Friday, June 25, 2010

Losing patience; quilting frame experience learning tips--{{UPDATE}}


Okay...three hours into quilting this thing and I need a break! It is soooooooo slow! And putzy!

I'm tyring my Bernina on the frame; I lose about 2 inches of quilting space, but I knew I wanted to try some more precise quilting, so I really wanted a stitch regulator available.

So...a few things I've learned....

a) It's hard to see the quilting area when on the Bernina. Here's my line of view from the front. Can you see the needle?
Yeah...me either. So, I've had my Yoga alotment for the day trying to maneauver to see where I'm going...bending to the left, bending to the right, squatting down in front...

b) The Juki98 quilts MUCH faster, but no regulator :0(

c) Doing echo quilting with only 5" of quilting space IS NOT fun, easy {{or very consistent}} when the blocks are 8+. :0( Once I get this thing done, I'll show you the attempt at echo quilting around the flowers.

d) Until I either get i) a larger throated machine or ii) a stitch regulator for the Juki, I will most likely stick to pantographs or simple {{thoughtless}} meandering designs.

Alright, alright.....another hour and THEN maybe I'll hang up the quilting shoes for the day....


**{{sigh}}**
It WOULD be nice to finish this today before DH needs to leave for Marshfield, cuz then he could take it with him to deliver to MIL {{oh yeah...it's her quilt she asked me quilt up for her}}. But I don't think that's going to happen.....

2:00
Alright...I stuck the "git 'er done" motto in my head.....

Six hours of quilting, and it's finished....

Echo quilting around each of the flowers; my first real attempt at it...

The flowers had such a "poof" to them that was fun, so I onlly did a little swirly-gig on four of the petals...Can you see in this picture?

Here's a darker flower...

....hmmm....looking at this picture makes me think I could have (should have) done a swirly-gig on each petal. Oh well...se'la'vee (sp?)....it's already in DH's truck on its way to MIL. It is what it is.....

Okay---2:00.....lots of day time left; cloudy, rainy day (AGAIN)....
Cassie is begging to sew, so I'll see about setting her up on my Brother.
Cassie is begging for a "purse," so I'll kill two birds with one stone...

4 comments:

scraphappy said...

I think you pantographs look great. Might as well do what you can with the machine you have. I'm sure the no stitch regulator thing will get easier with time. People machine quilted for years before such a thing ever existed. At the longarm class I went to last week they actually suggested taking off the stitch regulator to get a feel for your machine and avoid the annoying start/stop feeling.

scraphappy said...

Goodness, I just noticed that you had an etsy shop set up! How long has that been over there? It will be fun to see if anything sells.

Jackie's Stitches said...

Keep at it with the Juki, you'll get better with the stitches really quickly. I can't imagine my Bernina on a frame. I love the echoing you did on each flower. I'm sure your mother in law will treasure such a special gift.

InfinityQuilter/Knitter said...

I tried using my Bernina on the frame too. That's how I ended up buying a Voyager 17! You're doing great with your quilting.