I quilted a charity quilt with my new HQ Sweet 16 this weekend.
It went well but I need to quilt a few more projects on it before I get the hang of the new setup.
I got the extension table on yesterday morning, all by myself. The hardest part is removing the machine from the table and flipping the table over and then putting everything back. Both the machine and table are heavy. The instructions for installing the extension table are very clear, with pictures, and I had no trouble doing it myself.
After doing one project on my new machine I discovered two main differences between quilting on Lily, my regular machine, and on my new one. By the way, I have named her Hattie or Chatty Hattie. Have you seen the movie Chitty Chitty Bang Bang? Hattie has a rhythmic sound like the car in that movie, like she is talking to me as we work. Anyway, on to the differences.
(1) Hattie's speed is set by her computer (the little screen above the needle arm in the first photo of Hattie above). When I step on the pedal she is almost instantly going at full speed and easing back on the pedal has little or no affect on her speed. On Lily, the speed is controlled by the pedal, like a car. I have obviously learned how to adjust the speed of the machine to my hand speed when quilting on Lily. I'm going to have to work on maintaining a constant hand speed on Hattie. I also need to play around with the stitching speed to figure out what works best for me.
(2) With Hattie the main body of the machine is directly in front of me at the back of the table. On Lily the main body of the machine is to my right. So the ways that I have been controlling the part of the quilt that is not under the needle is going to have to change. This is just going to require practice and trial and error to figure out what works best for me.
I've got a couple more charity tops ready to be basted and quilted to practice with Hattie. School begins next week for our whole family. (My husband also teaches at Adams State College) It will take a little time for my routine to adjust and solidify. Then I hope to get into a quilting/work/family rhythm again.
One more picture of the quilt. Goldie had to see what the heck her momma was doing at 7:15 am out front with her camera this morning.
It went well but I need to quilt a few more projects on it before I get the hang of the new setup.
I got the extension table on yesterday morning, all by myself. The hardest part is removing the machine from the table and flipping the table over and then putting everything back. Both the machine and table are heavy. The instructions for installing the extension table are very clear, with pictures, and I had no trouble doing it myself.
After doing one project on my new machine I discovered two main differences between quilting on Lily, my regular machine, and on my new one. By the way, I have named her Hattie or Chatty Hattie. Have you seen the movie Chitty Chitty Bang Bang? Hattie has a rhythmic sound like the car in that movie, like she is talking to me as we work. Anyway, on to the differences.
(1) Hattie's speed is set by her computer (the little screen above the needle arm in the first photo of Hattie above). When I step on the pedal she is almost instantly going at full speed and easing back on the pedal has little or no affect on her speed. On Lily, the speed is controlled by the pedal, like a car. I have obviously learned how to adjust the speed of the machine to my hand speed when quilting on Lily. I'm going to have to work on maintaining a constant hand speed on Hattie. I also need to play around with the stitching speed to figure out what works best for me.
(2) With Hattie the main body of the machine is directly in front of me at the back of the table. On Lily the main body of the machine is to my right. So the ways that I have been controlling the part of the quilt that is not under the needle is going to have to change. This is just going to require practice and trial and error to figure out what works best for me.
I've got a couple more charity tops ready to be basted and quilted to practice with Hattie. School begins next week for our whole family. (My husband also teaches at Adams State College) It will take a little time for my routine to adjust and solidify. Then I hope to get into a quilting/work/family rhythm again.
One more picture of the quilt. Goldie had to see what the heck her momma was doing at 7:15 am out front with her camera this morning.
5 comments:
I saw a Sweet 16 at my LQS. I didn't have time to really check it out, but I will next time. Love the charity quilt!
Happy Quilting!
Deborah
Oh, you lucky dog, you have a Long Arm. I'm so envious. Form what I can see you did a great job on the charity quilt. Have fun practicing!
I will have to check this Sweet 16 out...thanks for the info.
YAY for Hattie! It is such a cute name and great for the machine.
By the way, if you are lacking for practice pieces I have a great big pile of volunteers. :)
The quilt turned out great. How about some close ups of the quilting! I can imagine that takes some getting used to. I think I'd like it if my machine would go full speed right away when I start it up. That is something I currently have trouble with. But I bet if I practice it long enough the way it is, the harder it would be for me to adjust, too.
I like the name Hattie. That's good. ::-)
I'm with Deanna...I have plenty of volunteers laying around if you need something to practice on! Hope you're having fun. The machine looks great!
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