By the end of the day yesterday I was SO CLOSE to having Crumb Cake quilted. I was on the last row, getting that same excited feeling that comes when you see the finish line at a race. Then, a big thunk and the engine stall light came on. The needle had gotten itself bent somehow and gotten entangled in the bobbin case. %$^ *^@%#% . I fiddled with it for a while but finally convinced myself to walk away before I did some sort of permanent damage, either to myself or the machine. Those are the moments in time that have caused me to sew through my fingers in the past.
I had already figured out my pantograph issues. As usual, it was a combination of several small things. First, I haven't yet installed the hardware to hold the table leaves together and there is a bit of a shimmy in the middle. I wasn't worried about it yet, because lets face it, my pantogropaphy is shaky enough on its own so far that a little table wobble won't make much of a difference. Secondly, I hadn't tightened up the little nut that holds on the laser stylus. It stayed put well enough on its own, but add a little loose table leaf vibration, and it worked its way to a slightly different angle than it had started. Having tackled that issue, I was sure the engine stall bent needle issue would resolve itself in the light of day. Sure enough, after swim team this morning I got it all fixed up and quilted the final row. The pantograph I chose (in keeping with the Maire Antoinette theme) is called France. It ends up looking mostly like puzzle pieces to me, but when I showed it to Kurt he picked up on the fleur de lis right away. I ordered a packet of pantograph patterns from Golden Threads and this is the first one I've tried. Now that I've figured out how to line everything up, a pantograph does seem to be a simple and straight forward way to get a consistent pattern across the entire quilt top.
5 comments:
Oh yes, I'm a great believer in the 'walk away and let it sulk for a while' approach. I've just done the same with my new machine that keeps giving me rude messages!
I totally agree about the walk away or else theory. I find that if I get disgusted, discouraged, mad or aggravated, I just get up and go do something else. I'll come back and see if I can figure out my problem. If I can't, I move onto something else and think on it awhile. Maybe, I should say worry about it cuz that's usually what I end up doing. Sometimes, I even dream about it...But, we won't go there! I am working on getting my quilting down too and boy, this is way harder than it looks. Patience, persistence and perseverence will win the day! Don't you just love "P" words...Keep it up girl, you can do it. Hugs, Linda
That is what I need to do sometimes also. Then when I am ready things go much smoother.
I enjoy reading about your and Amy's adventures with your new machines! I hope to go out to see Amy's in action this summer!
Oh how I wish I would have learned the walk away method years ago. It works so good! I love the way the quilt turned out! Long live the crumbs. ;-)
Just like the other ladies----I believe in the walkaway method; just too bad I don't always FOLLOW that advice!!
SO GLAD you got it all working again, AND that the pantos are getting easier. I am fairly certain MOST of my quilting will be done with pantos....so easy! And I see the Fleur de Lis too! What are the plans for this quilt? A snuggler for the family?
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