The long-arm and I have been bonding this past week. I had decided to take some time off from it because I just could not get the tension how I wanted it. I had quilted a beautiful quilt top and at the last border decided that I could not go on. I hated the quilting. The thread was sitting on the top and I kept getting piles of loops on the back. It would quilt fine for awhile and then it was terrible. OHHHHHH boy – I was very unhappy! So unhappy, that I spent the next few weeks pulling out all of the quilting. I rarely pull out quilting.
Guess what – I had been threading the machine wrong. I was browsing some quilting videos one evening and decided to watch a video on speciality threads. Oh my, not only was I threading it wrong in one place – but in three.
Guess what else – the machine is quilting GREAT now. I put on a practice piece and have stitched to my heart’s content. I still will need to work on my control, but the stitches are beautiful!
In fact, it is doing so well that I plan to re-pin the quilt top (that I pulled out all the stitches on) back onto the long-arm.
This is one of those quilts that have sat in the basket because I just could not connect with it. The design never really worked for me – so I put it aside and almost cut it up for a tote bag. At the last minute, I decided I would go ahead and use it as a practice piece for the long-arm. I am so glad I decided to quilt it. I love the look of the “peacocks”, it gives it the unity it was lacking. It still is not my favorite but it is 
I still have not sent off the package for my soon-to-come niece. I am going to put this in the box for her. It is small – perfect for a playpen or floor quilt.
I finally made a quilt that I was able to give to Mark. The kids usually snatch quilts before they are even done. I was going to try to surprise him but told him while I was putting the binding on. I have to admit that the last quilt he wanted (and I actually gave him), I ended up taking.
