Monday, August 27, 2012

Getting to long arm

My quilty friend Denise (My Life In Quilt) had generously invited me to use her longarm probably about a year ago but I had not gotten around to doing it until last weekend. I finally set up my babysitter (aka Mr. FO) and headed over to her place for a fun day learning to long arm.

With all the yummie food and the chatting I'm surprised we managed get any work done! But we did load up my muslin to work on and I have to say really liked it! This surprised me because I really don't like the quilting step on my home machine. It's probably my least favorite part of the process.

Here is what I did with my first attempt.

I started out with some free motion to get the feel of the machine.


I attempted some pebbles and feathers which were laughable but fun. Those are Denise's pebbles that look like actual circles.


Attempted a word.



And then she got out a pantograph for me to try.


And finally the boards (which I don't know the official name of) but they are plastic and you follow the pattern on them.


I have to say, I really loved it and now I'm scheming on how to get my hands on my own! It definitely would not be my least favorite part of the process if I had one of these guys. Big thank you to Denise for such a fun day!

What about you, what is your least favorite part of the process?


8 comments:

Patti said...

You did a great job! My favourite is the last one with the template. The pantogram was nice too. I have never used a long arm, and love to do my own FMQ on my machine. Not that I'm any good at it, I just like doing it! My least favourite part is making the backing. I used to really hate basting as well, but since I started using a spray baste, I quite like it.

Denise in PA said...

I had as much fun as you did! o:) You really did a fantastic job - you're a natural (can I twist your arm a little more - LOL!)

Katy Cameron said...

Looks like so much fun! There's a place near us where you can hire out the long arm, we keep meaning to go up as a guild and have a play

Pat said...

You are a natural!!! and Denise is an evil enabler (giggle).

Mrs A said...

Well done! I'd love to have a long arm, but can't justify it at the moment, the patterns are looking great!

**nicke... said...

i'm so jealous! wishing i had a friend who had one or that i had one of my own! xo

Lindsay said...

The quilting looks awesome! I'm hoping to get over to Olde City Quilts in Burlington one of these days to try out their long arm machines. At this point I probably won't get there until Christmas, but I think it'll be worth it!

Fabric Warrior (aka Amie) said...

Practice makes perfect! : ) Looks like you had a fun time trying it all out.

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