Friday night I put a small top on the frame. My first one... Should we say, learning curve???? I watched the video and read the little book that came with it. I put it on the frame correctly but... I'm not crazy about the tension on the frame. I'm not crazy about the Leader cloths. I'm definitely going to make different ones of those. I sure wasted alot of time and have nothing to show for it. I took it off the frame and reviewed my efforts. Not good. I am too ashamed to show you my efforts. On the first pass, I forgot to lower the presser foot so you know what that means? It looked good on top but the bottom had all kinds of eyelash length thread everywhere. I was surprised that my thread didn't break. This is not a true Long Arm, it is a sewing machine and has to be treated like one. I have to remember that one. I learned so much on this one little top but not enough.
To have this machine, I had to move some stuff around. When we were rearranging, I noticed one of my bookshelves didn't look right. The top shelf had collapsed and had caused the next two shelves below it to collapse too. You know, like the domino effect.
My husband fixed my bookshelf and I reshelved some books. I have decided I'm definitely cutting back on my book buying. I'm also going to sell some books, give some away to friends and to the guild. I am going on a no-buy diet...no more books or magazines, no more gadgets, no more anything for at least 6 months. At least I'm going to try really hard.
I put some fabric on the machine on Saturday and tried again. Better this time but not great. I can definitely see why the Long Armers say to have at least 3-4" around your quilt on all sides. I'm getting there but still not ready to put an actual quilt on. I'll be practicing for awhile I think....
I didn't get anything accomplished over the weekend except practicing. I learned alot but have nothing to show yet. I was kind of discouraged but I keep telling myself it takes time to learn anything so I'm not going to beat myself up too badly.
My sewing room is looking better though and that makes me feel more organized so I do feel good about that. I can find more things now. All my books are on bookshelves now instead of on the floor. That's alot better and now I can go through and purge...so, I guess I did get a little done this weekend.
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2 comments:
So many things that seem easy now were very difficult at first. Don't get discouraged, before you know it throwing a quilt on the frame and getting it quilted will become almost routine. Then you'll just have to sew faster to have enough flimsies to keep you busy.
Don't get discouraged! There is a learning curve, but if you relax and just have fun it will come easily! I have lots of old tops given to me for practice - you are welcome to come shop in my closet for practice pieces!!
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