When I was working on my first quiltI was really nervous to quilt the top of something so large. I've quilted some placemats and coasters but that is basically it. I got myself a Janome Walking foot for my birthday but hadn't had the chance to practice with it yet. I didn't want to try using a different kind of sewing foot for the first time on Rowdy's quilt. What would I do if I messed up?
Installing the walking foot on my machine was harder than I anticipated. I've switched between other feet before but this instillation involved removing the foot holder. I had to watch some videos but was finally able to get it on my machine.
Installing the walking foot on my machine was harder than I anticipated. I've switched between other feet before but this instillation involved removing the foot holder. I had to watch some videos but was finally able to get it on my machine.
I pinned together a quilt sandwich using some remnant fabrics I had laying around. I worked with a dark thread so that I could see what was happening and get a sense if I needed to change my tension or anything like that.
My aunt quilted a quilt for Rowdy by stitching in the ditch and then using semi circles between square points. I decided to start out with some free form circles. The front side isn't perfect, but I was stitching a bit fast. I will need to do more practice with my circles, but when I as careful it worked pretty well.
The back is a little wrinkly and puffy. I'm not sure if this is any better than my concentric circles placemats or not. I'm really not sure if the walking foot is making a difference or not but at least I'm getting a feel for it. I did learn that I need to be careful to remove pins when is tart to get close because they can pull everything out of whack.
I tried slowing down my speed and following a curve. I am not great at closely mirroring a shape, so this means that some forms of quilting (following the outside edge of a dinosaur, for example.) may not be the best thing to do on this first quilt.
Next I attempted a spiral. It looks pretty good on both sides of the fabric. Maybe this is what I should o in the center of the quilt. Although my quilt is all straight lines so maybe I should do a square spiral....
This squared spiral is by far my favorite and will fit with the character of my quilt the best. I will do this to quilt the center panel.
Swatch, swatch, swatch! I'm much better with testing on swatches when I sew than when I knit but it is much easier to undo mistakes while knitting. You can always unravel, but you cannot uncut! Hopefully I now have a good plan that will lead to a fantastic finished quilt product.
