I've always been more than happy to let the nice lady who really knows what she is doing use her long arm and talents to quilt the top of my quilts.
But every once in a while, we need to stretch ourselves and work outside of our comfort zone.
I've finally gotten brave enough and have been machine quilting Row By Row.
See post 3/17/11
Because this quilt is so geometric, I felt it would be a good place to practice.
I just aligned my walking foot along the seam lines and went for it.
Things are not perfect, but I can see some progress from the beginning of my stitching to the end of my work.
I did learn a thing or two.
One thing that really helped with control was to use Machinger Gloves.
Have you ever tried machine quilting with these?
I like how they help me grip the quilt, and were comfortable to wear for hours on end.
No sweaty palms or hands, even during the hot summer months of sewing.
They are light weight, made from nylon with fully coated rubber fingertips.
I still had enough dexterity to pick off stray threads or to remove pins along the way.
Machingers come in 4 sizes. I read how to find which size is right for you:
Measure from the base of your palm to the tip of your middle finger.
xs/6.25"
s/m 6.25-7"
m/l 7-7.75"
xl 7.5"
And yes, now that I have Machingers, the old yellow rubber gloves are only going to be used for housecleaning.
Plus I feel a little more confident to try quilting a few more of my quilts.
10 comments:
Yay!! Good for you on finding something that helps you to get your quilts quilted! By the way, the quilting looks awesome.
Your quilt (and quilting) looks terrific!
I have never purchased Machingers gloves. I always have used gardening gloves that have the palms and fingers covered with a rubberized coating.
I may just have to heed your advice and spring for a pair of these.
Have a wonderful day!
Kudos for doing the quilting!
I *love* my Machingers gloves. Living in Florida, I could never stand the additional weight of gardening gloves. It's just way too stinkin' hot and humid here, even with A/C and good house fans. :) And I have way too many UFOs to only quilt in January. hehe
Fantastic Nedra, the gloves are great aren't they? I love your quilt. xo
I might have to pick up a pair of those for if I do another small quilt by machine sometime - I most likely will from time to time = just not often
I like the quilt!
Karen
http://karensquilting.com/blog/
I have used them for years, but they were not called that. I was using them to apply antiembolitic stockings on my paraplecgic mother and realized how great they were for gripping things. We were buying them at the medical supply place at the beginning. Now they are in the quilting shops and have a fancy name!!!!
Rock on Nedra. The quilt is lovely and you are getting some great practice.
Mary
Oh look at you!! Great job! Way outside of my box. But yours looks great!
Good for you having a go! I went on a FMQ course this week and had an absolute ball - eye opening really. I use gardening gloves for quilting but those machingers do sound a lot better - mmm - maybe have to invest in those some time :-)
I recently bought these gloves and they worked very well on the free motion quilting that I'm doing.
Your quilt is great, the colors are wonderful.
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