Can someone help me please

All instructions say practice practice practice you machine quilting. I have looked and looked and can find no print out patterns to practice my machine meandering or stippling. Does anyone out there know where or have a site for print out patterns for practicing thier machine quilting. I have found a few but they are way to fancy for this ol country gal. Please please and thank you.

Hi Rita!

I have a couple suggestions for you. Connecting threads has a skillbuilder panel and book here - http://www.connectingthreads.com/tools/machine-quilting-skillbuilder-mastery-panel_TD20973.html
Keepsake quilting has it too. Or you could get a stencil and mark stipples. OIr you coul;d try these stick and sew through things here - http://www.quiltingmadeeasy.com/qmeindex.html

The last thing is probably what I would do. I need practice too! :-)

foxxigrani wrote:

All instructions say practice practice practice you machine quilting. I have looked and looked and can find no print out patterns to practice my machine meandering or stippling. Does anyone out there know where or have a site for print out patterns for practicing thier machine quilting. I have found a few but they are way to fancy for this ol country gal. Please please and thank you.

Try here:
http://www.victorianaquiltdesigns.com/VictorianaQuilters/Library/QuiltingDesigns/Quiltingdesigns.htm

They're not all suitable for continuous line machine quilting, but there are some that are appropriate.

If you have a public library available, you might check there for books of motifs. Dover publications has a couple of books that are really inexpensive - I use them when I'm looking for simple inspiration (simple/unomplicated is WAY hard for me to leave alone). Most of the freebies online that I've found are a bit more involved than you say you want (for now!).

You can also just doodle. The practicing isn't just for "following a pattern", but it's to get you used to your machine, how to set your tension, how fast to move your hands, how fast to run the machine. When stippling and meandering, it's also good to be able to figure out how to get yourself out of a corner (easier said than done, without some forethought!).

I usually have my students practice by writing their name. Over and over and over!

This all begs the question. How do you mark your quilt for machine quilting when you are looking at pictures in a book of motifs? Do you trace and score and use the chalk thingy or do you sew thruogh the paper? I've only machine stippled one wall hanging and done a little stitch in the ditch on small items.

Calico_Chris wrote:

This all begs the question. How do you mark your quilt for machine quilting when you are looking at pictures in a book of motifs? Do you trace and score and use the chalk thingy or do you sew thruogh the paper? I've only machine stippled one wall hanging and done a little stitch in the ditch on small items.

Well, sometimes all of the above. :)

For me, it depends on the motif, the thread, the color/busyness of the fabric, a lot of things.

If you have a fairly simple design, you can print it (or trace it) onto a piece of regular paper and draw over it - over and over and over - to get the stitching order and build some muscle memory. Then you can take a piece of regular kid's chalk and draw it freehand onto your quilt (chalk doesn't last a long time, but I do this for smaller areas that I'm going to quilt right away).

In another thread we discussed marking pens/pencils. I will sometimes make a plastic or (cereal box) cardboard stencil if it's a simple motif that I'm going to need, then trace around it with one of my marking tools.

You can do the hera marker thing, I'm told, but that's a bit too subtle for me ;)

You can trace onto very thin paper like tracing paper and sew through it and tear the paper off. I buy a roll of the paper that manicurists use on their tables from the beauty supply shop (it's similar to dr's examining room paper). It works quite well, and if I mess up the tracing I don't feel bad about tossing the paper and starting again - Golden threads is $7.50 for 20 yards; manicurist paper is about $6 for 225 feet.

When I'm doing seriously complicated stuff, I use Glad Press 'N Seal. It takes a bit longer to prep and then to remove, but I can put my design where I want it and leave it there until I'm ready to use it, plus I can place many more of the motifs without having to stop and re-mark (or pin on the paper).

**For both the paper and Press 'N Seal, you have to be careful of designes that have a lot of backtracking, like some feathers. Multiple passes in the same place make it harder to remove the marking material.
Ask me how I know Fortunately I have the patience of a cat, so when I just have to do it, I can.

Whatever you choose to use for your marking pencil/pen/chalk, be dead-on sure that it won't set up if it's hit with an iron. Very sad, after all the work, to ruin it that way.

Oh, here's something - I don't mark my quilts until after they're basted. That's just a personal weirdness of mine; so tracing a motif onto a quilt top pre-basting? I got nothin'...

Thank you ever so much everyone. You have been a big help to me. I will print out some of those that were sent and practice them. I think I just need to practice and get the feel of using that darning foot and no presser feet. It doesn't feel the same and at first I couldn't get used to it. I did better after doing it for a while but is still different.

Again thank you so much.

foxxigrani wrote:

...I think I just need to practice and get the feel of using that darning foot and no presser feet.

Yep, that's what it's all about - no shortcuts, no getting around it. But once you're there? It's a whole new world.

Of course, if we go by MY experience, you won't actually finish more of your UFO's. You'll just know that you could if you wanted to!

Foxxi..I just tried free motion quilting with the darning foot this Summer. It does take some getting used to. If you have any scrap batting around layer it with some fabric..it could even be muslin..and just practice. Once you've gone over that practice piece..change the color of your thread and go over it again. Write your name, do loop de loops..try a nice stipple. You can draw markings on if you want. Mainly you need to get used to how fast to move your quilt as you sew along. Check out the videos on www.youtube.com. Type in machine quilting in the search box. Watching someone free motion makes it easier to go do yourself. here are links you may want to check out too. Diane Gaudynski's video really helped me. I hope you can view it with your compter's server?
http://www.taunton.com/threads/pages/tvt035.asp

http://quiltbug.com/machine-quilt.htm

http://www.quiltersreview.com/article.asp?article=/tip/expert/010813_b.asp

http://www.blockcentral.com/tips-machinequilting.shtml

http://www.quiltmaker.com/tips/tip17/

http://anyonecanquilt.typepad.com/my_weblog/2008/08/machine-quilting-101.html

Nothing wrong with you QBee... I tried it too but it didn't seem to matter... I think it just takes a little practice and go slow and be patient...

[quote="FiberBabble"]

Calico_Chris wrote:

You can trace onto very thin paper like tracing paper and sew through it and tear the paper off. I buy a roll of the paper that manicurists use on their tables from the beauty supply shop (it's similar to dr's examining room paper). It works quite well, and if I mess up the tracing I don't feel bad about tossing the paper and starting again - Golden threads is $7.50 for 20 yards; manicurist paper is about $6 for 225 feet.
..

This is good to know.....I have used the golden threads and really like it. Where do you find the manicurist paper???

Several times, my guild has had long arm practice. Everyone just "plays". Even people who are sure they need a pattern to do anything generally find that they don't, after a couple of minutes. Early on, I tried cursive writing as quilting. We all have had LOTS of practice on those shapes, soit goes fairly easily. Of course, we former teachers have had way more practice with boardwork, so that makes it even easier. The local "experts" take a fat pen and an opened out grocery bag to practice a new shape befoer going to the LA.

Boy would I love to have a long arm to play with!! Someday perhaps!
I don't think anyone mentioned it in this thread so I will....the gloves with the grips on them are well worth the few dollars that they are....cheap at Joanns...I really think they add a lot in controlling your work and not stressing your wrists and palms.

Gripping gardening gloves are cheaper and just as effective.

Thanks for that site QBee! Now I want to go quilt something!

Machine quilting whether on a domestic machine or a mid/long arm depends heavily on the 3 P's...patience, practice and perserverance!

I thought two of those stood for permanently p-o'd

..and here I thought it was just one S..stubborness.

Wow QBee, I have been on that web-site off and on all day and just added it to my favorites. Thanks a bunch.

Try free motion quilting on a pre-printed panel....like the ones you see for pillows. The size is small enough to handle and you can do all sorts of great things on them for free motion quilting. then you can turn them into hot pads!!

Thanks everyone, I am still trying to get my brain around this. And thanks for all the sites.

[quote="charal"]

FiberBabble wrote:

Calico_Chris wrote:

You can trace onto very thin paper like tracing paper and sew through it and tear the paper off. I buy a roll of the paper that manicurists use on their tables from the beauty supply shop (it's similar to dr's examining room paper). It works quite well, and if I mess up the tracing I don't feel bad about tossing the paper and starting again - Golden threads is $7.50 for 20 yards; manicurist paper is about $6 for 225 feet.
..

This is good to know.....I have used the golden threads and really like it. Where do you find the manicurist paper???

Wow, I don't know how I missed this question - so sorry!! I got my manicurists' table paper at Sally Beauty Supply. Cost less than $6, I think, and that was at least 4 years ago (and I'm not close to running out!). The store locator is here.