Learning to free motion quilt through frustration

Monday, September 9, 2013

Learning to free motion quilt through frustration

If I were like my husband I would not be as frustrated right now. He once said that he does not golf because he wants to know how to play before he gets to the golf course. I laughed quite a bit saying "How will you ever learn then if you won't go out until you know how to play?" I am eating my words and fabric right now.

Over several years I have pursued learning how to free motion quilt. I stipple quite adeptly, however, I want to refine my quilting skills and not just do the same easy stippling every time.

I took a class, I browse a website, observed others quilting, bought some tools to make it easier to quilt and I have a practice piece that I have been working on, that is not a real quilt, just a test piece.

So today, I took a REAL quilt, and started to do some of the new techniques that I have practiced, read about, and studied. I thought I was ready to pursue a big quilt. HA HA HA! Wait, I need to go to this step in order to learn.

However in my endeavors, I have made every mistake possible. I continued to quilt with a loose bobbin causing puckering, I quilted double layers of quilt for an entire star design and I am doing designs that are too complicated for the square I am putting them in. This is how I learn, by making mistakes. My most recent mistake is a rookie one but boy is it a big mistake and a big learning. I have spent about an hour ripping it out.

Fortunately I did not start this project on a quilt that I really care about otherwise right now I would be in tears. This quilt will be my sampler of learning free motion quilting. That is what samplers are after all. They are for practicing. How will I ever learn how to better free motion quilt if I do not practice? I could continue to send my quilts out to be quilted but I want to take my quilting skills to a new level and I know I will be happy with the results. That does not mean I won't need my seam ripper or that this quilt will be given away. No, it will be hung in my sewing room to remind me of my learning style. Off I go to rip out some more......

1 comment:

susanb said...: Leah loves to rip seams - so send it over here!; September 9, 2013 at 11:06 PM

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Always Asking Why (?) - Sarah's ramblings

Monday, September 9, 2013

Learning to free motion quilt through frustration

1 comment:

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