Long Arm Certification Class

On Saturday I completed a long arm certification class to be able to use a shop's long arm machines to quilt my quilts in the future, and checked a goal off for the year.  I had a ton of fun!!!!  I got a rating of two thumbs up and was told that I am a natural at long arm quilting!  After we went over the basics of the machine I had the whole afternoon to play, and boy oh boy did I play!  I learned what worked for me, what did not.  I learned I can do straight lines with a machine even when I can not draw a straight line to save my life.  I can not wait to go back in to quilt my first quilt on the long arm.  The quilt is going to be a baby quilt, but first to practice drawing out the design so I have some muscle memory of how each design goes.  Here are a few examples of what I did:

Practicing Pebbles (not the best, it was about learning about control and planning where to go next)

Practicing Shapes that I would use in a baby quilt.

My favorite; daisies.  They are fun to draw out, and they will get better as I learn/plan out what I'm doing.  These would be fantastic on a little girl's quilt.

I also bought a few free motion quilting books to help me learn more/learn various designs to add to my pattern repertoire.

This past weekend I was able to get a few of the different fabric patterns glued to templates. Seven down, eleven to go.  This weekend I have a movie day with my best friend planned, and an evening catching up on shows with my Mom, which will give me the opportunity to finish glueing a few more patterns.  I should also start working on my March OMG as we are half way through the month. (Opps)  Where has the time gone?  Lots of things to do, so little time, but that sounds normal!

Linking up to Sew Fresh Quilts.

Have a great week!

Christina