MQResource

Our world is full of people wanting shortcuts.  We want to have everything and we don't want to wait -- we want what we want and we want it right now.  The situation with the US financial system is certainly indicative of that...but I'm not here to talk about such an unpleasant topic!!

As quilters we are no different -- we want to produce beautiful quilting and we want to do it yesterday.   Now, I'll grant you that there are some prodigies in the machine quilting world, but those prodigies are pretty few and far between.  The rest of us have to work at our craft, and what may look effortless is actually the result of many long years of hard work.

Practice might be spelled with 8 letters, but I'm sure many people consider it a "4-letter" word -- one that you'd rather not hear in your house and try to use as little as possible.  I'm here to tell you, though, that this particular "P" word and several of its friends are not as horrible as you might think, and I'd like to give you some tips and ideas about how to effectively practice.

I want to mention a few other "P" words that you should keep in mind -- PATIENCE and PERSEVERANCE.  

Please be kind to yourself and be patient.  Our children don't learn how to walk overnight -- it takes them time and plenty of falling down to get it figured out.  As parents (or grandparents, or aunts and uncles or family friends...) we patiently work with them, encouraging them as they progress through the stages of walking -- pulling themselves up on furniture, walking along holding on to something, until eventually they take those first steps on their own.  We don't get mad at them when they don't start walking the very first time they pull themselves up to standing, and we should be patient with ourselves when it takes us time to learn a new trick with our quilting machines.

Practice on Paper

I know that you probably think you can't draw.  I used to think that, too.  I used to think that if you didn't know how to draw intuitively, you were hopeless.  What I've figured out is that drawing is skill that can be learned by anyone.  Some of us are better at it than others, but the basics of it are not a mystery.  (A big part of the secret?  You guessed it -- practice...).  Now, I'm not talking about learning how to draw detailed drawings of animals or people or landscapes -- I'm just talking about drawing the kinds of simple lines and shapes that we use in our quilting. 

Ultimately, when we quilt, we are drawing with our needle, and the shapes and designs we are quilting can be broken apart into simpler sections that we can practice and then put together to make all kinds of fancy designs.  Taking the time to learn first on paper can eliminate a lot of frustration at the quilting machine. Drawing with a quilting machine will utilize the same muscle memory that you will gain by drawing on paper.

What that means to me is that quilters should simply DRAW. A lot. All the time. On paper, on a magnetic doodler, on a white board, on the backs of napkins and envelopes, and on other scraps of paper. Use pens and pencils and chalk and crayons.

Don't know what to draw?

Start by tracing!  Trace your pantographs and the designs in your freehand reference books. Buy a box of transparencies from the office supply store and place one on top of your design.  Use a dry erase marker to trace.  Erase the marking and then do it again. After you've traced it a couple of times, try drawing it freehand.  

I recommend that you start small when you are first learning working on a design.  You might even start smaller than you would actually ever quilt the shape.  It's hard to control the drawing if you make the shapes too big.

Drawing small will help you practice the shapes, but you should also try drawing in the scale you will be working on your quilt. I like using sheets of newsprint that are about 18 by 24.

How to hold your pen or pencil:  personally, when I draw, I hold mine normally, but I lift my wrist off the page so that my whole arm is in motion.  This takes some getting used to, and you will need to take frequent breaks -- you'll be using muscles that don't normally get a workout.  

Practicing at the Quilting Machine

Warm up for a few minutes with something you are confident doing, even if it is just a simple meander. Warming up with something you are comfortable with will allow you to make sure that your machine is in good working order and your tension is set properly, so you aren't fussing with that at the same time you are trying to learn something new.  This is not the time to play with fancy thread you've never used before -- stick to what works and concentrate on the quilting itself.

Stitch with a plan. For example, make a plan to fill your entire quilting space with nothing but interlocking spirals – and then do it. If you quilt just a small section of one design, and then a small section of another design, you probably are not giving yourself enough time on any of these designs to really learn them.

After you have stitched for  awhile, take a look back at your quilting.  Look for the really great looking designs -- and figure out why they work, what did you do that made them look good.  Pat yourself on the back for a great job.

Then, look for the areas that need improvement.  Ask yourself WHY they need help.  What is it about your interlocking spirals that you don't like?  Is it the spacing, is it the transition from spiral to spiral, are the spirals squashed instead of circular?

After you've figured out what you don't like -- quilt some more, concentrating on the aspects of your design that need improvement.

Pay attention to your Progress

Keep some of your early drawings and quilted practice pieces.  Get them out and look at them every so often and take note of how far you have come.  Give yourself credit for doing the best you can with what you have.  Be kind to yourself -- none of us are Perfect (now, that's a "P" word that I consider to be a BAD word). 

 I think new quilters should look for a mentor that is willing to look at your work and give you honest, HELPFUL feedback.  It's nice to have people pat you on the back, but sometimes what we really need is for someone to say "Suzy-Quilter, those leaves of yours are looking great, but your feathers could use some work.  Here's what I think you should try to improve them."

Practice, Patience, Perseverance, Progress

This is one of those topics that could go on forever.   Even as I'm trying to wrap up this article, I'm thinking of more things I could say.   To finish up, I've got more one thought, and then I'll finally post this and ask for your input in the forums:

Many of us get wrapped up in getting to the end PRODUCT that we forget to take time to enjoy the PROCESS.

Your Turn

Come join me in the forums and share your tips and tricks for practicing.

Suzanne took piano lessons for 10 years and hated that her piano teacher was right.  Practice was the only way to improve.  She's learned her lesson (mostly) now that she's a grown-up and hopes you'll find some joy in practicing, too.