Cue Exhale - First Longarm Quilt Finished

I feel like most people who first get their longarm machine are in the same rickety boat:  I've got this new machine, don't really know how to use it, and I need practice.  I didn’t want to be that person saying, “Hey you’ve just spent 56 hours piecing together that beautiful top, why don’t you let me ruin it in about 15 minutes... but don’t worry it’s giving me practice so I can do it waaay better on another quilt top you make in the future.”  Wasn’t going to happen.  So what to do?  I also thought about making tops myself from fabric that’s lying around the house and then practicing on those and donating them.  I love donating things but didn’t want it to look rushed from me trying to squeeze in another quilt top into my schedule.  Then I heard about Quilts of Valor and I could hear the heavens rejoicing. 


So the basic idea of QoV:  someone pieces together a quilt top, then connects with a person who does longarm quilting to quilt it, and then the quilt gets finished and sent to a Wounded Warrior.  The charity’s goal is to give one quilt to every Wounded Warrior out there and they’ve already given out over 100,000.  This couldn’t be more perfect: it’s a great cause that gives back to people who have given so much to this Country, and bonus, I can get some practice under my belt. I signed up pretty much as soon as I heard about it and maybe two weeks later the first one arrived at my house.

Then I was hit with panic and worry and a whole bunch of other emotions...  “holy crap, this is actually happening” constantly went through my head since I was now responsible for turning a beautiful top into a treasured gift and to not royally mess it up.  Several times my fiancé (a Vet) had to calm me down and remind me that no matter if this loop isn’t perfect or that star isn’t quite right, they are going to love it.  And he was right, only I would have a super critical eye and it wouldn’t matter in the end.

Pre-quilting:

Next task after breathing:  actually load it on the machine.  This part took longer than I thought but in the end, it wasn’t that big of a deal and will hopefully go smoother next time.  But here it is all loaded up:

 

I decided to use a stars and loops pantograph since it looked forgiving and that’s exactly what I needed.  I got the first three rows done the first day and it went fairly well, I have to say.  Sure, the stars look like they’ve had one too many and couldn’t walk a straight line, but who hasn’t been there before.

Then maybe two or three more evenings after work and I actually had it complete.  It’s not perfect by any means, I am absurdly proud.  Here’s some more pics.

Right now, it's on it's way back to the person who made the quilt top to put the final outside boarder on and then it'll be shipped out to someone who deserves much more than just this quilt.  Dare I say... bring on the next!