Last week I wrote about Angela Walter's new Craftsy class Angela Walters: Dot to Dot Quilting and how it came at the perfect time to help me quilt the Teal Basketweave quilt top. I decided to be brave and use my 1600P sewing machine on the Grace Frame to do the quilting and try out some of Angela's designs and techniques.
Since the squares of piecing on the top are 5" I figured I should be able to handle some custom free-motion quilting within their confines. I kind of had some ah-ha moments the last time I used the set up and was feeling more confident with the motion of the machine on the carriage and handling the quilt while it's rolled up on the bars. I also became much more aware of the quilting space limitations of the 9" throat on the 1600P and making sure I wouldn't hit the bars as I quilted a design.
This time, since I wanted to attempt some custom designs rather than an all-over, edge to edge quilting pattern or pantograph, I decided to plan out what I was going to quilt rather than just wing it. I used the Quilter's Preview Paper to test out some of Angela's designs and settled on the Starburst and Diamond designs in alternating blocks. I also realized that it would be nice to treat 4 blocks as a unit so the direction of the quilting in each would make a nice design when viewed as a whole. The preview paper really helped a lot! I tried several variations and layouts and it was beneficial to see what the designs might look like on each block.
It's always a little scary to actually start quilting ON the quilt and the first rows are definitely a challenge. I decided to skip stitching on the teal border all together and deal with that later (I have no idea if that's a really bad thing to do when quilting on a frame set up - I don't know what the repercussions are, if any?????) since I'm not sure what I want to quilt in it and I think I want to use teal thread, which I don't have but have ordered and am waiting for...(I'm VERY glad I decided that after seeing my stitches! lol! With Angela's guidance I selected some creamy So Fine #50 thread (403 - Putty) which really shows up on the dark fabric.)
However, I did address the narrow inner border and quilted a back and forth line as far as I could with each roll of the quilt. (I'm not experienced enough yet to 'get' how to quilt some sections - like a vertical border - on the frame so I'm learning more with each quilt). I realized pretty quickly that it is very difficult to quilt straight lines with a stand-up quilting set up without a ruler. My designs were SOOO wobbly! Every time I hit a seam my machine would move and my line would get messed up.
I also got a little confused doing the figure 8s on a diagonal, forgetting which way I was quilting the loops - not enough muscle memory for that design yet! But in my frustration I tried to remember the first quilt I ever quilted and how much better I was by the time I got to the end of it. I don't care much about this quilt top and it didn't cost me a lot of 'new' money to make since I mostly used fabric from my stash. Once I got started I vowed to keep quilting, mistakes and tension difficulties and all, and use this project as a learning experience. If I don't dig in and do it I'll never get better or have that epiphany moment when it all just feels right and comes together, becoming second nature.
I'm also not rushing this part of the process as I want to try to solve the issues as I go, before the end of the quilt. I have some more realizations about the designs I've chosen (and some solutions for my issues) but I'll talk about those in a later post. I know the stitching doesn't look that bad in the photos but that's because I'm showing you the best ones so far! Angela has been very kind and encouraging, reminding me that it will probably all look a lot better once it's finished and washed! Angela is such an amazing teacher and really cheers you on! Her designs, method, and teaching style give you so much confidence to just try! (And we all know if you don't try you won't ever succeed!)
