Latest / The First Stitch: Every Quilter Has a Story / 23: D.C.'s First Stitch Story + Give Your Machine Quilting Some Grace

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23: D.C.'s First Stitch Story + Give Your Machine Quilting Some Grace · The First Stitch: Every Quilter Has a Story

• 0:04
  SPEAKER_00: Hello, and welcome to the First Stitch Podcast, where we tell the stories of how everyday quilters just like you got started quilting.
• 0:11
  SPEAKER_00: Plus, talk about some other fun quilty things along the way.
• 0:13
  SPEAKER_00: This is your host, Lisa Donnelly from Wild Plum Lane.
• 0:16
  SPEAKER_00: Let's get started.
• 0:20
  SPEAKER_00: Today's first stitch story comes from a quilter I'm calling DC.
• 0:24
  SPEAKER_00: Her path to quilting took the long way around.
• 0:26
  SPEAKER_00: She sewed as a kid, then again as a young mom, then set it aside for decades before finally picking up in her retirement years.
• 0:33
  SPEAKER_00: Here it is, in her own words.
• 0:35
  SPEAKER_00: I began attempting very simple hand sewing back when my sister and I were addicted to playing with Barbies and would try to make clothes for them.
• 0:41
  SPEAKER_00: I think the love of sewing actually came about once I took a home economics class in seventh grade, which included a couple of sewing projects, a pincushion, and a tote bag.
• 0:50
  SPEAKER_00: From that point on, until I completed high school, I took every class I could which involved sewing.
• 0:55
  SPEAKER_00: I sewed my own prom dresses.
• 0:56
  SPEAKER_00: However, this was the 70s.
• 0:59
  SPEAKER_00: The dresses back then weren't anything like the fancy prom dresses of today.
• 1:02
  SPEAKER_00: I made quite a few of my own clothes back then.
• 1:05
  SPEAKER_00: Fast forward a few years, and as a young mother, I enjoyed sewing for my daughters.
• 1:09
  SPEAKER_00: Both clothing and Halloween costumes.
• 1:11
  SPEAKER_00: Then life just got so busy I rarely touched my sewing machine for a number of years, finally dusting it off to make a few more Halloween costumes when my two oldest granddaughters came along.
• 1:20
  SPEAKER_00: As for quilting, my parents owned an antique shop, and I always loved the beautiful old quilts they would sometimes have in their shop.
• 1:26
  SPEAKER_00: I knew at some point in time I wanted to buy one or more of those beautiful old quilts for my home.
• 1:31
  SPEAKER_00: I often had the thought that when I'm older, probably in my own retirement years, I would like to learn to quilt.
• 1:36
  SPEAKER_00: Forty plus years later, my old sewing machine bit the dust.
• 1:40
  SPEAKER_00: I decided I couldn't really go without a machine.
• 1:42
  SPEAKER_00: As a short person, under five feet, I frequently have to hem slacks and jeans, so I went machine shopping.
• 1:48
  SPEAKER_00: I frequently have to hem slacks and jeans, so I went machine shopping.
• 1:52
  SPEAKER_00: Once the machine was purchased, I decided I was not going to wait any longer to learn to quilt.
• 1:56
  SPEAKER_00: So in February of 2020, I bought the fabric for my first quilt.
• 2:00
  SPEAKER_00: I learned everything from YouTube and through Pinterest.
• 2:02
  SPEAKER_00: My first year only saw the completion of two quilts.
• 2:05
  SPEAKER_00: Since then, I have retired and added an additional 10 quilts to my completed list.
• 2:10
  SPEAKER_00: I love the entire process, but mostly the piecing.
• 2:13
  SPEAKER_00: I've quilted all but three of the quilts I've finished.
• 2:15
  SPEAKER_00: The machine quilting is what I struggle with the most, but I'm learning.
• 2:19
  SPEAKER_00: The last two years I've had two granddaughters graduate from high school and have made each of them a quilt for their graduation gift.
• 2:24
  SPEAKER_00: I have another granddaughter graduating this year, and we just went to pick fabric for her quilt together, so that project will become a priority soon, and I'm excited to start working on that.
• 2:33
  SPEAKER_00: I feel like I have an overwhelming number of works in progress at six.
• 2:37
  SPEAKER_00: My favorite project I have going right now is a granny square quilt, where I've had each of my three daughters and my 12 grandchildren design a block or two, which I've then pieced together.
• 2:45
  SPEAKER_00: My plan is to embroider their names on the individual blocks.
• 2:48
  SPEAKER_00: I'm also sewing along with several block of the month programs.
• 2:52
  SPEAKER_00: And that is from DC.
• 2:54
  SPEAKER_00: If you enjoy piecing but struggle with machine quilting like DC, I want you to hear this.
• 2:58
  SPEAKER_00: Piecing and machine quilting are two completely different skills, and it's totally normal for one to come easier to you than the other.
• 3:05
  SPEAKER_00: So today's tip is really three small options, and you can pick whichever one fits you best.
• 3:10
  SPEAKER_00: First, if you're finding it hard to grip and guide your quilt sandwich through the machine, try a pair of quilting gloves.
• 3:15
  SPEAKER_00: I'll share the ones I use in just a few minutes.
• 3:18
  SPEAKER_00: Their textured fingertips give you a good grip on the fabric without a lot of squeezing and pulling, which makes a big difference if your hands tire out partway through a quilting session.
• 3:26
  SPEAKER_00: This works whether you're doing walking foot quilting or free motion.
• 3:29
  SPEAKER_00: Second, if free motion quilting is the part that trips you up, don't practice on your actual quilt.
• 3:34
  SPEAKER_00: Make a tiny quilt sandwich out of scraps and spend five or ten minutes doodling stitches on that before you start your quilt.
• 3:40
  SPEAKER_00: There's no pressure and nothing to mess up, just you building muscle memory before it counts and warming yourself up.
• 3:46
  SPEAKER_00: There are also resources like Jackie Gearing's book Walk, which provides plenty of inspiration for quilting straight lines using your walking foot.
• 3:53
  SPEAKER_00: I absolutely love that book.
• 3:55
  SPEAKER_00: And third, if you're just not feeling up to it on a particular quilt top, it's okay to hand off your quilt to a long armor.
• 4:01
  SPEAKER_00: That's not giving up, that's choosing the tool that gets your quilt across the finish line, and you get to connect with another quilter in the process.
• 4:08
  SPEAKER_00: I mentioned the quilting gloves earlier and wanted to quickly highlight Machinger's quilting gloves because they've been really helpful for me.
• 4:14
  SPEAKER_00: With those textured fingertips, I can move the quilt without having to squeeze or grab the fabric, and so my hands stay a lot more relaxed while I'm feeding the quilt through the machine, and it reduces fatigue.
• 4:24
  SPEAKER_00: I reach for mine anytime I'm machine quilting anything bigger than a baby quilt, and they make a noticeable difference by the end of a session.
• 4:31
  SPEAKER_00: And Pro Tip, they also help when you're guiding your quilt through the machine to add binding.
• 4:36
  SPEAKER_00: And with that, we'll wrap up this episode of the First Stitch Podcast.
• 4:40
  SPEAKER_00: If you enjoyed listening, I'd sure appreciate it if you'd hit the subscribe button in your favorite podcast player, write a review on Apple Podcasts, or tell your best quilty friends so they can listen too.
• 4:50
  SPEAKER_00: By the way, do you have a story to share?
• 4:53
  SPEAKER_00: Every quilter has a beginning to their story, and we'd love to hear yours.
• 4:56
  SPEAKER_00: Plus, over the years you might have picked up tips or tricks you could share with others.
• 5:00
  SPEAKER_00: It might inspire another quilter, so we want to hear about it.
• 5:03
  SPEAKER_00: Share your personal quilting journey, your best project finishing tip, or your first stitch moment.
• 5:09
  SPEAKER_00: Your story might be read on an upcoming episode of the First Stitch.
• 5:12
  SPEAKER_00: You can submit your story today by sending an email to First Stitch Podcast, all one word, that's first stitch podcast at wildplumlane.com, or use our quick submission form down in the show notes.
• 5:24
  SPEAKER_00: I can't wait to talk with you again soon.