I have managed a queen sized quilt on my domestic but I ain't gonna lie, it was not a picnic! HA HA I just do the fold and fluff thing. Otherwise I find myself messing it up. Although usually I do stitch in the ditch around my blocks, take out all of the safety pins because they get caught on my foot, then go into the free motion work.

Drop those feed dogs and give it a try...you will get much more ease on moving your quilt! I think Free motion is easier to learn and conquer with those feed dogs down even with straight stitching. I never do any quilting with my feed dogs up. Practice Practice and in no time you'll get the hang of it. Once you find your rythm & speed your stitching will improve. Start off slow till you feel comfortable with added speed. Make you some sample sandwiches to practice on.

I think working on potholders is a great way to learn to machine quilt.

I didn't lile quilting on my Janome at first either. I was very frustrated. I can't afford to have my quilts quilted so the choice was to give up quilting or just get over it and persevere. I am beginning to enjoy it. I really am only working on 'potholders'.

I think that a lot of the fear of using a domestic machine comes from the thought of putting a whole quilt through the harp area. When you see a photo of a large quilt you see all that surface area. This 2011 BOM measures 84" square:




First of all...you only have to get one half of that area under through the harp at one time, and that is just to quilt the center part of the quilt. After that, it's always less! Considering that, you only need to deal with 42". Does that sound more manageable?

Now...look at this. I can gently bunch up the completed quilt to fit in the circle formed with my thumb and middle finger!! Yes....this is already quilted, and a little more compact than three unquilted layers, but it's still definitely manageable!

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When quilting on a domestic machine, you only need to be concerned with the area of the quilt that fits between your two flat hands. If you have trouble managing that, you might consider using one of Sharon Schamber's Halo. I find it to be a huge help when quilting on a domestic machine. Here is a link to a video showing how it works:
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=SpmMYIDCrZw

I, too, was afraid to try doing a big quilt on a regular machine, but have had some success with a different method. I split the batting into three vertical sections by using a rotary cutter to cut VERY gentle curves from top to bottom. Label the pieces so you remember which goes where, then layer using just the center piece and either pin or baste in place. When you quilt, there will be much less bulk in the third that goes into the harp area, since it is just the top and backing layers. (I stop the quilting a couple inches from the cut edges.) When the center is done, lay everything out flat again and smooth one of the side thirds back in place. I use short strips of a lightweight fusible interfacing to join the two pieces together, then baste and quilt that outer third. Do the same on the other side. It's still tricky to work with a large quilt, but I've been very satisfied with the results. (See quilt #1017930)

The one thing that helped me the most, was learning that I did not have to go fast! I could then relax, was not fighting the bulk as much, and actually began to like the process. I have to admit though, I envy anyone with a harp that is bigger than my 7"!!!!!

Dawn
In beautiful Northwest Montana

Just wanted to add to this topic that Libby Lehman says to turn your machine kitty cornered so that the quilt is not between the needle and the machine but free on both sides. Such a wonderful idea. Now if I could get the machine quilting down. Small I am doing better but as soon as I put a larger quilt on there it just wasn't happening for me. Long way to go.

Sewdreamy wrote:
BJ, I've just had my long-arm machine for about 2-1/2 years, but I started machine quilting in 1991 on my domestic machine and that's what I used until I got the Handi-Quilter. Some of the best quilters in the world still prefer working on a domestic machine!

Check out the work of RICKY TIMS!! Also, Diane Gaudynski http://www.dianegaudynski.net/, Phillipa Naylor http://www.philippanaylor.com/ and many others!

Margo wrote: Hey, Margo, I thought you did all your quilting on the long arm. Anyway, I second that on the HALO. It helps me to quilt a lot longer, increases my accuracy, and my hands don't hurt when I'm done. Then I put a slider mat on my machine, and use my Bernina BSR with a relatively short stitch and a much lowered tension...makes a lovely quilting set up .

Terry thanks too to the reference to the information on my blog.
Anyone can visit: terificreations.wordpress.com
If you have questions just leave a comment and I'll answer as soon as possible.

HeyJudee, thank you for the most kind compliment about ny quilting.

Terry, thanks for posting the pics of your quilting! I love seeing how you quilted the bird. I'm gonna have to try this in one of my projects. You do great work!

Beckyezra, hang in there. Quilting is my favorite part of the process as it remindes me of doodling and coloring. I have machine quilted all of my quilts (Even a 110x110 sized quilt!) but one on my 1630 Bernina which has about a six inch harp. . .I use the puddle method. Although I would love to purchase an upgraded model, $$ is always in too short a supply so I'm thankful for the machine I have!

Littleflower has some great tips on her blog about relaxing while you are quilting and that helps tremendously. Believe in yourself and remember the more that you practice the better you are going to get. Now, even when I stitch in the ditch, I'm in free motion mode because it is easier for me to sew forwards or backwards or sideways than it is for me to deal with the feed dogs and a foot!! You might want to consider making some lap size quilts to build your confidence. Here are a couple photos of a baby quilt I finished last month.

Oh and the quilt I didn't quilt on my Bernina, I did on a longarm to try it out. While I was impressed with how fast the process was; I wasn't excited with how my quilting turned out and I decided that I might baste some quilts for awhile to practice. So there are learning curves no matter what method you are going to use.

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