Nilla

RE:Red Snappers. I got the clear equivalent (leadergrips maybe?) at a quilt show a few months ago. I got home and sewed a channel into my leader cloths, then went to put them in and realized it wouldn't work for me because I don't have enough room beside my long arm (the room is 14ft, the long arm frame is 10ft) to connect the pieces with the heat gun then slide them in. I've gotten used to pinning now and it really doesn't take me too long so it's okay, but that's one more lesson I learned the hard way. I tend to learn a lot of my lessons that way...

MAMs

Thank you, and I just peeked at your blog. I love your work! It was fun watching you and makes me want to get some rulers. All in good time.

MAMs

LOL Nilla, seems like I learn the lessons the hard way too. Seems like people are talking a foreign language until I try something, make a mistake and then can say "oh that is what they meant" I heard learning new things will keep our brains sharp!

Peckish

Couldn't you take the leaders off the frame, slide the leadergrips in, then put the leaders back on?

Nilla

Well that would have been an option, but needless to say I didn't think about it and now I've gotten used to pinning. Sometimes it's hard being me....

beateannkeith

I think I learn something new about my longarm each time I use it. Grads on your longarm and finishing your quilt.

oldtnquiltinglady

Are you, by any chance, left handed....My son is my LAmer, and he is left handed. He can't teach me one single solitary thing--everything in his mind is back-assards to me.....When I get ready to quilt, I have to pull out my CD or DVD (whatever) on my machine and watch it. Add two hours to my loading time for that little step.....and needless to say, I wait a lot for him to get over here and do some quilting for me. Sometimes I just don't feel like "learning", so I go out and start piecing another quilt. or go load the dishwasher, or bake some cookies.....

Congratulations on your acquiring a LA, and learning to use it.

Peckish

try standing directly in front of him, facing him when he shows you something. This is how a lot of left-handed quilt teachers teach.

quiltingshorttimer

got my Gammill in April, had knee surgery about 3 weeks ago (until then basically could not stand for long, but did get a practice "picnic quilt" played with). Thought I was all ready to roll after the plain practice quilt where I did "everything" only to find that the tension was wacky on it. Of course did not figure that out until I'd already put a practice/charity quilt on the frame and had even worse tension! Spent 2 days looking at all the directions, DVD's, and YouTube on tension I could lay hands on and finally noticed that, duh!, I had the darn thing loaded wrong (the backing and batting were about 4in away from the top!). So unpinned, unsewed, and started over. Not bad--still have lots of problems with my start/stop knots! Then loaded another practice/charity quilt 2 days ago and same problems even after all the adjustments on the last quilt! Took 45 min to figure out that the thread was not "flossed" in the intermediate tension--once I figured that out, it's been fine. Just seems like a lot to remember to do--when I got my new domestic machine 3 years ago I no longer had to check/adjust stuff like with my old machine and now I'm back to that routine with my longarm! But sure love to quilt on it instead of domestic machine, so it's sure worth it. Think I need to develop a check list like airplane pilots do though!

Any tips for the start/stop issues? just looks sloppy and otherwise it's not secure.

mjhaess

Congrats. on your new machine..how fun...Isn't that how we learn is by our mistakes...Now you know, Just think how much fun the next quilt will be...