When my friend Sue and I signed up for Heidi's retreat, we knew there would be an APQS Millennium long-arm quilting machine available but it didn't really register with either one of us, just what a treat that was going to be! There was also going to be an instructor, Dawn Cavanaugh and we did not realize what a talented teacher Dawn Cavanaugh is. She is a Quilting Artist at APQS!! Just go here and you will see what I mean. Here is Dawn at the Millennium working on a quilt for retreat guest, Melissa.
Sue and I agreed that we might have been very intimated had we known beforehand that Dawn was named "2008 Machine Quilting Teacher of the Year" at the 2009 Machine Quilters Exposition. As she showed each retreat guest how to use the machine and then worked individually with us, it was obvious that she is an excellent teacher. She is very patient and explains things in clear terms. I don't think I'm alone in saying that with her encouragement, I never doubted that I could actually machine quilt! 
Many of you probably recognise Heidi from her years as Editor of American Patchwork Quilting. She is now the National Sales Manager for APQS. I think her idea to host a retreat and have a Millennium and an instructor available for guests is fantastic! I came away from the retreat knowing that I really need a long-arm quilting machine!!
So let's get to the action and find out what made me know I need a long-arm quilting machine. I took photos of Sue as she went through the steps of the machine quilting process. Dawn makes this all look so easy but she also stresses the importance of every step of the process. Here she is rolling the quilt onto the rollers. Sue may be watching now but a few minutes after this, Dawn had Sue helping her smooth and adjust the quilt for stitching.
Bobbins and threading the machine were covered. Heidi was the "official bobbin winder" and she wound a lot of bobbins during the three day weekend! Dawn instructed Sue in threading the machine ................. and then she began pinning the quilt layers with flat head pins. Each "student" helped with the pinning and unpinning during the quilting process.
Sue was a bit unsure of just how to stitch her top , so Dawn said "just think of how you doodle". If I remember correctly Sue said she's not really a "doodler". :-) So Dawn shared a little lesson on how to "doodle" so that Sue could stitch some leaves into her top. With a little "practice doodling"..............
Sue was soon stitching leaves and swirls into her quilt top. And in no time at all, it was complete!
The quilt top pattern she used is "Sweet Pea" by Celine Perkins of PerkinsDryGoods.
Next, it was my turn and this time, Sue took pictures of my quilt top being quilted. In the top half of this photo, Dawn is instructing me in how to start the machine and begin stitching. When all the right buttons are pressed and you hear the "little birdie" sound, then you are "good to go stitching!"
At first, I was a little bit nervous..........and my first "loops and swirls" are tight and not very good. But then............it was like I "learned to drive".......and I began stitching loops and swirls and I was soooooooooo excited!
It felt very "natural" to stitch on the Millennium and I felt just like I was "drawing" on a giant surface. I even stitched some words into my quilt top. Right about this point in the picture above, I got so excited that I started stitching too fast and my thread broke. Dawn came to the rescue and then in under an hour...............
my quilt top was finished!! The design is by Dana of OldRedBarnCo. . I was so pleased with this project. I loved the fabric colors I chose but to know I had also quilted it was just too much!! When I got home and showed it to my husband, his first words were "oh, she quilted it for you". And I said "no, I did it!" He was impressed. And here's where I have to tell you that I could have impressed him even more and made points toward getting a long-arm quilting machine if I had quilted that NASCAR quilt top I made for him a few years ago. I took it along but this was my weekend and I was going to do a quilt just for me. There's still an opportunity for impressing him, though, as Dawn and I discussed the project and she will be quilting that NASCAR quilt (not for free, folks - I'm a customer on this one). So there you have it...........Our Machine Quilting Adventure..........thanks to Heidi's "Spring into Action Retreat". I can sum this up by saying........."I always thought that when I retired, I would love to have a Lincoln but I am thinking I would rather drive a Lenni" and it would be a lot more fun!!
Sue was soon stitching leaves and swirls into her quilt top. And in no time at all, it was complete!
The quilt top pattern she used is "Sweet Pea" by Celine Perkins of PerkinsDryGoods.Next, it was my turn and this time, Sue took pictures of my quilt top being quilted. In the top half of this photo, Dawn is instructing me in how to start the machine and begin stitching. When all the right buttons are pressed and you hear the "little birdie" sound, then you are "good to go stitching!"
At first, I was a little bit nervous..........and my first "loops and swirls" are tight and not very good. But then............it was like I "learned to drive".......and I began stitching loops and swirls and I was soooooooooo excited!
It felt very "natural" to stitch on the Millennium and I felt just like I was "drawing" on a giant surface. I even stitched some words into my quilt top. Right about this point in the picture above, I got so excited that I started stitching too fast and my thread broke. Dawn came to the rescue and then in under an hour...............
my quilt top was finished!! The design is by Dana of OldRedBarnCo. . I was so pleased with this project. I loved the fabric colors I chose but to know I had also quilted it was just too much!! When I got home and showed it to my husband, his first words were "oh, she quilted it for you". And I said "no, I did it!" He was impressed. And here's where I have to tell you that I could have impressed him even more and made points toward getting a long-arm quilting machine if I had quilted that NASCAR quilt top I made for him a few years ago. I took it along but this was my weekend and I was going to do a quilt just for me. There's still an opportunity for impressing him, though, as Dawn and I discussed the project and she will be quilting that NASCAR quilt (not for free, folks - I'm a customer on this one). So there you have it...........Our Machine Quilting Adventure..........thanks to Heidi's "Spring into Action Retreat". I can sum this up by saying........."I always thought that when I retired, I would love to have a Lincoln but I am thinking I would rather drive a Lenni" and it would be a lot more fun!!This week, I'm going to add the binding to my quilt and when I post the finished picture, I'll also share the finished picture of Sue's quilt. Time to "hop to it" and get stitching!
Have a good Monday!
Sandi
P.S. I enjoy Pat Sloan's radio show and learned yesterday that her guest today is Heidi so you can hear more about machine quilting just by clicking here for Pat's Creative Talk Radio show. :-)
