for improvement. Looking forward to the next lesson, which will involve more practice and curves. After that I can learn to use pantos, and then-- rulers!


Have a wonderful weekend, everyone. I have another quilt to bind and many other sewing-related things to do, plus I promised myself some ice cream. Hey, it's still plenty warm out, right? I think you should have some too!
 
Sharing at Confessions of a Fabric Addict, Finished or Not Friday, and Brag About Your Beauties.

15 comments:

ButterZ said...

Good job Mari. It will take time to get an even flow. You will get there. Edge to edge are a good learning for confidence too.

The Joyful Quilter said...

Give yourself some grace. I think Brown Bear turned out great! I'm with you on using a "real quilt" for longarm practice, Mari. I did that, as well. "Practice sandwiches" seem like a big waste of fabric to me, too!

MissPat said...

No one is ready for Carnegie Hall the first time they play the piano. You will make progress with each session and one day it will all click and you'll be quilting like a pro. Besides, your granddaughter won't notice the wonky stitching, especially since the quilt features one of her favorite characters. Now I must make a plan to take lessons on or local shop. Enjoy your ice cream.
Pat

Elizabeth V Kelbaugh said...

Wonderful quilting on a fun quilt that will be loved. For sure don't be hesitant to learn on your quilt tops and be proud you did it.

piecefulwendy said...

What a fun quilt to share with your granddaughter, and she won't care a bit if the quilting is wobbly (it looked good to me too). At least you are learning to longarm, and doing well on the learning curve. I love that backing fabric!

Sara said...

Good job! Sounds like you are having some good experience and good results. We had a shop here that rented out long-arm time, but it closed unfortunately. I keep thinking that would be a service that would stay busy.

Bernie Kringel said...

What a cute quilt! Always the teacher, grading yourself! However, this was Long Arm Quilting 101. Not a graduate level class. I give you an A+ for effort and an A for execution - because how could a LAQ 101 student do any better??? :-)

Quiltdivajulie said...

Congratulations on a quilt that your granddaughter will adore. The quilt is about LOVE, not quilting technique. Why are we always so hard on ourselves!?!

LIttle Penguin Quilts said...

I can only imagine the learning curve involved in becoming proficient at long arm quilting! To me, it looks like you're doing great. I bet your granddaughter will love this quilt - it will be cozy and comforting and so fun to look at!

Michelle @ From Bolt to Beauty said...

Slow and steady will win this race! I know this project is headed to your granddaughter, but you should keep an early one for yourself. Then, months from now, you'll be able to look back and see just how far you've come. Good luck and have fun! (And yes, I think I need an ice cream, too!)

Alycia~Quiltygirl said...

That is an adorable quilt!! and you know what - you had a lot of fun!! The quilting looks fun and fits the quilt!! Maybe thats why I think I don't need to exercise after wrestling quilts?? ( I really should tho... oh boy)

Cheryl's Teapots2Quilting said...

Great job. We all have to learn sometime. Good to practice on a quilt, not on just fabric. Your granddaughter will love it. She won't notice any mistakes (unless you point them out). Have fun with the process.

Bonnie said...

Your Eric Carle fabric and quilt is wonderful. I love that you quilted bear paws in the bear paw blocks. Wonderful. Hand guiding a long arm is a lot of work. You look like you are getting a good start on it. Did you get yourself a long arm? There's a reason I use a computerized one... I was awful on free hand and pantos. I've gotten a bit better on ruler work but nothing spectacular.

Home Sewn By Us said...

Hi Mari! What a great post. It's fun to be a student, isn't it? To be on the other side of things? I'd love to take this class with you. A "B" average is fabulous. If you were already averaging an "A" there'd be little to strive for. I just adore the whole piece but especially those kiddos in the last border. It's colorful and fabulously fun! I look forward to hearing about the squeals of delight your granddaughter shares when she sees it. {{Hugs}} ~smile~ Roseanne

QuiltGranma said...

Great job, Grandma, and no little girl is going to complain about the quilting. She is going to LOVE it!