I put together a couple of pieces of flannel with a back made from some leftover fabric from the cushions in the kids toy room. This is a pantograph that I ordered from Golden Threads. I also got a pattern package, but those don't come on a roll, so I'll need to make copies and tape them together apparently. 
I'm playing with the little laser pointer guy on my HQ16. I should have left extra space at the edges where I could get the next row all lined up the right way. I think I'm doing it correctly, but it seems a little fiddly so far. 
I took a break from the laundry (8 loads and counting!) after lunch to take the kids to see a movie. I think it was called Furry Vengeance and it had Brendan Fraiser and Brooke Shields in it. The kids enjoyed it, and I treated myself to some junior mints so it wasn't a complete loss. Sydney did some sewing of her own this afternoon. Lizzie keeps attacking her dog bed and pulling out the stuffing, so Sydney decided to sew it back together. She allowed me to tie a knot in the end, but after that was insistent on doing it all herself. She is getting very grown up and independent all of the sudden. I'm not sure if I'll do a little more piecing tonight or practice my pantography a bit more. First I think I'll take a shower. We tried to turn on the air conditioner for the first time today when the inside temps hit 85, but it didn't seem to work. So I've been a little sweaty and grumpy all afternoon.
I was able to play on my friend, Judy's longarm. I didn't realize how hard a pantograph is to follow until I worked on hers. It's not just following the lines(and that's not as easy as you think it is), you have to know where to stop and line up and.....to say the least it opened my eyes. Keep on practicing, you'll get there. You didn't learn to swim or ride a bike or write your name or read or...(you get the point) over night so give yourself some breathing time and allow yourself time to learn. You are doing great. Don't get discouraged. It takes time to do anything well! Hugs, Linda
ReplyDeleteOoooo....Linda shared a great analogy! And I ditto her; patience and we'll both be panto-maniacs in no time.
ReplyDeleteWhat *I* like about pantos; I can "hide" the knots in the outside area rather than needing to take the time to tie-off and hide them within the main quilt area (of course, when the bobbin thread runs out, that's another story!) Lining up after the roll-forward takes a bit of time since I don't have a laser to adjust; I actually have to move the panto to match up with my jimmied-up stylus. Other than that, YES, following a pre-drawn line makes the "creativity of quilting" so much easier! ;0)
Hopefully you find your manic-motivation today for your school work and be able to get some quilting in!