pantographs directions

[cindyg]

A ton of safety pins???? I only put flat head straight pins in to fasten my backing and batting to the leader canvas. I load my top, pin it to the batting & backing, run a stitch all the way across and then I can take those pins out and I am done with any pinning. My bars and side grabbers keep everything smooth and taut enough that I don't quilt in any wrinkles and it seems to stay straight.

If you can only go one way on your big machines how do you make things like feathers in a circle or flowers? It seems to me that where I'm limited in throat space, y'all are directionally limited. But I have seen Linda Whatsherface on QNN and she goes all over the place with her Gammill - does she have a different one? I'm guessing that she would use only the Cadillac of quilting machines to do her demonstrations on. I love to watch her - it's so relaxing. I'm not at all suggesting that you don't have the Cadillac - I'm just confused in what all I'm hearing and seeing. It's probably a good thing I can't afford one. I'd be driving everyone crazy with questions. LOL

[Quiltcreator]

Oh gosh, cindy, I guess I got you all confused. I'm talking about the general direction that you move when you're sewing a pantograph. Of course, the Gammill can move any direction you want it to, circles, loops, feathers, whatever. The right to left thing is simply where you begin and end. I think Nadine means (by the safety pins) that is how you would do it if sewing on your regular machine without one of those frames. As I said before, I really think we're comparing apples and oranges here!

[grammy65]

Quiltcreator...when you say right to left are you on the back of the machine or the front? When I do pantographs and stand at the back of the machine, I am going from my right to my left. But when I'm on the front of the machine I go from my left to my right. I think we are really confusing people. LOL

If you are not familiar with a longarm...just think of it this way. On a domestic machine you move the fabric...on a longarm you move the needle. The needle can go any direction. It's just when you are doing a panto or free motion, the machines like it better going just one way, but you can go any direction while you are heading that way.

[Quiltcreator]

I'm at the back of the machine when I'm doing a pantograph. So I'm traveling right to left. I don't do pantographs from the front (is that possible?) When I'm in the front, I'm freehanding and it doesn't matter which direction I'm moving; just do the next logical area. And, yes, I think we are confusing everyone!

[cindyg]

I think I have it easier than y'all when doing a panto because my machine goes easy going either direction. But that's the only good thing about mine, that and I don't have to baste.

[grammy65]

No...I only do pantos from the back. As I am facing the machine standing in the back I move the head from the right end to the left end. If I'm in front I also go anywhere I want, but I start (facing the machine) from the left end of the machine to the right. I just can't believe the APQS and Gammill are so different. Unless we are saying the same thing but hearing something different. You know what I mean.

[qltsbme]

From the panto side of your machine, you go from right to left. The machine is geared to move better from right to left than from left to right.

[gardenquilter]

I used to really dislike being behind the machine then I pushed my walls out and dont feel so crapped there anymore so the back is pretty fun - just needed alittle more room back there lol

[quilterbee]

Please, go to WWW.LONGARMUNIVERSITY.COM and print off the best directions ever for pantos. This is the queen of longarm websites. Amie

[Nadine2007]

I havent' been here for a couple of days and reading all of this just confused me. When I was talking about using all of the saftey pins I was talking about using a home machine. That way nothing can shift. I use the T pins to pin the leaders to the quilt top, back and batting just like you Cindy. I leave all of the T pins in until I get to the bottom of the quilt then I remove the pins and sew everything together and then I'm finished. After that I remove the rest of the pins. This is really funny when you read it all we all sound really confused. I don't know if this will help or confuse us more.