Yes, I Quilt on my Domestic Machine

/ quiltinggail

I LOVE free motion quilting!!

This is quilting from 2016 when I made quilts for all my cousins out of my grandma’s fabrics. It was free motion quilted with no rulers.

For the most part, I make all of my quilts from start to finish on a domestic sewing machine. I say, “for the most part” because there was a time when a group of us made quilts to exchange and one lovely lady long-armed each of the quilts for us. So, I can’t really say that I’ve done every quilt from start to finish. And there are the times where I have made a block or 2 for a group quilt … and obviously that’s not done totally by me. Also, when I first started quilting, we had quilting bees to hand quilt the quilts that we made.

So, why do I do all my own quilting? First, because I want to! When I first started quilting I made only 1 or 2 quilts a year. Each of them was hand quilted.

THEN, life changed … in 2005, I started to quilt, or piece more tops. I had bought a decent machine (Janome 6500) and wanted to learn to quilt on a domestic machine.

I took a Free Motion Quilting class. In the class, we learned how to ‘meander’ and the golden rule that you must NEVER cross over a meander line. Of course, I broke that rule on my practice square. The instructor told me to take out the stitching on my practice piece so that I would remember to NEVER cross over the line. As a professional adult educator, I was amazed at this! I started to take it out and when she wasn’t looking, that piece got stashed away. The next blow was when she told me that I would NEVER be able to free motion quilt unless I bought a Bernina (that she & her husband sold) with a stitch regulator. Needless to say, I cried all the way home.

A few weeks later, I was at a quilt show and one of the venders had a quilt on display. I was examining the quilting. She had meandered the entire quilt AND in a few places, she had CROSSED over!!! OH MY!!! Then I found out she had a machine with a stitch regulator and hated it because it slowed her down.

SEW … I went home from that quilt show with a smile on my face!!! I remember thinking, “to H*** with what that mean instructor told me” and I then thought “I don’t give a d*** what she said.” [yes, sometimes swearing helps!] I pulled out one of the quilts I had pieced and meandered the whole thing!! I also made sure that I crossed over. (Call me a rebel!) I quilt my quilts for ME … they aren’t going to be entering any competition.

Since then, I’ve taken many FMQ classes from different instructors. All of them were very encouraging! And I’ve learned something new from each one of them.

I’ve been quilting my own quilts ever since! Currently, I quilt on my domestic Janome M7 machine.

One thing that stuck in my mind from the early days of quilting was something that Harriet Hargraves said in one of her books that to always quilt the same thing is like buying a mattress cover with the same over-all design. It’s always the same. So, I try to add variety to my quilts. Besides, I’d be totally bored if I always did the exact same thing!

When I was first learning to free motion quilt, I had a quilt that was really UGLY. I mean UGLY!!! The fabric was lovely, but how it was put together resulted in a truly UGLY quilt. However, it was the perfect quilt to practice on!!! If a motif or something didn’t work out – it didn’t matter!! I just moved on to another section and tried again! And yes, I had to practice!!

I no longer practice and just jump in to quilt whatever the quilt tells me to. Most of my quilts are custom quilted, but there is the odd one where I do an all-over design or diagonal lines.

Here’s a few close-ups of quilting, totally quilted on my domestic machine! There is some ruler quilting (straight lines, hearts and orange peels) but most of it is free motion.

SEW … I encourage you to practice your quilting! Yes, practice! You’ll be amazed at what you can do in a very short time!

Don’t Forget!

I am now a Silly Moon affiliate! So what does that mean? When you use my affiliate code Quiltinggail2024 at Silly Moon, you will receive 10% off your order and I will receive a small commission.

One who sleeps under a quilt is covered by LOVE!

Happy Quilting!    
Gai

20 thoughts on “Yes, I Quilt on my Domestic Machine”

  1. I finally gave straight line quilting a go with a walking foot and quilt as you go. It wasn’t as hard as I’d let myself believe. Next step is to try a fully assembled quilt top and the walking foot. Thank you for the encouragement, its all about getting it done, not being perfect.

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  2. Great words of encouragement, Gail! I love quilting on my domestic machine and I love the entire process. However, I don’t like the basting process. I will admit that I have a Bernina sewing machine but — and that’s a big but — my machine is an older model and doesn’t even have the stitch regulator. I don’t think I’d want it either because I’m quite comfortable free motion quilting my way — just like you! Any tips on basting, of course, would be appreciated. 😊

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  3. Gail, you are truly amazing with your quilting! I love seeing every quilt. I’m really like that meme. When I started longarming I just wanted to skip ahead to where I am already awesome! Still not there, but working on it!

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  4. What a great post and encouraging to anyone who thought they were left out of the quilting scene!!! We all grow with our quilting abilities and I am glad nothing slows you down now!

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  6. I’m still a newbie when it comes to FMQ, but I love it! I practiced on potholders at first. I now do the majority of the quilting for my group that make donation quilts. It’s a great place to practice new designs.

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  7. Your quilting is amazing. Some instructors can be pretty negative, and do turn people off. I’m glad you’re a rebel and will quilt a cross over. Your pieces are just beautiful.

    Patti T

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    • Thanks, Patti!! I find that if you tell me that I can’t do something … I will try very hard to prove that I can! And to me, I’m not a perfectionist and so it doesn’t need to be perfect!

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  8. I loved your post today! My husband was sitting nearby & heard me muttering “like hell!”, so of course I had to explain what happened to you as I was so incensed at her behavior toward you. What an idiot that instructor was – hopefully she has left the business if she feels that sort of behavior to others is acceptable. You quilt beautifully – and use so many different types of motifs – all beautiful. I do all my own quilting on my domestic machine, too, except for the occasional hand quilting, which won’t happen as often now that my hands are more arthritic. It’s only been about a year ago that I bought a Juki with a huge throat – before I was often quilting on my Featherweight at the time as the Bernina & Janome were at the “spa” getting regular maintenance about that time. My shoulders and neck feel much better with a larger neck on the machine. I’ve never had any interest in getting a long arm – I have enough aggravation in my life, so don’t need to pay thousands of dollars to have more. Must admit that I don’t get really exotic, I prefer straight lines up & down (or diagonally) with rulers or ALL of the above if it’s a baby quilt, or I feel like it on the quilt I’m working on. I also do the basic meandering (with loops or a heart occasionally, etc), and other simple motifs, but it’s all just to get the quilt done, stable and ready to go long-term. I’ve been quilting over 50 years now and spend at least a few hours every day in the quilt room. Thank you for such a lovely blog – I enjoy every post! Deb E. in Northern California

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  9. I’m glad you found out that perfection isn’t essential. I was relieved to learn it. But on the samples you showed, you have come pretty close.

    And I’ve noticed that many “flaws” disappear once a quilt is laundered. =) I have limited space so I do all on one machine, my Featherweight. Big ones get sent to others. I can do up to single bed size.

    Claire

    BTW I am finally quilting my SAHRR 2023!

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    • Pictures can be deceiving! Not a single one of my quilts comes close to perfect! And yes, washing quilts hides many errors!! WOW!!! I’m impressed that you do up to a single bed quilt on your featherweight!!! Koodos to you!!

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  10. Gail I think if I had my Janome 6700P and all of Silly Moon’s rulers here at home I would be trying to be just like you. Your quilting truly inspires me.

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