Trying your Hand at Free Motion Meandering

Recently read a blog entry on edge to edge quilting.  It was written by Gemma at prettybobbins.com.  (Sorry, but I can't seem to get my link to work tonight, but this is the web address)  She goes into detail how what looks like an easy way to quilt really has its own sets of skills.  So true!  Quilting with an edge to edge pattern can be affected by the piecing, batting choice, thread choice, and thread tension just to mention a few considerations.  As a long arm quilter I get customers who drop off quilts with only 1-2 inches extra backing per side and then I struggle to not bump into my clamps as I near the sides.  Luckily I learned from a Sharon Schamber DVD a solution to that problem. Per her directions I made a set of "sides" that I pin on the edge and clamp to those.  It is a bit time consuming to pin them on and off with each roll, but it saves the jiggle in a pattern that bumping into your clamps can cause.  I also use them when I am doing custom work and my extension plate is in danger of bumping the clamp.

 You can see that my extensions are showing their age, but they have been helpful.  The yardstick helps to elevate the end of the quilt; otherwise, the additional weight tends to pull it down. 

These issues also come into play when you are doing a free motion meander which is often favored by newbies.  Then with a FM meander you need to take into consideration uniformity.  You want to work at keeping your spacing and size of swoops to be the same.  When I first started I quilted a sample piece (about 25 inches by 40 inches) and divided it into three sections.  In each section I did a different size meander.  The first block I quilted with tight meander.  Second square I quilted a medium meander  which I have since named the Joanne Meander after a sweet customer of mine that uses that size on all her quilts.  Finally the third box was a more open meander which makes for a softer top.  I would use that sample to show a customer sizes that they could choose from and then when I quilted I would lay that piece over the top bar and reference it as I moved along the top.  It was very helpful in keeping me mindful of the pattern size I was trying to achieve.  If you are not careful it is not uncommon for the size of a meander to change slightly as you move across a larger quilt and really isn't noticeable until you stand back and take a row all in. That's not a fun moment.