A Long-Arm Quilter Is Emerging!

By gosh, dear readers, I think I am going to conquer this long-arm machine. I had two issues arise this week as I attempted to quilt the baby quilt. First, the timing had gone way, way off. I fixed it! I thought then that I was ready to go, but I discovered after one pass of the machine over the quilt that I had tension issues. And I fixed that, too!

How did I know I had a tension issue, you ask? Well, here are some pictures and explanations.

This is a photo I snapped just after completing the first pass. I was rolling the quilt onto the bar at the top when I noticed the unsightly stitches where I tacked it down across the top. The actual stitches I see on the quilt top look pretty decent, but generally, if there's trouble, it shows up on the underside. And yowza! What a mess!

Here is a closer look at just a few inches of the back. I have orange arrows pointing to three places where the unsightliness is worst. I knew immediately that these would all have to be removed and redone.

UGH.

Instead of taking the entire quilt off the frame, I decided to fix the tension and keep on quilting. Since that single pass was narrow, I figured I could strategize my correction while I finished the remainder of the quilt. This next picture shows the stitching lines from the removed stitches along with the new, and correct stitches.

After the entire quilt was quilted, I cut away the excess batting and re-rolled the entire quilt onto the backing bar. When I was in a position to re-quilt the problem area, I left the original stitches and tried to quilt right alongside them. This effort was mostly successful. Then I took the quilt off the long arm entirely, grabbed the seam ripper ("Get the ripper!" I can hear my mother now! Haha!) Over the course of a couple of tv programs, the stitches were out.

Today is binding day. I have it ready to attach, and a book queued up on the phone. I plan to sit in a quiet place to listen and stitch all afternoon.

Now, about that title - a long-armer emerging - I really feel as though I am! This is the 29th quilt I have finished on the Tin Lizzie, and after all those other quilts, I still experienced a daunting feeling, a reluctance and ambivalence to loading the next one. 

Finally, I am actually looking forward to doing the next quilt! I am becoming a master to the machine; no longer timid and uncertain, but confident! 

Geesh. Took me long enough. Go back here to see how long it's been since I took possession of this machine from my friend, Sharon O. It has been quite a journey - one that has seen me move the machine from the basement to a former upstairs bedroom. There have been several visits to repair shops, way too much down time, yet, in the end, I appear to be prevailing.

Shall I say it? Okay, yes. Perseverance does pay off! Yay!

Happy Quilting, Friends!