I Finally Got Enough Guts To Do It

I had gotten a vintage Singer 15-91 a while back but I had been too chicken to try out some machine quilting with it. I have a Dresden Plate quilt just waiting for some quilting. Well, I finally pulled it out last night and gave it a try.

For an antique machine, I am very surprised on how well it still stitches! I guess they really knew how to make sewing machines back then. I made a sample square (18" X 18" fabric/batting/fabric sandwich) and started some practice free-motion stitches. I first used a pre-printed pattern that had a large meandering design on it to help me but my stitches are far from smooth and flowing.


Then I decided to just wing it and try a smaller meandering stitch on my own. It wasn't too bad but I still need a lot of practice. It doesn't help that I'm a perfectionist and I'm going to want the quilting exactly where I want it, like with hand-quilting. But I guess machine-quilting isn't going to be that easy.

I'm hoping to have machine-quilted works-of-art like my blog-pal Wendy Sheppard of ivoryspring.wordpress.com. She makes it look so beautiful. And the way she seems to pump out her quilts, you would have to believe that machine-quilting is simple to do. I finding that it isn't. She is truly talented!

I'm going to look for some gloves that will enable me to handle the quilt better under the machine and I'm going to see if the 15-91 will fit in my treadle machine cabinet. If it does, it will expand my working surface.

I'm not looking forward to it, but I'm going to have to put in a lot more practice before I can be satisfied to apply it to one of my quilts.

Jane