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| First Sammy!! |
OK, so I have never done any FMQ (Free-Motion Quilting). I have done a little stitch in the ditch and a little straight stitching on small projects. Sew when SewCalGal decided to have a
FMQ Challenge I said ummmm yes! Of course I will do something to improve, or in my case learn a new technique!! Sew Jan has come and here we are! I have to tell you mine is NOT pretty!! And it has reitterated the fact that I cannot draw!! hehe But you know I will keep trying and someday I might get a little better! OK maybe squint and look at the screen and they might look a little, I don't know, blurrier anyway!! LOL
To the right is my first quilt sammy. This is the front I got slap happy and tried doing little 'flowers' just to keep it real and because I am a nut that way!
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| Back of sammy 1 |
I had A LOT of tension problems with my machine on the first sammy. I adjusted it as I went along and did eventually get it to where it should be. My little machine DID NOT like doing this!! My feed dogs don't go down, instead there is a plate that goes over them, but then you can't put the presser foot down. Well I guess you could, but they you can't move the material! Trust me I tried! LOL
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| Front of sammy |
By the time I got to sammy 2 I was getting a better hang of it! I know my leaves are, well to be honest misshapen, but that is how I draw as well!! And let's not mention the crazy flower that is in the middle here! Hey, Honeyman was watching his stupid fooseball (football, I am not a fan sorry) so I was getting a little silly with my machine!! I informed him that my next machine will have #1 the button to keep the needle in the down position, #2 the abibity to put the feed dogs down and #3 well I don't know what else I want, but it will be a nice machine!! hehe! I am not complaining about my machine! I have one! That is better than nothing! But a girl can dream, right!!
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| Back of sammy 2 |
What kind of machine do you sew/quilt on?? I am always interested in knowing! Did you switch from one to another and like one better than the other?? These are all questions I am here to get answered!! Ok Back to my sammys I am so easily distracted! To the left is the back of my second sammy. Much better tension, there are a few places that I obviously hesitated and got little knots. I know that with more practice (oh, and taking my foot off of the gas pedal, hello) I will get better at this! I call last nights work a success!! I tried something new! I am no pro at it, but I didn't become a floutist extrordinare or a vocal phenom over night!! LOL (I really do sing and play the flute and sax but that's another story)
So I leave you with a few little flowers I did at the end just because! Thanks for visiting!! And being true with me!!hehe! It is all about learning something new every day! If you have not checked out SewCalGal and her Challenge... do it!! I think it is a great way to learn! Have a blessed Sunday!
Josie
Well done! For a first foray into free motion-you did very well. Glad you were able to adjust the tension.
ReplyDeleteMy first machine would not quilt-I couldn't get the tension to behave and I tried everything. So I just hand quilted for years (I still do) until I got a new machine for our 25th anniversary-that was the gift I picked!
For your first free motion quilting ever...I'm very impressed. I could see leaves and little flowers. Needle down is a wonderful feature for FMQ, but not essential as the needle can be manually set in the down position by turning the hand wheel towards yourself. Some folks quilt with the feed dogs up by set the stitch length to zero and covering the dogs. If you don't like the cover your machine has the dogs can be covered with a supreme slider or a piece of plastic table cloth with a hole cut out for the needle. Changing the stitch length to zero prevents the feed dogs from moving a lot.
ReplyDeleteI collect vintage sewing machines. The Japanese clones are inexpensive and plentiful in Canada. These are wonderful machines for quilting, the feed dogs usually drop and they sew lovely stitches with very few tension issues.
Some of my favourite FMQ machines are the Singer 15-91, Husqvarna 500 series, Bernina 930 and the Pfaff 7510, Select 4 or Creative 2.
FMQ is like everything else we learn, the more practice the better it gets and always remember to have fun!
wow great job I am impressed. I like the little flowers too. Sounds like you are like me there..there are the instructions on how to do something and then the way i think it should be done...lol
ReplyDeleteWay to go! I'm a straight liner or stippler, as my artistic abilities sucks when it comes to drawing, so I'm amazingly impressed at your leaves and flowers. Especially on a first attempt!
ReplyDeleteI usually do my piecing on my 1937 Featherweight 221 and my machine quilting on my Kenmore (of which I know not the style or anything; it just sews, LOL!)
I'd love to own something amazing someday, with a table extension and all that jazz.
Great job for your first time! I sew on a Brother. I learned how to sew on a Brother so when I bought my new machine I bought what I was comfortable with. Mine has the needle down position. It has the option to sew with out a peddle. It's computerized. I can drop my feed dogs and it came with all the quilting attachments.
ReplyDeleteYou did a fantabulous job and it sounds like you had a mahvelous time doing it! Keep up the good work and soon you will be winning ribbons for your FMQ-ing. Yes, it can happen!
ReplyDeleteYour FMQ looks really good. I currently have two Brother cs6000i machines. One 5 yrs old and one bought this year as a back up. Cost about $160.00 online at Walmart. It's computerized, needle down, feed dogs drop, comes with all of the feet (including the embroidery foot for FMQ), and a wide quilting table. One of these days I will get another machine but this one (two) does everything I need.
ReplyDeleteYou did an awesome job on your FMQ!! I also practiced the leaves, but yours are much better! I wasn't smart enough to think about using dark thread on light fabric, so mine is hard to see. I need more practice., I quilt on a Baby Lock-Quilter's Choice. It is computerized, and has more options than I'll ever figure out how to use!!
ReplyDeleteThis is your first attempt? Really? I'm impressed! The tension may be off, but you are definitely on the right track. I really need to take time to sit down and practice... I also need more hours in the day! :P
ReplyDelete