Setting Up 3

Yesterday afternoon, Pam from the Quilt Barn and her husband Greg came up to finish the set up of my Avante and give me some training. The first hour or more was spent in raising the frame to the proper height and getting it level, plus putting the leaders on. Leaders are canvas panels that are attached to the poles that you then pin the parts of the quilt to.

I had pressed and cut some tan and light brown solid fabric to use as a practice piece. I think I've had that fabric for about 20 years, so about time it saw some use! This is using whatever thread was already in the bobbin - a white thin polyester, and the top thread is a red variegated King Tut that was included as a sample. We spent a lot of time getting the tension adjusted.

Some more practice quilting. The stitch regulator helps the stitches be the same length no matter what speed I move the machine at, but a lot of my curves look pretty jerky and squared off. It uses different motor skills than quilting on a table, so it's going to take a lot of practice. But I knew that.