Spending time quilting is a great joy. When I get to I relish each and every moment, particularly when I get lost in the stitching and lose track of what’s going on around me. It’s freeing, meditative, relaxing and joyous all in the same moment.
Quilting wasn’t always that way. It was downright painful and hard. Sometimes things would be so awful that I’d knock my head on the front of the sewing machine or leave the room in sheer frustration. The tension was off the stitches were uneven, ranging from so tiny that no seam ripper ever invented would ever fit to toe catcher size. Pigtails formed on the back of the quilt as I’d stitch in one place for just a wee bit too long. I didn’t know how to fix it, any of it. It didn’t help that the common practice was floor it.
Eventually, with the help of friends, a class and sitting at the machine and spending time stitching the quilting improved. I quilted all kinds of fabrics. I started using better quality thread, the quilting improved.
I sat at the machine and stitched, the quilting improved.
The more I parked my behind at the machine and quilted the more I enjoyed what was happening, even when the seam ripper made an appearance.
I still carry around the first tote bag I ever machine quilted and made to carry my hand quilting. Comparatively speaking the quilting then and the quilting now are worlds apart. However I can see a huge difference between then and now. Seeing that difference will come over time and spending the time at the machine, experimenting.
Wednesday evening I’m speaking at the Eastern Long Island Quilt Guild. I’d love to see you there.
Happy Quilting!
Teri
Reblogged this on Treadlemusic and commented:
Another friend’s quilty journey is shared today on Teri Lucas’ blog. Please, take a moment to read this and, perhaps, wander back to some of her previous posts. They are filled with beautiful, inspirational example of her DSM quilting. So, grab a cuppa, sit back and enjoy!!!! THEN….spend some moments in …….. practice, practice, practice………….. Have an awesome weekend!!!!!! Doreen
Thanks so much for sharing a bit more of your journey. Again, we live in an “instant” age where expectations of achieving a skill set must(?!) be almost instantaneous and w/o effort/pain or interest is lost. Such “arrivals” really don’t happen, as this is an on-going path and to think one has “arrived” is only to learn that one is stagnant!!!!! Hugs………………….
Thank you so very much Doreen. That’s a good line “instant” age…may I borrow it?
Absolutely!!!! It’s a word that challenges the current thinking paradigm these days (even for my generation!!!! LOL!!!!).
See you on Wednesday, my friend, here in my neck of the woods!
Oh yeah! I’m thrilled beyond words!
Thank you for sharing. I’m in the process of setting up my longarm (because my husband decided he could do it all himself) and I’m sure it will be a very long journey, but a very interesting one.
It’s all a journey. Your friend Mandy has done most of my quilts, and I’ve loved seeing how her work as progressed more than I’ve enjoyed seeing my piecing improve.
I am just starting to free-motion machine quilt, and at this point, it is only the promise that it gets better that keeps me going! (Gotta start somewhere). Although I did vacate the position for probably too long when I was having repeated trouble. Can’t improve if not doing it!
Oh Rebecca it does get better. It gets easier over time, I promise. Keep practicing. Feel free to ask me questions if you need some help.