Let’s try this again.
After learning an awful lot about piecing a quilt top, the next logical step in the process should be to learn to quilt the layers. There are several quilt tops floating around my UFO Unfinished Object drawer. My question to myself is this, is a quilt top a finished quilt. I’d like to think so. Some of the blocks I have been made into really wonderful tops. The problem is that I have no idea how to quilt them to enhance the design. The last thing I want to do is layer and machine quilt in a way that takes away from the artistry of the piecing and materials used to piece the top. One particular top that still stumps me is a Pineapple Quilt called Jelly Beans. I created this top in 2006 and it still remains in the top only stage.
The first attempt at machine quilting came during a home machine quilting class at Country Crossroads. Several ladies were in a class that introduced us to Stitch-in-a-ditch, stippling, grid work and free motion quilting. The name of the instructor escapes me, but she was very knowledgeable. After taking that workshop, I rushed home and was so excited to practice and begin. Then BAM, a mental road block slammed into me.
I was petrified. What if I mess up, what if I don’t like what I come up with, where do I start. Normally, I am a confident, focused and competent person. But this challenge sent me screaming for the hills – so to speak. The only thing that I was sure of was that, I Karen Burgess was not ready. So I did what I always do. I went shopping. Don’t laugh. Okay, go ahead. I think we all have these coping strategies.
During the workshop, several resource books were pointed out. Before the class, I had purchases a Primer on Quilting, called Machine Quilting by Sue Nickels. The step by step instructions were very helpful. Still, my confidence was less than stellar. So I practiced, got pretty good and liked what I saw on Muslin squares. Could I move past that? No sir, so back to the shopping thing. I went searching for two books that showed the same quilt top, quilted a couple of different ways. Lee Cleland’s – Quilting Makes the Quilt, and Christine Maraccini’s – Machine Quilting Solutions. Now I was armed with wonderful examples of quilts that change their attitude based on the quilting. What fun it was to explore the subject, and allow myself the time to learn about the process.
I have said many times that the best part of quilting is the process. Cutting, piecing, and quilting are all different processes, each in their own way, wonderfully creative and satisfying. Now the challenge became, what designs would I use and where. I am still collecting books of patterns to assist with this part. Still there is a drawer full of blocks and tops. My next adventure came at a retreat. Harriet Hargrave's was coming to town and I was in her class. Two full days of instructions by “the mother of home heirloom quilting”, and all of her knowledge. Wahoo. I was in heaven.
Harriet’s take is that it takes the brain 6 hours of practice to train your fine motor skills to automatically do a task. I can attest that she is on to something. During the two days, she showed us how to train ourselves to create a feathered wreath. It hangs on my sewing room wall and it is nearly perfect. Her book, Heirloom Machine Quilting, is a fabulous resource for all the little details that when used together help create a comfortable environment in which to stitch. Still the idea of tackling a large quilt top is beyond me. So I am allowing myself to do the projects I want to do (laps and table runners), and sending out to long arm quilter anything larger.
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