![]() I normally use-and love-Aurifil 50wt for piecing, but I have never tried the 40wt for quilting so I bought a spool. As a result, I had to buy some when I got there. Somehow, I had managed to forget my cones of quilting thread (Superior Threads 40wt), even though I had them set out to pack. Apparently, I can no more wander on my quilts than I can in real life. “Meandering,” by its very definition, means wandering around. I need to experiment with that some more. I think I have unconsciously learned to push the foot pedal just up to the point where it might stall in order to keep my stitch lengths consistent. It will accelerate smoothly up to a point, stall out for a second, then accelerate really quickly. The meander did seem a bit easier when I sped up my machine, but I also realized that part of the reason I quilt at the speed I do is because my foot pedal has a definite dead spot. Some of the people around me had their machines moving at top speed. I like to quilt in smooth strokes, which is why loops are so easy for me. I think that’s the part I have trouble with. Watching Angela quilt, I realized that the meander involves short, jerky movements. It was comforting to know that I am not the only one who really doesn’t like the basic meander pattern. It’s interesting that the meander is usually the first pattern suggested for beginners, followed by loops. I’ve done loops on at least half a dozen quilts now. I learned so much from doing just these three patterns:Īngela told us afterward that her students usually fall into one of two broad categories, those who love the meander and hate loops and those who hate the meander and love loops. ![]() Angela’s book was one of the first ones I bought when I started machine quilting and I refer to it often: I happened to see the e-mail about the class one morning at 4 a.m., so I went immediately and signed up. I really lucked out getting into this class. The class was held there because they have a lovely classroom area. That is where I take my Janome in to get serviced. ![]() (Think of a store about the size of the husband’s shop.) They carry all sorts of quilting supplies and also specialize in Bernina and Janome machines. The Quilting Bee used to be a tiny store in a strip mall, but they outgrew that space and built a huge custom store two years ago. Heartbeat is usually the first place I go when I need quilting thread. Heartbeat Quilting is the self-described “longarm store.” They have longarm machines available for rent and sell a wide range of batting and thread. If the line I quilted added to the “wonkiness” it was quilted, if not quilting worked then it was not quilted.The two big quilting stores in Spokane got together to bring Angela Walters, a machine quilting expert, in for a couple of days of classes. I used three thread colors in Cover Girl orange, pink and green. I started describing some of what I was looking for, mainly quilting that could be done with a walking foot, and they started throwing back ideas at me. Everything on Cover Girl came out of a conversation with me and two friends. In my opinion, the best way to figure out what I desire is to start chatting it up with friends. (and this is me talking, other quilters will have their quilts finished by long-armers and enter them into shows and that is okay, just not my style.) I took a good look at her and decided I want to enter her into Quilt Shows. I hadn’t put much thought or research into what the design would be, but I was sure about having Penny quilt them. Initially these quilts were going to be sent off to Alloway Quilting and have an edge to edge quilting motif. Cover Girl, which has the green background, and Sew Good, which has the pink background. So, let’s have a frank discussion about the Intentionally Wonky quilts I just made. That’s the part of the pattern where I get stuck.
0 Comments
Leave a Reply. |
AuthorWrite something about yourself. No need to be fancy, just an overview. ArchivesCategories |