Basics on Wednesday

Today I will be traveling to Susan's Calico Creations in Fulton, IL to teach Beginning Basic Machine Quilting on your domestic machine.  We practice sandwiching, marking, stitch in the ditch, and the basic free motion quilting.  We will talk about quilting that enhances the quilt and I bring samples of quilts I have done.  I also bring a big laminated sheet that students can practice stippling or other free motion quilting before trying it on their machines. 

Yesterday was a very busy day.  It was time to pay the real estate taxes, do some banking, and delivered six quilts to the fair.  Then I came home and turned on the longarm determined not to let learning the new software get me down today.  Tadah!  I did it.  I completed three rows of stitching on my own.  I also ran out of bobbin thread, loaded a new bobbin and got the machine started on pattern again without calling for assistance.

I would like to send out a big "Thank YOU!" to Elaine Gilmore, National Educator with Handi Quilter for all your support, phone calls, and printed tutorial.  She reached out to me at my darkest moment in trying to learn the new software update by Handi Quilter.  I am excited that I will be headed to Naperville, IL, to take lessons with Elaine this Friday.  I know this will open many creative possibilities for me.  I am impatient with my learning curve on the Pro Stitcher, I want to know it all now and don't like struggling.  I am a hands-on learner and taking my tablet with the simulator on it will be a great advantage.  The simulator mode is a new part of the software and will make learning much easier.

My lesson learned on the Handi Quilter software rollout, is don't procrastinate learning each update in a reasonable amount of the time.  I put off updating three updates and then this major update came out June 15th.  I am working to learn four updates at once. I have no one to blame but myself, I will persevere and continue to strive to be a better longarm quilter for my enjoyment and my customers' quilts.

Also, I chose a difficult pattern to line up, that made the learning process more difficult.  I am thankful that today things started to make sense.

 

Have a great Wednesday and thank you, Elaine!

 

Yours in quilting,

Terry